Yesterday, 3X Motorcycles in Dorset announced that due to the lock-down, they are closing their doors permanently. Apparently, they were struggling, but were relying on the spring and summer sales to boost their cash-flow. That hasn’t happened and a longstanding presence in the motorcycling world has come to an end. It may have happened anyway, of course. But this is just the tip of a very nasty iceberg. How many other small businesses are under the same strain and will fail to reopen when this insanity finally comes to an end? How many people will come out of this lock-down that they, apparently want, only to find that they have no job to go back to? No income, no ability to pay their outgoings and a line a mile long at the job centre because the backbone of our economy has been wantonly vandalised by a so-called Conservative government?
The announcement came to my attention because it was shared by a long time friend. I stopped short of telling her that she has been fucking cheering this on. If I had, that would be the end of what has already become a strained relationship.
Very sad. It will be so around here too LR. My son in law manages a local Ducati dealership and he doesn’t hold much hope for the place still being open when this is over. I’m in my early 60’s and work for a big, well known global company, furloughed to the end of May, but the bottom line is, when we go back they will have a surplus of manpower. There will be a lot of politics and backstabbing going on. Remember Sainsbury’s? Its the same there.
The abhorent
issue is so many Left & Greens gloating about private businesses closing especially when an airline, bike/car, luxury, “uneccessary” in their world
And you can bet that most of them will be saying “But nobody told us that might happen”.
In that vein, an acquaintance ordered a new caravan earlier this year, and was expecting to take delivery just as the lock-down hit. Whilst enjoying his public sector pension he happily says “We are in this for the long haul”, and yet apparently assumed that he will be able to collect it when things get back to some semblance of normality. When I pointed out that the dealer could well have folded by then – and he stands to lose his deposit – his reply was “Oh, I hadn’t thought about that”. Like motorcycling, the leisure industry is a very seasonal business, and having £millions of stock gathering dust at this time of year is just asking for bankruptcies…
Noooo, I have bought from 3X, a brilliant place. Even when not buying we would go over just to look around.
That’s depressing. I used to order Brembo stuff from 3X for older Guzzis and that era of bikes from them when I was in business. I also used to pass them quite frequently when I was a HGV driver back in the last century.
As you note there are many small dealers at risk here. When I was a teenager in the early to mid seventies, london was awash with small dealers. Over the years many closed down.
I wonder if classic old bike shops like Reg Allen of west Ealing and Bill Bunn M/C’s of South Ealing will survive?
I was buying stuff from them right up until fate decided no more bike riding…
Well, being familiar with both of the shops you mention… Reg Allens is now mail order only, even the museum has permanently shut, Bill Bunns is now run by the son, who doesn’t seem to have his heart in the business, so I think it’s basically over. How can any dealership survive with neither sales customers nor repairs/servicing going on.
Dear Mr Longrider
As with people, some businesses will die with coronavirus, others from it.
DP