Anyone heard from Seth/Rocklogic Lately?

[spencevans]

I went to carquest around 10 the other day and there we a bunch of police cars there so i went over to see what was going on, and one of the officers asked if i had come to get my truck . I didnt know what he was talking about he said that they were kicking a tenant out along with all the vehicles . I thought seth said he had sold the shop, if so why wouldnt you pay your rent and get evicted, sounds a little shady to me.

I did not want say it but that's what Mr. Hanks told me as he ran out the door and hooked up trailer so he could to go rescue a rig on Friday. This all went down around 10am.

So why is there such a high mortality rate among offroad shops in Utah? What make some like Mt. Logan so successful while so many other go under?

 

[Tacoma]

So why is there such a high mortality rate among offroad shops in Utah? What make some like Mt. Logan so successful while so many other go under?

You read the thread, right?

 

[UNSTUCK]

For one, cash flow.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

...So why is there such a high mortality rate among offroad shops in Utah? What make some like Mt. Logan so successful while so many other go under?

In the engineering world we call it infant mortality

I've discussed this very subject hundreds of times over the years, with owners of other shops, past owners of shops and potential owners of shops, and often on forums such as RME. Bob and Larry from the Haus's, Carl and Vonski, Bear, Milner, and many others. There are many factors involved with this, some of which include:

Tight profit margin, some products are lucky to sell at 10% over cost if you want to be "competitive". When you are competing with companies that are related to the manufacturing and wholesale (ie 4WPW and Transamerica) you are going to have to offer something they do not in order to stay competitive.

Its a hobby job. The owners and employees all want the biggest and baddest vehicle(s). In addition they want to use their toys, this leads to two factors. One is the shop closed regularly so the employees can get out and have fun, this results in lost or disrupted sales. The flip side is owners and employees that don't get out much, leading to low moral or no product experience (lack of "street-cred" as I call it ).

There is an absolute surplus of vendors already, Utah seems to endure 7-10 shops at any given time offering similar services, while obviously each have their own specialties at the end of the day they are competing. Now contrast that to the number of shops that have come/gone over the past 20 years, into the hundred + range as of last count (and yes I do count). This makes it hard to keep proffit margins up..

Economy, an obvious issue. Not just the recent downturn in general sales, but high fuel costs not only kept people off the trails but really spiked the prices on shipping. For a guy like me that brings in a lot of import parts from places like Australia and Japan, this really hurt my bottom line. Steel prices bumped too, so those specializing in custom fab felt the crunch.

I could go on and on and even have in a half-finish article I've been working over (the one we chatted about).

 

[Tacoma]

Well said, Kurt. Steel prices are obviously going to eat into the bottom line of fab shops, who are catering to a fairly niche market to begin with, within a niche market-- recreational 4wd owners.

Couple that with any kind of mismanagement, or an economic downturn, or both, and it gets a LOT harder to keep a shop open.

And if you add in rent on a "nice" location, and any customers that aren't paying, and it's exponentially harder.

 

[spencevans]

Am I all alone, because I have greatly benifited in the short term with economy being the way it is. Because gas prices have dropped to acceptable levels and now I find myself with lots more money to spend on my rig and I can go wheeling more often because fuel is so cheap. Also hasn't the bottom dropped out on steel prices? Should this not help shops keep there doors open?


Here is an other theory for you Kurt.
Although my wife and I have recession proof jobs and we actually make more money in times like these, many offroad enthusiates do not. Many offroad enthusiates I have know over the years are in careers like construction and general labor jobs. These careers have been hit the hardest by the recent economy.

 

[ricsrx]

Thats a similar story as I've heard too. A friend of a friend works at the Carquest and eluded to the fact they are waiting for their mailman too

no worries Kurt, I have found mail in the sorting equiment that had a cancelation date that was 6 months old. I can see it now, where in the **** is my welfare check.or I still hav'nt got the title to my car.

 

[Paul R]

Even if he does pay you, you may end up having to give it back when he files for bankruptcy. My father has been through this before and it has to do with unsecure debt. Don't even know exactly what unsecure debt is but we had to give it back.

With large companies there are often issues when they go insolvent. All debts payed within a short amount of time before bankruptcy are able to be called back to the companies assets and put in a pool to be dispersed among debtors because it could possibly be looked at as favoritism as to who they did or did not pay. We have lost money on this before even up to 2 years after payment it is a major bummer!

 

[Green Leader]

Boy am i glad i finally logged on for the first time in months to read this. I guess Rocklogic owes everybody money. My company has been trying to get payment on our invoices for months and we can't leave a voice message like you all are saying.
This is rediculous.

 

[RockMonkey]

Boy am i glad i finally logged on for the first time in months to read this. I guess Rocklogic owes everybody money. My company has been trying to get payment on our invoices for months and we can't leave a voice message like you all are saying.
This is rediculous.

What is your company?

 

[I Lean]

What is your company?

Hose and Rubber. They're my first choice for the stuff you used to get at Evco.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

The list grows...

 

[RockMonkey]

Hose and Rubber. They're my first choice for the stuff you used to get at Evco.

Sweet! I'll start going there instead. Eflegal, get yourself a vendor account so the members know who to support!

 

[Herzog]

Hose and Rubber. They're my first choice for the stuff you used to get at Evco.

oooh, hydraulic stuff?

 

[BCGPER]

Yes. I had them do all my brake and clutch hoses. I'll never go back to EVCO.

 

[DOSS]

ya seriously.. I am going to need some hoses made for my scout soon become a vendor and support RME.. we need more upstanding shops to make themselves known

sucks to be Rocklogic anymore.. my dealings were always good with them but then again they never owed me money it was me paying for things..

 

[Kiel]

Yep good guys there, I see them a couple times a month

 

[Bart]

Well said Kurt. I have been closely associated with a shop or two and that is the way it is. I know that a lot of big named vendors are suffering with the economy the way it is. Poison Spider is a prime example of changing times.

I think the Utah mentality of being cheap doesn't help either. I know people will by online to avoid paying $3 extra at a local shop. We need to support our local places and keep a few good shops around.

 

[spencevans]

Well said Kurt. I have been closely associated with a shop or two and that is the way it is. I know that a lot of big named vendors are suffering with the economy the way it is. Poison Spider is a prime example of changing times.

I think the Utah mentality of being cheap doesn't help either. I know people will by online to avoid paying $3 extra at a local shop. We need to support our local places and keep a few good shops around.

yup, buy local boys

 

[RockMonkey]

yup, buy local boys

Whoa whoa whoa... I don't know what forum you think you're on here, but we're not the type of people to buy boys. Local or imported. Sicko.