Planet X makes significant redundancies – says it is looking to become a more flexible business

I think it must be hard to do what px do, compete on price with big brands and much bigger retailers.

No way am I condoning their apparent new business model, it seems shitty. But most of the ethical small brands I can think of are in the high end of their market and charging top whack...

I've never been quite sure how planet x managed to sell their stuff so cheaply.

pretty cool brand, for mountain, cross and road - sad to see them struggling

lets face it, outside of specialist boutique brands like shand, pretty rare to see uk marques on the road these days

planext x, boardman, dolan, merlin... dawes... i'm struggling

On a more mundane level what the hell are Planet X playing at with their pricing ?

Their (nearly 10 year old|) StealthTT frameset which has been offered regularly @ £399 is now advertised @ £799. Do they think we are stupid? I just can't take these people seriously at all.

Not bought from them in a long time after a tedious refund experience.Too many shabby antics going on to want to go there with my money again.

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/FRPXPCTTFF/planet-x-stealth-pro-carbon-time...

Some of you guys make me laugh. Happy enough to spend £1000's on the latest 11 speed equipped carbon super bike/bits but the thought of having to spend a just a little bit more... 

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I wouldn't stoop low enough to start calling Remoaners uneducated idiots but understand that throwing a child-like tantrum seems to be par for the course in their selfish, "me, me, me" view of the World.

Much as I'd like to blame this on the Brexit vote and devaluation, I think the comment about PX pricing is the real reason here.

PX have given themselves a brand image as the Sports Direct of the cycling world where there is always a sale on, you can buy their own brands that nobody else sells at 70% off (a massively inflated RRP), and when one offer finishes the next one starts in a week or so. So nobody with any sense buys anything unless it's really discounted. This in turn creates huge peaks and troughs in demand. So a flexible staffing model is the only way to cope.

I don't believe they are really in trouble, they've just moved into a huge warehouse and the fact they've had problems with backlogs suggest the orders have been strong at times. But I do believe the obvious admiration for Mike Ashley has resulted in a race to the bottom for quality, marketing, ethics. And I also think they run they are likely to be the first company in trouble if/when cycling stops growing in popularity, as the model relies on having a pool of people who aren't wise to their tactics.

Had Planet X been based in China would anyone give a thought to workers there?

Apparantely the Amazon workforce are grossly exploited too! 

It's a fact that business has no sentiment, sad but true. 

The likes of Sir Philip Green the pension snatcher rule. 

Just bought a stealth TT bike with full carbon bars, trimax wheels and sram force with half the profit going to 72nd sheffield scouts. £1275. 

I for one am pleased to buy from them.

It's never been the same for workers since 1984 when we lost the miners strike, fighting for jobs. Since then unions have become ineffective. Cheap labour is abhorrent and totally wrong. Prime example Philip Green robbing worker pensions.

I appreciate it's difficult for businesses to compete with other countries who practically use their workers as slaves, producing cheap goods. 

There is no answer to sort this, the fat cats will always feed off the backs of the working classes. I would imagine that Brexit won't help industrial relations between employers and employees either. 

I bought a bike from Planet X and I am well happy with my Ti bike.

I feel sorry for young people who are exploited by employers

so devalutation means nothing when importing, oh dear me no wonder this country is like this now simple economics dont apply anymore.

Good god Steve, don't start with your oh so intelligent puns on the word remain.

Give it ten posts and you'll be banging on about poppies, stolen jobs and using;;;;;;; biffer punchooachun;;;;

I'm good with that. Actually if I was handed a dictatorship of the EU I'd break it up, entirely. And start again from the ground up. It would be far more technological and democratic. Just one of many ideas would be that people would have EU apps they could vote from on issues, as a guidance, at least. Issue mandates, and keep in track of daily goings on. People would feel a part of it. I'd also have water-tight rules on lobbying and the membership of boards. 

Anyway, expect a lot of EU chat on boths sides of the net today over this court ruling

Unconstituted, I agree with your sentiments completely.

I'm a Socialist. Paid up member of the Labour Party too. I'm not totally against the EU (in fact, I was initially, a reluctant Brexiter!). However, people's attitudes since the referendum have hardened my responses at times... The World should not be seen in a stark Black and White contrast. Life's very shadey and grey sometimes.

In an ideal World, we'd all live lives' of plenty, no wars, disharmony or  fear. One day, humanity will achieve that. Unfortunately, I can't see the present, unreformable EU structure leading the peoples of Europe to that Nirvana. As with most things in life, the EU was a great idea in principle, in reality, power corrupts and Man's inate ambition rules over common sense. 

Hopefully, Britain's Brexit vote will get them to look deeply within themselves before other EU states (France, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden etc.) choose to slam the door closed on their way out too. Time will tell.

