Supergo RIP



O

Ozark Bicycle

Guest
Just received an email to the effect that "Supergo.com has closed and
is now part of Performance Bicycle". I know that they were owned by
Performance for some time, but apparently they have decided to kill off
the franchise. I notice that both Supergo and Nashbar have been having
a higher than normal number of "sales" in the past year. And Nashbar
seemed to be making an effort to clear out lots of NOS merchandise that
seeminly had been gathering dust for years. I wonder if Nashbar is next
for the scrap heap?
 
"Ozark Bicycle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just received an email to the effect that "Supergo.com has closed and
> is now part of Performance Bicycle". I know that they were owned by
> Performance for some time, but apparently they have decided to kill off
> the franchise. I notice that both Supergo and Nashbar have been having
> a higher than normal number of "sales" in the past year. And Nashbar
> seemed to be making an effort to clear out lots of NOS merchandise that
> seeminly had been gathering dust for years. I wonder if Nashbar is next
> for the scrap heap?



Prices on the way up???
 
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 18:51:15 -0800, Ozark Bicycle wrote:

> Just received an email to the effect that "Supergo.com has closed and is
> now part of Performance Bicycle". I know that they were owned by
> Performance for some time, but apparently they have decided to kill off
> the franchise. I notice that both Supergo and Nashbar have been having a
> higher than normal number of "sales" in the past year. And Nashbar seemed
> to be making an effort to clear out lots of NOS merchandise that seeminly
> had been gathering dust for years. I wonder if Nashbar is next for the
> scrap heap?


Performance bought Supergo quite awhile ago. They were probably waiting
for some store leases to run out, etc., before finally merging the two
companies.

Frankly I think it's stupid to kill such a well established brand name,
like with the Sav-on/Osco debacle several years ago.

Matt O.
 
Matt O'Toole writes:

>> Just received an email to the effect that "Supergo.com has closed
>> and is now part of Performance Bicycle". I know that they were
>> owned by Performance for some time, but apparently they have
>> decided to kill off the franchise. I notice that both Supergo and
>> Nashbar have been having a higher than normal number of "sales" in
>> the past year. And Nashbar seemed to be making an effort to clear
>> out lots of NOS merchandise that seemingly had been gathering dust
>> for years. I wonder if Nashbar is next for the scrap heap?


> Performance bought Supergo quite awhile ago. They were probably
> waiting for some store leases to run out, etc., before finally
> merging the two companies.


> Frankly I think it's stupid to kill such a well established brand
> name, like with the Sav-on/Osco debacle several years ago.


You think that's bad, boards of directors and CEO's make much greater
blunders in name change. In Switzerland the world famous FO (Furka
Oberalp) railway was merged with the equally famous BVZ (Brig Visp
Zermatt) to become the MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn) which has little
to do with where the RR runs. The Big red locomotives with three foot
high FO on the side were not forgotten by anyone who saw them. Not
only that, but most people still call it the FO as you see in their
URL's.

http://www.rail-info.ch/FO/index.en.html
http://www.rail-info.ch/FO/pics/9030-224.jpg
http://www.fo-bahn.ch/

Then when the equally famous BRÃœNIG railway merged with the LSE they
chose Zentralbahn as the name, one that doesn't hint at where it is.

http://www.zentralbahn.ch/downloads/Taetigkeitsbericht.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brünigbahn

To make up for that the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern were merged
to most people's satisfaction into the BNSF a great name that doesn't
wast the heritage of either of these famous railways.

http://archive.trainpix.com/BNSF/

Change of logos is more prevalent as the ATT blue disk with white
stripes becomes a clumsy distracting pseudo spherical image of that
logo, and UPS changing an elegant shield with a package ribbon as
crossbar to a smear of, who knows what, across the top.

Or most stupid, Cadillac Cars removing the six ducks from their logo
to attract younger buyers, as if anyone scrutinized the ducks before
deciding to buy or that ducks are anti-youth.

Jobst Brandt
 
Matt O'Toole wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 18:51:15 -0800, Ozark Bicycle wrote:
>
>
>>Just received an email to the effect that "Supergo.com has closed and is
>>now part of Performance Bicycle". I know that they were owned by
>>Performance for some time, but apparently they have decided to kill off
>>the franchise. I notice that both Supergo and Nashbar have been having a
>>higher than normal number of "sales" in the past year. And Nashbar seemed
>>to be making an effort to clear out lots of NOS merchandise that seeminly
>>had been gathering dust for years. I wonder if Nashbar is next for the
>>scrap heap?

