Promo email to IBD “does not represent company policy”, says Cyclescheme

Cyclescheme’s channel manager Neil McGuigan has issued a statement rebutting the BikeBiz story from the weekend that quoted an email from the company’s retail manager to a bike shop owner. BikeBiz stated that Cyclescheme would only be sending promotions via Tredz, Chain Reaction Cycles and Evans. 

The email stated: "We have only recently started to collaborate with brands and retailers on promotional offers and currently we are restricting who is able to take part in these.

"Our focus at the moment is solely nationwide retailers or retailers/brands with a large online presence. The reason for this is that we need to be able to have a fantastic offer with large discounts which tend to stem from brands who perhaps have excess stock, a large volume of bikes available, and more margin to play with."

 McGuigan said this email "does not represent company policy nor is it correct in stating that we work with only a handful of large retailers." His full statement can be found below.

+++

Cyclescheme is committed to the independent bike network and growing sales within the industry.

On Friday 9th February 2018 an email sent from a Cyclescheme employee to an independent bike store was shared with the press. This email has been taken out of context and misrepresents both the Cyclescheme brand and the original conversation that took place.

The email does not represent company policy nor is it correct in stating that we work with only a handful of large retailers.

Cyclescheme would like to take this opportunity to reassure our independent partners and re-affirm our position in the marketplace.

Cyclescheme is committed to the independent bike network. Cyclescheme is not eliminating or reducing the partner network and has no future plans to. 

Over 85% of Cyclescheme participants shop in-store and Cyclescheme believes this is due to the personable shopping experienced achieved here. To support shopping in-store and locally, all Cyclescheme partner stores are fully visible via the Cyclescheme Retailer Finder. 

Cyclescheme continually promotes local retailers to consumers, this includes:

• Local retailers presented as the first shopping option via the ‘Shop Now’ function 

• Search engine ranked store profile, includes contact details, opening times and brands stocked 

• Store ratings collected and presented in search engine results 

• Same day Cyclescheme payment for IBDs   

To ensure cycling remains accessible and affordable for all; Cyclescheme does promote offers from our retailer network. The offers are not restricted to certain brands. To be eligible for promotion, offers need to:

• Provide a significant saving on RRP 

• Have no additional charge applied to the price in order to use Cyclescheme as payment method 

• Be readily available to the UK market 

• Be well stocked in a variety of sizes   

An offer that meets the above criteria means Cyclescheme can fulfil its commitment to consumers in ensuring they can access the best in market cycling deals. These offers are communicated via email and are only sent to consumers who are able to take advantage of the offer. 

Cyclescheme will never knowingly promote these offers to participants who are currently engaged in a Cyclescheme Hire Agreement or have a Certificate request relating to a specific store. 

Any Cyclescheme partner store that can demonstrate their offer meets the above criteria will be eligible for additional promotion. The bottom line – Cyclescheme is dedicated to ensuring the best value for both consumers and our retailer network. If you’re a Cyclescheme partner store with any concerns or questions, please contact the Cyclescheme Retail Team at Retail and Events – Cyclescheme Ltd – retailandevents@cyclescheme.co.uk.