Originally Posted by Burnerrific

I'm a store manager and I thought I'd make a burner account to speak freely.

1) The original stores that were listed for closing will be shuttered by January 27th. That is a hard date. I have been told by my Gordon rep that everything will be gone. Period.
2) We are being told that we are trying to raise capital since the closing stores are sucking the air out of the room for the stores that were not liquidating. Is that true? I'd flip a coin. Pat C. told us so many things that were hazy truths as is I trust Bicycle retailer better than my upper management.
3) The coincidence of the election of Pats wife and the announcement is not lost on me or anyone paying attention. There is also the curious investigation by Taiwan into some money changing hands.

What did this company in over time? Even before we were thrown a life ring several years ago there was a head in the sand approach to so many things. Operating in many markets that act in drastically different ways but having a singular marketing and advertising plan is a sure fire mistake. Someone pointed out that a So Cal store had no beach cruisers but was close to the beach. That is classic for the past with this company. Store managers were not allowed to stock in ways that they thought were appropriate until we were purchased and by then it was just too late to right the ship. I cannot begin to say how frustrating it was. When ASE was created things changed for sure but as some have noted the debt was sure to drown the whole boat. Slow to react to any type of market change so folks would go to the local Trek or Specialized store for the latest and coolest was another trait. Solid but BORING if not just fugly clothing. It's a long list of misses.

There are surely deals to be had right now in my store. I'm probably on the cusp of good inventory and deals ending on the sales floor. Bikes aren't discounted enough in my eyes but people see a store closing sale and like lemmings think everything is a great deal so who knows. I have surely seen an uptick in bike interest over the last week.

It is a tough business but there are folks local to me who get it very right and who are looking to expand. I know this because they are looking at my fixtures for additional locations.

One has to adapt and Performance simply did not.