>
>
> Performance bought Supergo quite awhile ago. They were probably waiting
> for some store leases to run out, etc., before finally merging the two
> companies.
>
> Frankly I think it's stupid to kill such a well established brand name,
> like with the Sav-on/Osco debacle several years ago.
>


And Del Taco buying Naugles years before that. At least Del Taco
brought back the Macho Combo.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons
 
Jobst Brandt <[email protected]> wrote:
> Matt O'Toole writes:
> > ...
> > Frankly I think it's stupid to kill such a well established brand
> > name, like with the Sav-on/Osco debacle several years ago.

>
> You think that's bad, boards of directors and CEO's make much greater
> blunders in name change. In Switzerland the world famous FO (Furka
> Oberalp) railway was merged with the equally famous BVZ (Brig Visp
> Zermatt) to become the MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn) which has little
> to do with where the RR runs. The Big red locomotives with three foot
> high FO on the side were not forgotten by anyone who saw them. Not
> only that, but most people still call it the FO as you see in their
> URL's....


One wonders why the Sedis name was dropped by Sachs/SRAM, considering
the reputation of Sedis chains. Atom, Hurét, Maillard and Normandy are
another matter.

--
Tom Sherman - Fox River Valley
 
[email protected] wrote:
>
>
> Change of logos is more prevalent as the ATT blue disk with white
> stripes becomes a clumsy distracting pseudo spherical image of that
> logo, and UPS changing an elegant shield with a package ribbon as
> crossbar to a smear of, who knows what, across the top.
>


UPS doesn't do anything right so I can't imagine them improving their
logo. I can't believe that Fed-Ex and DHL/Airborne haven't put them out
of business yet, their customer service is infinitely better than UPS'.

Greg
--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons
 
[email protected] wrote:
> You think that's bad, boards of directors and CEO's make much greater
> blunders in name change.
> Change of logos is more prevalent as the ATT blue disk with white
> stripes becomes a clumsy distracting pseudo spherical image of that
> logo, and UPS changing an elegant shield with a package ribbon as
> crossbar to a smear of, who knows what, across the top.
>
> Or most stupid, Cadillac Cars removing the six ducks from their logo
> to attract younger buyers, as if anyone scrutinized the ducks before
> deciding to buy or that ducks are anti-youth.
>
> Jobst Brandt


OK, but you gotta admit "SCATTANTE" is a pretty shitty name for a bike
(or anything else).

--
Check out my bike blog!
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com
 
On 14 Jan 2006 06:00:50 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>Change of logos is more prevalent as the ATT blue disk with white
>stripes becomes a clumsy distracting pseudo spherical image of that
>logo,


This was a change made after AT&T was borged by SBC. Reportedly, the
SBC board wanted to keep the look and feel of the AT&T logo to some
extent, but wanted to explicitly remove the "Death Star" character
from its appearance. (For a number of years, the unofficial employee
newsletter at AT&T was called "The Death Star".)
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
 
"Ozark Bicycle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Just received an email to the effect that "Supergo.com has closed and
> is now part of Performance Bicycle". I know that they were owned by
> Performance for some time, but apparently they have decided to kill off
> the franchise. I notice that both Supergo and Nashbar have been having
> a higher than normal number of "sales" in the past year. And Nashbar
> seemed to be making an effort to clear out lots of NOS merchandise that
> seeminly had been gathering dust for years. I wonder if Nashbar is next
> for the scrap heap?


Performance and Supergo, at least the mail order divisions, targetted the
same buyer, the fitness cyclist. Their offerings skewed toward the racer and
go-fast crowd. I've noticed Nashbar offering more BoBish items lately.
They're carrying Brooks saddles, a touring frame, wicker basket, wool, and
offered their own moustache bar. Could be Nashbar will evolve into a store
to serve the commuter/tourist market. Of course, if Nashbar brings out a
lugged steel frame we'll know I'm right. LOL.
 
On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 06:00:50 +0000, jobst.brandt wrote:

> Matt O'Toole writes:


>> Frankly I think it's stupid to kill such a well established brand name,
>> like with the Sav-on/Osco debacle several years ago.

>
> You think that's bad, boards of directors and CEO's make much greater
> blunders in name change. In Switzerland the world famous FO (Furka
> Oberalp) railway was merged with the equally famous BVZ (Brig Visp
> Zermatt) to become the MGB (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn) which has little
> to do with where the RR runs. The Big red locomotives with three foot
> high FO on the side were not forgotten by anyone who saw them. Not only
> that, but most people still call it the FO as you see in their URL's.
>
> http://www.rail-info.ch/FO/index.en.html
> http://www.rail-info.ch/FO/pics/9030-224.jpg http://www.fo-bahn.ch/
>
> Then when the equally famous BRÜNIG railway merged with the LSE they
> chose Zentralbahn as the name, one that doesn't hint at where it is.
>
> http://www.zentralbahn.ch/downloads/Taetigkeitsbericht.pdf
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brünigbahn
>
> To make up for that the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern were merged to
> most people's satisfaction into the BNSF a great name that doesn't wast
> the heritage of either of these famous railways.
>
> http://archive.trainpix.com/BNSF/
>
> Change of logos is more prevalent as the ATT blue disk with white
> stripes becomes a clumsy distracting pseudo spherical image of that
> logo, and UPS changing an elegant shield with a package ribbon as
> crossbar to a smear of, who knows what, across the top.


