The BMX customers that come into our shop want something different and better than what they can get at Walmart. So while the IBD (independent bicycle dealer) DK models are good quality bikes with a solid team to market the product the move to putting ANYTHING with the DK brand name in Walmart ruins the appeal for the customer first and foremost. Ultimately it leads to this comment "Your prices are too high! DK bikes are $169 at Walmart NOT $299! I'm going there." And it hardly matters if you explain the difference in part spec, service, quality, etc you already lost 90% of those customers. It pains me to see this because DK was a very strong brand for our shop due to OHIO ties and just the history of the company had dads coming in buying DKs for their son as their first GOOD bike.
Brian
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Sadly, you are going to spend all your time and energy explaining this...instead of selling the good bikes you have on the floor. This isn't good for anybody. If your customers hear "DK is a good brand" from you, they will go straight to Wally.