Rapha Archive Store - Shepton Mallet

[honesty]

So I popped over to Shepton Mallet at the weekend for the opening on the Rapha Archive Shop (a clearance/discount shop basically). First impressions, the shop is very well stocked. There was pretty much everything from Rapha's winter range and all the Team Sky stuff along with last seasons summer kit, and a rail of their pro kit and loads of waterproofs. All the long sleeve jerseys that have disappeared from the website are on sale here for example. There's also stuff that is still on sale on the website in this store as well, like the Rapha undies and touring trousers. 2nd thing I noticed is not everything had price labels on, hence why I didn't look for trousers in my size. Talking about size they did seems to have a good range of sizes available though obviously the extremes were more prevalent.

So the kicker question, price. Long sleeve jerseys were £80, short sleeve ones were £60. So basically half (ish) price. I decided to pick up the nice team sky tricolor jersey which is still on their website for £100. Got to the till and was only charged £40. Pretty happy with that actually. They also had boxes and boxes of the Rapha Grand Tour road shoes (not the cyclocross ones) for half price (£150). 3 bolt only or I would have picked up a pair I think as they were lovely.

[reohn2]

TBH every time I look at Rapha's prices I can't believe anyone pays so much for cycling kit.So i'm not surprised there's a lot of left overs
BTW,I had a chat with a chap who'd been round the factory in China that supplies Rapha.He told me they supplied Rapha @ $1.25 US for a short sleeved road top,on Rapha's website the same top was £125

[PH]

BTW,I had a chat with a chap who'd been round the factory in China that supplies Rapha.He told me they supplied Rapha @ $1.25 US for a short sleeved road top,on Rapha's website the same top was £125

Ask him for the details. I have no experience with Rapha, but a little knowledge from a now defunct high street retailer with much lower standards and buying in much greater volume, if they'd been buying at that price they'd still be in business. Just ask yourself if there's such a great mark up why no one has come along offering the same quality at much lower prices.
I don't have any Rapha either (Yet) what I do have is quality kit that the Rapha sale prices would certainly compete with. Of course you pay a premium for the hype, but anyone thinking that's all it is hasn't had a proper look at the kit. I'd rather own fewer items of better quality, in the long term I probably spend less than those buying up the bargains every time there's a sale on.

[reohn2]

BTW,I had a chat with a chap who'd been round the factory in China that supplies Rapha.He told me they supplied Rapha @ $1.25 US for a short sleeved road top,on Rapha's website the same top was £125

Ask him for the details. I have no experience with Rapha, but a little knowledge from a now defunct high street retailer with much lower standards and buying in much greater volume, if they'd been buying at that price they'd still be in business. Just ask yourself if there's such a great mark up why no one has come along offering the same quality at much lower prices.
I don't have any Rapha either (Yet) what I do have is quality kit that the Rapha sale prices would certainly compete with. Of course you pay a premium for the hype, but anyone thinking that's all it is hasn't had a proper look at the kit. I'd rather own fewer items of better quality, in the long term I probably spend less than those buying up the bargains every time there's a sale on.

About three or four years ago we were in a cafe in Chipping,in walks a chap wearing a Rapha short sleeved top.
After the 'how do's' and 'nice day's',I remark on his smart top,he say something along the lines of ''do you like it?It's a freebie!'' I say ''lucky chap''.
He sit's down and tells me he's a designer for leisure and rugby kit,and was out in China with his company on business visiting their suppliers factory,he goes into detail about how modern it all was but the women workers lived in dormitory's on site worked 12 and 14 hour shifts and were only allowed out on the w/end.
On the shop floor trip he notices the Rapha stuff and said to the owner/manager how he likes the style and that he's a cyclist himself,asks are they supplying Rapha at the same price as they supply the company he works for and is told yes($1.25 US,delivered ).When they were leaving the there's a nice 'sample' pack for him with four Rapha tops in it.

My daughter and SinL run an internet company in a completely different field and I know what they pay for the stock,so it doesn't surprise me in the least bit what Rapha pay for theirs.

[PH]

it doesn't surprise me in the least bit what Rapha pay for theirs.

Except you don't know what they pay, what you know is what a stranger in a cafe told you.
If your stranger's story was true, it's hard to see how this one could be;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... tight.html

[reohn2]

it doesn't surprise me in the least bit what Rapha pay for theirs.

Except you don't know what they pay, what you know is what a stranger in a cafe told you.
If your stranger's story was true, it's hard to see how this one could be;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... tight.html

And we only have the Telegraph and Rapha's word for it.
I was in business too long to take official figures at face value.
YVMV,but we live in a world where the likes of O2 tell us they can't afford to pay their taxes,pull the other one it's got bells on.
As I posted before my daughter,who has a degree in fashion design,runs a business that 95% of their stock is bought from China,so I'm all to aware of the mark up.

Ultimately I can't prove a damned thing,but then neither can you.But I've no reason not to believe a stranger in a cafe has any reason tell me a pack of lies for no reason,and as I say being in business myself and having a daughter in business that deals with Chinese companies,I'm not surprised in the least.Marketing costs far more than the product,particularly in what's affectionately termed as the rag trade

There's a company on Ebay Tenn:- http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw= ... sacat=7294

Their kit is ultra cheap,so is Aldi's and Lidl's.Now you'll probably berate me for comparing their kit to Rapha's but is Rapha's stuff ten or twenty times better?
Style wise it may be but quality wise I don't think so.
I don't think Rapha pay their supplier ten or twenty times more for it either.
Their marketing is cool in the extreme,and their proclaimed exclusivity is matched only by their retail price tags.

