We all agree that Victor has come a long way. I came to know Victor bout a yr ago. Before that I was a YY fan. As with the lots of u, we all grew with YY since our younger days. It was unthinkable of me to play with any other brand except YY. Fast forward to present, I am bought over by Victor. In short, I fell in love with their rackets. I am pretty sure most of us here feel the same way I do. I personally believe Victor has gain a stronghold of the global market share, majority of which we all know is in Asia. Now, if only Victor is willing to take those extra steps in securing its distribution in the Western part of the globe, Victor would have established itself as a truly global brand. Unfortunately, this is not happening yet...
I agree Teddy - I'm not sure who supplies to America/Canada but it would seem they need to step up a gear or two. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
I might be a little more forgiving of Victor if they were new but they're not. I bought my first Victor in 1988 it was one of the latest models. I bought it in Thunder Bay, Ontario.... Thunder Bay. So in the 1980s Victor was able to sell its latest model into a market where badminton is about as popular as curling is in the Philopeans. A market were there was no badminton from May until October. Yet fast forward 30+ years and they can't even get their latest models to Europe.
Is it that yonex just keep things quiet for longer and only release when the slow boat has reached 'the west', or is it that victor just suck in this regard? Paul says that we don't appreciate the difficulties (of Victor distribution), but that is appropriate. Why should we concern ourselves with it? Yonex does much better, at least ostensibly, so it's not like it's an unsolved domain/sector issue. Victor just need to pull their thumb out!
Amleto I do think you have a point and think Yonex are far better at keeping a new racket under wraps before they choose to release the marketing. Also, there is a culture diffierence too with the Japanese that cannot be overlooked. I agree that Victor does need to sort out its distribution issues but here lies the difference. Victor Asia and Europe are different businesses. Europe decides what it wants whereas with Yonex I believe Europe is told what it is having - a big difference. Paulwww.badminton-coach.co.uk
This is also happen in my country, and I received explanation from a reliable source within Victor's distributorship as follows: Victor has been restructuring its production activities in its Taiwan factory since the 2nd semester of 2013, which causes some sort of delay to its operation / distribution activities. Fyi, since the announcement of MX90 (around August 2013), the delay of distribution for this product also happens in China <-- which is the biggest Victor's market. Victor relocated the production of MX80, TK8000 and BS11 to China sometimes around September 2013; and discontinued the production of BS10, MX30L, and MX60 from Taiwanese factory The underlying consideration is to set the Taiwanese factory only to produce (1) its prime / flag products (such as MX90 and TK9000), or (2) special products (player's edition or limited edition models) in the future (starting 2014 onwards). Whilst the Chinese factory(ies) will producing all other rackets' type/models, which are not being produced in Taiwanese factory. I wish Victor would resume its normal production, and continue the smoothness of its distribution to other countries.
Production n distribution r two separate entities. Now even production is being derailed. Imo, there will b delays in retailing their new models (sigh)
Let's hope production changes result in faster deliveries in the future but lets remember there are still shipping timescales that cannot be ignored. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
I'd bet Chris and Eric sell more Victors into Australia than the local distro does, with better supply and faster delivery and access to more models, so I'm not too concerned about traditional distribution models. In the age of e-commerce I think they're outmoded and don't add enough value. if you're on the internet, you've got access to everything ever made, so quit whining.
Maklike I totally agree with you. I wonder how they would deal with warranty? It seems standard practice for all international companies, especially in rackets manufacture only to offer warranty for rackets purchased in that country. To make the fully international distribution work there would need to be many changes in laws. The issue is if I puchase a racket from Eric, my contract is with him and not with the racket manufacturer. So unless there was full support to retailers coupled with full distribution of goods (to ensure replacement of broken/damaged goods/rackets on a like for like basis) it's going to be difficult to change this antiquated system. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
By the time you have a warranty issue, potentially the money that you've saved is greater than just buying a new racket. Badminton rackets generally just don't fail unexpectedly.....unlike toasters and kettles. I agree though, it does make lawmaking and enforcing incredibly complex, and currently the system doesn't really work very well. The issue is, is that warranty and 'fit for purpose' laws are there to protect consumers, but for items where warranty returns are statistically irrelevant, distributors use it to artificially inflate prices and justify their cut. "Yeah, we need a 30% margin to allow us to process warranty issues".....yeah, riiight. I think when I eventually can justify making rackets, I might have a warranty option where customers can chose two prices - one with a global warranty, and one with no warranty. How that works in terms of global laws I have no idea, but at least it's a very transparent system and at gives customers choice and control over their buying.
E-commerce is great but there are times when I want a new racquet in short order and I am not willing to wait 2 weeks or so. Secondly, for a new model I like to try out the racquet before I buy it and just based on personal principle, I won't turn around and buy cheap off the net when a local retailer was kind enough to let me demo a model. So e-commerce is great when the time comes for me to pick up a spare or two of a model I know. But, for new models or those I'm unfamiliar with, I am unwilling to buy blind off the net.
Which is great for you, but the majority of people can't 'try before you buy'. I understand there's a pro-shop now in the eastern suburbs here where you can demo rackets, but in Australia in the badminton world it's almost completely unheard of. We rely on the web for reviews and friends for demos. Not only that, most of my orders from SE Asia get to me in about 4 days - about how long it would take for me to go into a shop and order something from a local distro if the shop owner didn't have it in stock.
Maklike I agree that most retailers do not stock decent badminton rackets and therefore unless you live in close proximity to a specialist the only way to purchase is online. So the try before you buy option is limited to a privileged few and I certainly appreciate the fortunate position I am in. The good news for players in UK is that the program I created for Victor means that players can book demo sessions although at the moment they are limited in terms of geographical coverage. However, we are working on that and hope to expand this program in 2014. Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
LOL - Teddy, wouldn't that be great. I'd have a neighbour who loves the game as much as me. I'd love that! Paul www.badminton-coach.co.uk
Who is this majority? Sure I can understand large parts of Austrilia don't have shops stocking the latest models just like much of Canada (Vancouver is really the exception not the rule) and so yes online shopping is a huge boon to areas where badminton is not popular. But people here on this thread have been talking about Europe and specifically the UK which is hardly a badminton backwater.
So you think the majority of buyers have a chance through the retail system to "try before you buy?" Mate, that's just not true. It's increasing - absolutely - but it's not the norm for most people. It's unreasonable to expect that people can "try before you buy" because globally the mechanisms just aren't there yet. its a nice dream though It happens in the tennis world so I can't see why it can't happen in our world (a bit like using technology to review line calls)
I have not heard or experience a demo system here in Singapore where badminton is pretty popular and it is easy to get hold of racquets due to the plethora of options like shops, online store and independent seller (goes to badminton hall and peddle their wares, usually some less common brands). The ProKennex distributor here used to offer a demo system for their racquets which requires a deposit. The independent sellers also will have some racquets strung up for immediate sale and they will generally allow a potential buyer to have a few strike with it. It is hard for retail shops to offer a demo system from a logistic perspective but also from a cost perspective. Their margin isn't very high and for each racquet that they use as demo, they need to sell a few more racquets to cover the cost of the demo racquet. The manufacturers are the one that can afford to put in place a demo system as their margin is much higher and they have marketing budget. I know SOTX used to have demo racquets which they sell to the shops for a lower price and they are marked as such. Not sure about other brands.