Actually agree that the EU is building an Empire. Of a sort previously unseen in history though. It's laying a framework that would make the transfer to a more socialistic, automated, way of life quite smooth. 

The EU itself, as a framework is quite impressive. Just it's corrupted by the same sort of people who corrupt the fabric of the UK. In out, no difference there. No matter what system you set up, it will always be manipulated to benefit the few. 

Going to be like this until the majority of people want and understand socialism.

The word still strikes fear into the average citizen. They think you can't have a nice car or skiing holidays all up in your Moncler 

In the future it will simply mean levelling the playing field with wage ratios, job-sharing etc. More time off, less workload. Quality of production and workers having vested interests in that productivity outside of the pay packet. 

Drink all the champagne you want, but it'll be cheaper and your neighbours will be able to afford it too, so you can't look down on them. Think I can live with that.

Rhetoric or not Pierre (Reclaiming our Empire? If there's any Empire building going on in the World today it's being done by the EU!), Britain's future place in the World will depend upon innovation, ambition, drive and a 'can do' attitude. The relative lack of strength in Sterling can only be good for Britain's trade and Exports. I have very little time for companies who operate on low margins, or who treat their employees like commodities (Planet X, are you listening?!).

Things may well cost us more in the short term, I for one, am willing to succumb to short-termist cost increases in certain areas (imported goods), if it means  the UK can set it's own agenda in the World. I'm pretty sure sterling will rebound at some point.

Remoaners are a bunch of doom and gloom mongers, who can't wait to see Britain fail so they can say "we told you so!" Pathetic!

Regardless of your opinion of the "well informed, well-educated people of Britain who voted to leave the stranglehold of our European 'friends'", since the Brexit vote the pound has got substantially weaker against the dollar and other non-European currencies.

So our heavy reliance on importing things from other countries is going to cost us more, relatively speaking. We can't just sulk and say "well we're not going to pay more", like Tesco did, without those costs being absorbed somewhere.

In the short term, that means wages will fall and working conditions will get worse like for the guys at Planet X who, the article implies, will shortly be  on zero-hours agency contracts. In the medium term, it means businesses will close and people will lose jobs.

In the long term, perhaps one day, we might Take Back Control, Make Britain Great Again, Reclaim Our Empire and all that other rhetoric, and actually start making stuff with our own materials and our own staff and our own resources and fund it with our own money, and maybe even sell it to the world if it's any good, but for now we're screwed for a while, and we did it to ourselves.

"Thanks to the idiots who voted out of the EU this country will become very significantly poorer, well done."

Oh dear, yet another Remoaner blaming the well informed, well-educated people of Britain who voted to leave the stranglehold of our European 'friends' for the mismanagement of British Industry. When will you bunch of cry babies finally belt up?

Oh, and can you actually back up your misjudged outburst with actual facts, or do you have a Crystal Ball ianrobo?

Road.cc missed a trick, Clickbait title:

Planet X sacks staff and Hires Doper

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/features/spencer.html

There is no doubt Brexit impacts Planet X as of course most things are imported to build the bikes.

I would hate to see the prices of the 2017 new model bikes and of course most components are imported that we use. Even the likes of Wiggle have to be affected, very little of their ranges they sell will be home made.

Thanks to the idiots who voted out of the EU this country will become very significantly poorer, well done.

Why the hate for Planet X? I've never had a single problem with them or anything they sell.

I've always found Planet-X to offer shoddy goods and a pretty poor service.

I've had items arrive poorly packed, obviously damaged by the goons who work at their Warehouse, not in transit. I recently ordered a pair of wheels, only to receive 2 rear wheels instead! And that was before Brexit!! 

Whilst I feel bad for anyone losing their job (been there myself a few times), any company that operates on a "stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap" business plan is going to fall victim to fluctuations in the Markets at some point. The better led of these ride the storm... I fear Planet X are going to flounder at sea seeing as the only way forwards they can see is employing agency staff, who are not going to care if the cheaply made tat they import from China is damaged at the warehouse or packed and shipped properly...

I wont be spending my hard earned cash with this second rate company again. 

Asking people to get off their high horse,

from a high horse.

Based on the other comments, all those saying they won't use them again, can you also tell us that you voted remain?!

funny world, looks like we are all going to be a lot worse off based on a vote that was irregular in that for a referendum to be a mandate I thought you needed two thirds majority not a straight 50:50. Based on the need to have a clear majority of all the people not just those sensible enough to vote or some such?

wonder how bad it has to get before the politicians reverse the decision?

Anyway my point is get off your high horse, hate what is happening but I won't destroy the rest of their employees prospects by buying from others who are just as bad.