[whoof]

Thanks for the link I might take a look when I'm out that way.

By the way do you know the song by Kirsty MacColl about a chip shop?

[easyroller]

Their kit is ultra cheap,so is Aldi's and Lidl's.Now you'll probably berate me for comparing their kit to Rapha's but is Rapha's stuff ten or twenty times better?
Style wise it may be but quality wise I don't think so.
I don't think Rapha pay their supplier ten or twenty times more for it either.
Their marketing is cool in the extreme,and their proclaimed exclusivity is matched only by their retail price tags.

They must have to factor the massive amount of money they spend on marketing into their sky high prices. I don't own any Rapha but have seen a lot of the kit and it is of a high quality, but certainly not for me at that price! They must sell a lot of it though as they seem to be doing pretty well.

I own a couple of very nice and expensive (to me) pieces of kit. They are much better than the LIDL/ALDI offerings in style and quality, especially the cut of the clothing it's a much more of a tailored fit with neater seams, better padding in the shorts, less baggy material when on the drops, hidden stiching, etc. You get what you pay for to an extent, but Rapha is well into paying for the brand name and poncy image territory!

[reohn2]

Their kit is ultra cheap,so is Aldi's and Lidl's.Now you'll probably berate me for comparing their kit to Rapha's but is Rapha's stuff ten or twenty times better?
Style wise it may be but quality wise I don't think so.
I don't think Rapha pay their supplier ten or twenty times more for it either.
Their marketing is cool in the extreme,and their proclaimed exclusivity is matched only by their retail price tags.

They must have to factor the massive amount of money they spend on marketing into their sky high prices. I don't own any Rapha but have seen a lot of the kit and it is of a high quality, but certainly not for me at that price! They must sell a lot of it though as they seem to be doing pretty well.

I own a couple of very nice and expensive (to me) pieces of kit. They are much better than the LIDL/ALDI offerings in style and quality, especially the cut of the clothing it's a much more of a tailored fit with neater seams, better padding in the shorts, less baggy material when on the drops, hidden stiching, etc. You get what you pay for to an extent, but Rapha is well into paying for the brand name and poncy image territory!

I buy Lusso Bib shorts and some of their tops,extremely good quality made in the UK kit at affordable prices.
Not in 'poncy image territory' just darn good no nonsense kit.

[Boltonred]

Their kit is ultra cheap,so is Aldi's and Lidl's.Now you'll probably berate me for comparing their kit to Rapha's but is Rapha's stuff ten or twenty times better?
Style wise it may be but quality wise I don't think so.
I don't think Rapha pay their supplier ten or twenty times more for it either.
Their marketing is cool in the extreme,and their proclaimed exclusivity is matched only by their retail price tags.

They must have to factor the massive amount of money they spend on marketing into their sky high prices. I don't own any Rapha but have seen a lot of the kit and it is of a high quality, but certainly not for me at that price! They must sell a lot of it though as they seem to be doing pretty well.

I own a couple of very nice and expensive (to me) pieces of kit. They are much better than the LIDL/ALDI offerings in style and quality, especially the cut of the clothing it's a much more of a tailored fit with neater seams, better padding in the shorts, less baggy material when on the drops, hidden stiching, etc. You get what you pay for to an extent, but Rapha is well into paying for the brand name and poncy image territory!

I buy Lusso Bib shorts and some of their tops,extremely good quality made in the UK kit at affordable prices.
Not in 'poncy image territory' just darn good no nonsense kit.

+ 1 for Lusso bib shorts, use them all year round including 30 mile daily commute, also through winter when I wear them with
Lusso tights without pad. Have been using Rapha hardshell jacket this winter ( didn't pay full price) and have to say it is one of
the best bits of kit I have ever used. The bargain of the year so far has been the the black and lime green performance winter jersey from Aldi for £7 in clearance bin, wind proof front nice fit, design not as loud as previous years and it does the job.

[Malaconotus]

I have a couple of Rapha items bought as presents. it may be overpriced but comparing it in quality to Tenn or Aldi or Lidl, which I also own several items of, is daft. It's much better in every regard, more accurately cut, better stitched, less susceptible to fade, shirnking or other perils of washing etc.

[reohn2]

I have a couple of Rapha items bought as presents. it may be overpriced but comparing it in quality to Tenn or Aldi or Lidl, which I also own several items of, is daft. It's much better in every regard, more accurately cut, better stitched, less susceptible to fade, shirnking or other perils of washing etc.

But are they ten or even twenty times better?
That was the point I was making.

[nez]

The really important point surely is where is this factory where the girls only get out at the weekend? It would be worth standing at the gate with a bunch of flowers and a couple of tickets for the pictures. You couldn't fail, young man.

[thayer19]

Was wondering if anyone has been to this store yet? Interested to check it out and the prices do seem appealing (from first post) though would be great to hear more if other people have been there. Potentially after some bib shorts.

[Bmblbzzz]

Discovered this store by chance a few months ago on a club ride, but haven't looked round it as yet. Must get out there sometime, though I'm not a huge fan of the whole Rapha cool thing.

it doesn't surprise me in the least bit what Rapha pay for theirs.

Except you don't know what they pay, what you know is what a stranger in a cafe told you.
If your stranger's story was true, it's hard to see how this one could be;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/news ... tight.html

$1.25 might be the factory gate price, then there's shipping, insurance, customs on top of that before it gets here. But most of their costs will surely be in this country: wages, taxes, marketing, not to mention our high property costs.

I am not in business nor an economist so take this with salt.