Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Custom companies => Topic started by: Nmcgee on August 03, 2016, 09:58:44 AM
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Well, that's interesting. It appears Lachlan Fisher has closed up shop.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/owner-of-fisher-bat--willow-in-kingsville-said-hes-been-forced-to-close-his-boutique-cricket-bat-shop/news-story/5391b4bd814aa5061fa152324bc23806 (http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/owner-of-fisher-bat--willow-in-kingsville-said-hes-been-forced-to-close-his-boutique-cricket-bat-shop/news-story/5391b4bd814aa5061fa152324bc23806)
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Not sure if he changed in the last few years since I was down there but his bats were very old school- no bow, oval handle, smaller profiles.
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I kinda liked that about his bats. More traditional.
Hard to know what the full story is here but disappointing to see him go.
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Just incase some users have it blocked.
"A BOUTIQUE Victorian cricket bat maker is declaring his struggling innings closed.
Lachlan Fisher, owner of Fisher Bat & Willow in Williamstown Rd, Kingsville, said his bats could not compete on price against a wave of cheaper mass-produced bats imported from India.
He has hit the domestic bat manufacturing industry for six, describing it as “shot”.
Mr Fisher, 60, has plied his trade for 20 years and made nearly 15,000 bats by hand from highest-grade English and Australian willow.
His custom bats cost up to $600. Indian manufacturers also use imported English willow, but their labour costs are a fraction of his.
“It’s very hard to compete with the cheap Indian imports because their margins are huge,” he said.
“The willow costs are the same for both of us but the big companies in India will buy 40,000 blocks of willow and they pay people $2.50 per bat to make them plus the handle. Three hours’ labour for me is $150.
“So I need to sell more bats — but the problem is I’m not selling many bats.”
Mr Fisher said participation in cricket was also down.
“In England you’ve got soccer in winter and cricket in summer, but here there are so many competitive sports,” he said.
“I used to be taking 10 phone calls a day for bats, but today the phone hasn’t rung once. I could see the writing on the wall three years ago but I borrowed money more in hope.”
With his business premises set to go to auction later this month, Mr Fisher will relocate to Camperdown in regional Victoria as he considers his future.
“If someone likes the idea of buying the business, I’m out of here,” he said. “It’s very physical activity.”"
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He was getting on a bit not sure of exact age but I remember him telling me his wife had passed a year or so earlier, genuinely nice guy. Unfortunately I know if I stocked his bats though they wouldn't sell
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I was keen to get over Melbourne for a custom. It's a great pity that I didn't. Agree wholeheartedly with his comments about the mass produced Indian product.
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Very disappointed for him. It's an issue making bats from a product grown on the otherside of the globe.
Traditional bats vs big bats. It's like trying to sell a typewriter when people have moved to pc's.
I wish him well. There will still be a market for him but the shopfront is gone.
I had one of his bats for a few seasons and was happy with its performance. I think he makes a good stick.
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Myself and a friend visited Lachlan today, he has no intention of selling up. He is relocating to a couple of hours outside Melbourne. He said he has two years worth of willow on order from Wrights and is keen to produce more Australian grown stuff. He is very intent on making bats 'forever'!
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Sad to hear anyone struggling.
With the new regs coming in, smaller edges will make a comeback and he'll be in demand again. Sarg is right about the storefront though, nowadays there's so much Competiton that margins are squeezed so far that small bat makers can't make a decent living.
Probably says it all that id never heard of Fisher bats...
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/25/melbournes-last-great-independent-cricket-bat-maker-closes-up-shop (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/25/melbournes-last-great-independent-cricket-bat-maker-closes-up-shop)
Here's an article in yesterdays Guardian. He sounds pretty bitter to me.
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^ understandable when you work hard at your passion as a sole traders, only for the big boys to price you out of a living. It's a shame, sadly not exclusive to cricket bat suppliers.
Sorry, see a big similarity in a family run coffee shop in or market town priced out of business by Costa, who's coffee is nowhere near as good!
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Agree - it's difficult when big brands come in and an industry gets shaken up. But to blame it solely on the big boys? Cricket bat sponsorship has been around since long before he started making and production in India has also been around for many years.
Either way, I'm not sure the right response to competitors entering your marketing place is to be stubborn and refuse to adapt to new marketing opportunities, such as social media - though it makes a nice sympathy story for the Guardian.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/25/melbournes-last-great-independent-cricket-bat-maker-closes-up-shop (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/dec/25/melbournes-last-great-independent-cricket-bat-maker-closes-up-shop)
Here's an article in yesterdays Guardian. He sounds pretty bitter to me.
