CBS at Stoneleigh

[Captain Colonial]

Just got this email:

"National Kit Car Motor Show 1st & 2nd May

CHANGE OF APPROACH

Hi, thanks for reading this email and it may surprise some of you.

Car Builder Solutions will be exhibiting at Stoneleigh next weekend but we WILL NOT be carrying any stock. We will be showcasing some new products and would like to spend some time talking to our customers. We will be offering discounts for you to order online when you get home so please come and see us. We will also happily take pre-orders to the show and accept orders there for delivery later in the week.

Please bear with us with this trial of a new approach, just think, this way you will save a few quid and won't have to carry bags of bits around on the day.

Hope to see you there next weekend "

It's receiving emails like this while I'm on committee that drives me crazy. There's so many things I'd like to say about this, but it really wouldn't be wise to do so. Let me just say I think it's a bold and brave decision, and leave it at that.

Just off to tend to my badly bitten tongue...

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

A brave move, and given that I've been on their monthly update email list for years - which I always enjoy scanning for any new ideas, I'm a bit surprised to only just be finding out...

[Andy Banks]

Certainly an odd way to "promote" a commercial company, whether the tactic is something new or forced. Is this perhaps indicative of an increasingly difficult market, perhaps even a scaling back...? Certainly "not be carrying any stock" rings many bells I'm sure...

 

I'm obviously looking forward to the show but it will be interesting to see how busy Halls 1, 2 and 3 are this year and what opportunities there are to actually buy stuff.

[Quinten]

Next year at Stoneleigh: 15x iPad kiosks where you order your CBS items online, to be delivered the week after Stoneleigh... you heard it here first!

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

Is it a cost thing?

A large stand carrying a lot of stock must be more expensive than a smaller one with a pile of catalogues and people with laptops.

[Captain Colonial]

I will be very interested to see the discounts offered, and if they charge for delivery.

My own experience with CBS in the past was that I enjoyed being able to touch, measure and evaluate their products in person to make sure I bought the right thing, something I can't do online. Whatever the reason for this plan may be, it doesn't meet with my initial approval.

[Paul Gibney - Lancashire AO]

while we all like to shop online

I believe a lot of people go to Stoneleigh to buy stuff they can actually see.

i for one have used CBS online but have also waited for Stoneleigh to part with cash for their products.

big mistake CBS...

lets hope no one else goes this way...

[bigals]

I will be very interested to see the discounts offered, and if they charge for delivery.

My own experience with CBS in the past was that I enjoyed being able to touch, measure and evaluate their products in person to make sure I bought the right thing, something I can't do online. Whatever the reason for this plan may be, it doesn't meet with my initial approval.

 

you have hit the nail on the head with the above Scott, its impossible some times to tell if the quality/size or look of a component is right for your car when looking on line or in a catalog , I spent a small fortune at last years show and was looking forward to getting a few bits this year, lets hope there are plenty of other opportunity's this year. 

I can understand that the cost of attending a show with a large stand , transport and staff costs and the disruption to your normal business in attending can be larger than the profit from sales you will achieve over the weekend.   

[Stu Faulkner]

Can you imagine an entire show where all the exhibitors only sold via mail order and you couldn't take anything home on the day.

I hope it's not the shape of things to come.

[Kit Car Electronics]

I'l have as much stock as I can make and carry in a small plastic car

[tolf]

Not a good approach by CBS imho.

A great thing is to see the products first hand, and if all they are going to do is stand by a bunch of catalogues then it will be a very poor effort

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

I'm just the same, a large reason I've always gone to Stoneleigh is to look for those items that I wasn't sure of from the on-line catalogues.

I'll hold my hands up as well and add that there's always been loads of little bits and bobs from CBS, who've always been one of my ports of call, as well as others that I pick up because I'm there. These are the things that I think about occasionally when doing online orders but ALWAYS leave off as just being extras or spares that I don't need.

(Tool Orders stand from a few years ago was a classic, I'd broken my hand riveter the week of the show, so asked about a Teng set - on the Saturday, which they had for me by Sunday, somehow the carrier bag I left with came with three other sets of tool modules in and I'd spent four times what I'd been going to. All items I still use today, but money I wouldn't have spent with them if they hadn't been there with shiney boxes to dazzle me!)

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Not a good approach by CBS imho.

A great thing is to see the products first hand, and if all they are going to do is stand by a bunch of catalogues then it will be a very poor effort

Oh no, I hadn't twigged that's what they meant! That's even worse.

I assumed they were just bringing the display racks etc but no actual stock.

[Yanto]

So it looks like this will be a mobile "Argos" then, but worse because we'll have to wait for delivery after going to the shop.  I too wanted to manhandle the goods prior to purchase,

[Howsafe Workwear and Safety Equipment]

You can only assume they have not covered their costs in previous years - I am only speculating but the huge cost of lugging and setting out all that gear with the staff required to sell and keep it from being pilfered must be very high

 

Well I guess this option is better than not having them there at all