Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > General Motorcycles only > to coin a phrase... oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.....

[pibbow]

With regard to being in recession I can say without doubt Yes. The first to feel the pinch are the new traders selling expensive and unessasary goods.

We have a hotel and although turnover is up We have had a marked decline in heads thruogh the door this year. people are just not spending money! or have now reached max borrowing on credit cards/ remortgaging etc. So now the country is in economic down turn people are S##ting them selves.

[butch890]

Bloody hell,i find myself agreeing with Jools,must be the effect of T8 ownership!
Its sad when any business fails ,but in all things the fittest servive.
We ARE in recession (no matter what the polititions say)and the first thing to suffer are TOYS!
I have a mate who is a TVR dealer and he was the first to suffer,he has a brand new car that he will have had in stock for 90 days at the end of next week and as such he will have to pay for it then,accordingly it can be bought at cost today!
Henners was dead right whnen he said about profit splits,i think to many of these solus dealers dont have the background or workshop throughput to ride out the storm.
I wouldn't personally get hung up on the "glossy stainless and glass showroom" kick ,theres nothing wrong with having pride in your working enviroment and i certainly wouldnt be happy taking my "babies" to someones grubby shed to have it serviced(and im certainly not sugesting any of our specialists are anything of the sort).
Incidentally Riverside in northampton are (allegedly) in administration as of last friday,so its tuff time for the bike industry.
Butch
p.s keep up the good work Jools!

[Wylie1]

As mentioned above, it's a shame when things like this happen, but from my personal experiences I certainly won't miss them.

Pro-Twins are not far from DLS, do an excellent job & offer a much better experience/ service. I just hope they continue to do so now that the competition have closed down.

[phoenix n max]

So i did hear right.

[chris999]

cheap performance parts and gear getting sold off ??!!

[Martin Ducati Glasgow]

There's no doubt about it guys, it's been a weird year for sales. Up and down would be an understatement!
Jools comments above are pretty much spot on! Butch also hit the nail on the head with his remarks about a recession!
It's totally agreed there have been some factors totally outside the control of the dealerships that have affected profitability and sales dramatically, we as dealers just have to try and deal with these factors and look to our customers for support to take us into the future!
I must be frank though, Bubbles comments above leave a bitter taste in my mouth. I am a Ducati Store owner. Luv my job, luv my bike and get a buzz out of my job every time I come to work. We have (in my biased opinion!) a stunning store with some of the most comfortable surroundings you will find in any dealership anywhere in the UK! Coffee area, plasma screen, playstation (MotoGp rocks!) Satellite TV music and just a generally chilled out welcoming environment (all supplied for the comfort of our customers!!)
However we aren't just interested in the dosh. Far from it. My blood is truly Ducati red. Ask anyone that knows or uses us. I've been riding for 20 years, been a customer and know exactly what it's like to get fecked around and treated like sh*t. We / I go out our way to welcome every new customer into this brand and make the whole experience as painless as possible. That's the main reason for opening the store......... to make a difference for the better.
I have to point out, we are a family owned and run independant business. Just like DLS and DLC. (Marcello's mother was a significant force in running their store) I have only 3 staff that work their backsides off trying to keep a truly varied customer base happy. My retired mother in her late 60's comes in to clean our place twice a week. We couldn't hardly be a smaller family run business!!!
We, like everyone else in the club love Ducati motorcycles. I loved them so much I put everything I owned into opening up a store so I could talk, work, and play with Ducati's every day for the rest of my working life. I wonder how many people in the club can admit to that??? My passion is prooved by my dedication!
I happen to know Marcello felt the same way. I think it's brutal that there are some posts here "glad" to see them close. Think about the amount of money they potentially could have lost!..... The time they dedicated to this most worthy cause! ......The great staff in there that are looking for a job 11 weeks before Christmas!!!! (thats rough!)
Fair enough, maybe they could have polished up there act! I don't know, I didn't ever deal with them that way. Take it from me, it is simply impossible to keep EVERYONE happy ALL of the time although we try!! But lets take our hats off to the fact they gave it a shot. I for one was gutted to see them go!
I'll get off my soapbox now!
Take it easy guys.

[Jiminy]

Anyone got anymore info on this one ? Having left a deposit for a 749 with them last weekend I am obviously fairly anxious to know anymore news.

Jiminy

ps - And before anyone asks .... I'm not one of those foppy-haired Fulham-ites, just a Ducatista keen to get hold of his bike.

[Martin Ducati Glasgow]

Don't get upset too quickly Jiminy!

Best idea would be to contact Duc UK on 0845 1 222 996.
Bit late in the day now but Monday they will be there. They are in the best position to offer you sound advice on this.

Explain the situation to them, see what they suggest! If DLS can keep trading i'm sure they will. It's early days, the dust hasn't even settled yet!


Martin

[Jiminy]

Dseered & Martin - thanks for your kind words of wisdom, and the welcome - it's good to know you have virtual friends out there. Just a little anxious as you can see. I will watch and wait for the outcome of the DLC/DLS debarcle. However it won't prevent my joining the best of the best. Having had such an expectation over the last week of what life will be like on a classic example of performance and design I WILL get my 749 come what may. Can't turn back now !!!

Jiminy

ps - as is the tradition of first-time post-ers 'please join me for a drink ..... '

[Jiminy]

Actually Martin you may be able to help ..... DLC were soucing the 749 Dark from another Ducati dealer somewhere in the UK. Any way I could find out where it was being sourced from ??

Ta muchly

Jiminy