Frog in trouble?

[Cowsham]

Makes me wonder if he sees most value in the brand name, rather than the product itself.

Perhaps in much the same way as I wonder if the Pope has ever attended mass or if bear excrement has ever been found in Canadian forest land...

Pete.

Or " much the same way I wonder if the Pope has ever did a mass excrement and been found bare in the Canadian forest." Father Jack comes to mind again.

[pjclinch]

Well, as suspected to would, it's happened, and Mike Ashley has bought up Frog...

https://road.cc/news/mike-ashleys-frase ... les-empire

Probably not a good sign

Pete.

[AndyK]

I had an email from an auction house yesterday, inviting me to bid for the various assembly machines, tools and fittings in Frog Bikes' Pontypool factory. It doesn't look as if the new owners'' plans involve building any bikes there.

https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auct ... -gbai10332 - in case anyone's interested in bidding for a wheel-truing robot or an entire Park Tools Master Mechanic toolkit complete with cabinets and workbench. Bear in mind 18% seller's fee and 20% VAT on top of any successful bid.

[rjb]

Does this imply they've "Croaked".

[Oxoman]

. Unfortunately Sports direct have bought the name etc, so expect a cheap version in future.

[Ferrij]

It seems they buy up the existing stock, put an artificially high rrp then discount at same or higher than the product was originally sold at, if the Wiggle scenario is anything to go by. Then sells on the brand name later to another manufacturer…. A clever business strategy??

[pjclinch]

It seems they buy up the existing stock, put an artificially high rrp then discount at same or higher than the product was originally sold at, if the Wiggle scenario is anything to go by. Then sells on the brand name later to another manufacturer…. A clever business strategy??

A proven money making strategy in the short to medium term, especially as you'll find other troubled businesses to gut if things are running out of steam.

If one sees business as a zero-sum game of making as much money as possible that's probably a smart strategy, but thankfully some businesses work on the principle that "the art of the deal" is where everyone comes out ahead (Company makes money, customer gets something great at a fair price, customer is happy and company is proud of their work, their happy punters and solvent) rather than you screw the other party.

Pete.

[ratherbeintobago]

Disappointing but entirely predictable.

Are Pinnacle bikes any good these days? Now in Sports Direct which triggers my BSO Spidey sense, and it would be sad if Frog went the same way.

[Nearholmer]

The Pinnacle range has been greatly simplified, fewer models, and mostly the lower spec ones, but what they sell is still decent quality and good value at the respective “spec points”. To me it looks as if they’ve done an 80:20 with it, keeping the 20% which return 80% of revenue.

[belgiangoth]

Hmmm, just looking for next bike post Isla for my son. Would the remaining frogs be old stock and therefore still okay?
I was considering a proper flat bar hybrid but he's still too short for a 700C and doesn't need suspension.

[Nearholmer]

You should be able to find either NOS, or good condition secondhand Frogs. As I said up-thread, they get out-grown faster than they wear out, and I don’t think there are any wearing parts on them which are unobtainable.

We’ve found that the 73 works for that “just before a full-size bike” stage. In fact, I’ve fitted Thorn comfort bars to it to raise the front to match what the seat post is good for, and our youngest daughter is still happily using it, and doesnt look cramped on it, although she’s now taller than her mum who rides a full-size bike.

[pjclinch]

Hmmm, just looking for next bike post Isla for my son. Would the remaining frogs be old stock and therefore still okay?
I was considering a proper flat bar hybrid but he's still too short for a 700C and doesn't need suspension.

Tricky to be 100% sure, but looking at the Evans pages with Frog stock they look to be much as things were... which seems quite likely. They're marked as being discounted from the old Frog price and if it's actually a different set of bits with the same name I guess that would be rather shaky legal ground.

Pete.