That's the BROWN smear!

> Or most stupid, Cadillac Cars removing the six ducks from their logo to
> attract younger buyers, as if anyone scrutinized the ducks before
> deciding to buy or that ducks are anti-youth.


You expect better from GM?

These companies need less brand management, and more products people want
to buy. In a sense, a retail store itself is a product, an experience.
I'm sure Performance will ruin the nice Supergo stores. Their dorky NC
taste won't fly in southern CA, or it won't fly as high as it used to.
People used to go to Supergo just to look around.

If it ain't broke...

Matt O.
 
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:36:01 -0800, Diablo Scott wrote:

> OK, but you gotta admit "SCATTANTE" is a pretty shitty name for a bike (or
> anything else).


I swear I wrote that last post before seeing this!

Matt O.
 
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 22:20:55 -0800, Johnny Sunset wrote:

> One wonders why the Sedis name was dropped by Sachs/SRAM, considering
> the reputation of Sedis chains. Atom, Hurét, Maillard and Normandy are
> another matter.


Can you think of a worse name for a company than SRAM? I believe it's the
initials of the principals.

Matt O.
 
Matt O'Toole wrote:
>


<snipped>

> I'm sure Performance will ruin the nice Supergo stores. Their dorky NC
> taste won't fly in southern CA, or it won't fly as high as it used to.
> People used to go to Supergo just to look around.
>


Did they "close" the Supergo retail stores and re-open as Performance?
The email I received referred to "Supergo.com", so I thought perhaps it
only applied to the internet end of Supergo.


> If it ain't broke...
>


Agreed.
 
On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 07:42:17 -0800, Ozark Bicycle wrote:

> Did they "close" the Supergo retail stores and re-open as Performance? The
> email I received referred to "Supergo.com", so I thought perhaps it only
> applied to the internet end of Supergo.


I've only heard the Fountain Valley and Santa Monica Supergo stores are
now Performance. I don't know about the others. There was once a very
sad and lonely Performance store down the street from the Fountain Valley
Supergo. I assume it's now closed.


Matt O.
 
"Ozark Bicycle" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Did they "close" the Supergo retail stores and re-open as Performance?


Yes. Last year, all the Supergo stores were renamed Performance. I don't
mind the name change that much, but they also changed the store interior to
match Performance stores (poorer quality goods and poorer selection than
Supergo used to have).
 
Matt O'Toole <[email protected]> wrote:
:> On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 22:20:55 -0800, Johnny Sunset wrote:
:>
:>> One wonders why the Sedis name was dropped by Sachs/SRAM,
:>> considering the reputation of Sedis chains. Atom, Hurét, Maillard
:>> and Normandy are another matter.
:>
:> Can you think of a worse name for a company than SRAM? I believe
:> it's the initials of the principals.

Whenever I see that I think "why are they selling memory on a bike website?"
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Matt O'Toole <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Sat, 14 Jan 2006 07:42:17 -0800, Ozark Bicycle wrote:
>
> > Did they "close" the Supergo retail stores and re-open as Performance? The
> > email I received referred to "Supergo.com", so I thought perhaps it only
> > applied to the internet end of Supergo.

>
> I've only heard the Fountain Valley and Santa Monica Supergo stores are
> now Performance. I don't know about the others. There was once a very
> sad and lonely Performance store down the street from the Fountain Valley
> Supergo. I assume it's now closed.
>
>
> Matt O.
>


The Mountain View, CA Supergo also suddenly changed to Performance. It's
the same inside, at least initially.
 
G.T. wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Change of logos is more prevalent as the ATT blue disk with white
>> stripes becomes a clumsy distracting pseudo spherical image of that
>> logo, and UPS changing an elegant shield with a package ribbon as
>> crossbar to a smear of, who knows what, across the top.
>>

>
> UPS doesn't do anything right so I can't imagine them improving their
> logo. I can't believe that Fed-Ex and DHL/Airborne haven't put them out
> of business yet, their customer service is infinitely better than UPS'.


My brother in-law pronounces UPS as oops -- nearly everything his store
orders that gets shipped via UPS gets broken -- they deal in astronomy
gear, so the amount of stuff that is breakable is quite high.

I call Fed Express - Federal Expense.

Anyone know what DHL stands for, I know they are owned by the German
Post Office, so the D is most likely Deutsches (German for German), but
can't figure out the HL part.....

W