Perhaps rightly so?
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Agree - it's difficult when big brands come in and an industry gets shaken up. But to blame it solely on the big boys? Cricket bat sponsorship has been around since long before he started making and production in India has also been around for many years.
Either way, I'm not sure the right response to competitors entering your marketing place is to be stubborn and refuse to adapt to new marketing opportunities, such as social media - though it makes a nice sympathy story for the Guardian.
You would hope he hasn't been naive or trying to make a living based solely on hope. I get that you need to adapt or die, as it were and there is an angle for the paper to exploit, but there should be a market for his skill. Dunno, maybe I'm an idealist living in hope!
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Not sure if he changed in the last few years since I was down there but his bats were very old school- no bow, oval handle, smaller profiles.
Thats the real issue then. You can't survive in any industry being static. Look at Apple - invented the smartphone, but no longer the dominant player in the industry. And this is with them pouring billions of dollars to keep up...imagine if they had just stuck with the original iPhone as their only phone!
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Thats the real issue then. You can't survive in any industry being static. Look at Apple - invented the smartphone, but no longer the dominant player in the industry. And this is with them pouring billions of dollars to keep up...imagine if they had just stuck with the original iPhone as their only phone!
Hardly a like for like comparison!
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Hardly a like for like comparison!
yes, its not really apples for apples (no pun intended)... perhaps this excerpt from Matthew Hayden's book illustrates the point better..
"...other companies had developed new, bigger bats with flat faces and far more power than my timid weapons.
This was when I was at the top of my game and felt that either Gray-Nic had to catch up with the times or I would have to go elsewhere. It was hard for both of us, because I never wanted to leave Gray-Nic (and never did, until the end of my Australian career). I had a meeting with the Gray-Nic powerbrokers and said, ‘You’ve been the greatest bat company ever, but you’re a conservative company, and unless you change you’re going to lose me and your foothold in the market. You’ll be blown away by the competition.’
To their credit, the company spent a lot of money upgrading its bats by acquiring machines which cut the bats with flat rather than curved faces. The edges of the bats became thicker. Bats had more wood and consequently more power, but were still easy to pick up. When I now pick up bats I used early in my career they seem so inferior."
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yes, its not really apples for apples (no pun intended)... perhaps this excerpt from Matthew Hayden's book illustrates the point better..
"...other companies had developed new, bigger bats with flat faces and far more power than my timid weapons.
This was when I was at the top of my game and felt that either Gray-Nic had to catch up with the times or I would have to go elsewhere. It was hard for both of us, because I never wanted to leave Gray-Nic (and never did, until the end of my Australian career). I had a meeting with the Gray-Nic powerbrokers and said, ‘You’ve been the greatest bat company ever, but you’re a conservative company, and unless you change you’re going to lose me and your foothold in the market. You’ll be blown away by the competition.’
To their credit, the company spent a lot of money upgrading its bats by acquiring machines which cut the bats with flat rather than curved faces. The edges of the bats became thicker. Bats had more wood and consequently more power, but were still easy to pick up. When I now pick up bats I used early in my career they seem so inferior."
Kook v GN is like for like. Apple v Fisher is not.
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What these kind of arguments seem to ignore is that the likes of SS and SG actually turn out good bats? Or so I'm told by people who seem to know their stuff.
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It is always a shame to lose a craftsperson with many many years experience. From the interview it is clear he is passionate about providing a quality product and service. I understand what he says about imported bats and how he cannot compete with their labour costs. I also agree when he says it is usually older cricketers who are more concerned with the quality of a product rather than the brand. It reminds me of a Paul Aldred video where he shows how filler is sometimes used in poor quality bats.
If he is an exponent of making small bats, his experience may be invaluable when bat size restrictions come into place.
Finally, where are you Aussies going to get your repairs done now? Support your artisans or lose their skills for good. Perhaps his bats will sell for crazy money in a few years time in a similar fashion to forum favourite Julian Millichamp, who by today's standards also produced small, oval handled small bowed bats.
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The big 3 brands (GN, Kooka, Spartan) in Australia all employ local batmakers and there are still the likes of Bradbury & JPGavan manufacturing/repairing.
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Finally, where are you Aussies going to get your repairs done now?
There are lots of options open for custom bat making and repairs in every state.
Perfect example is handle replacement. I know two local repairers in Adelaide alone who just steam out the joint, pop out the old handle and fit the replacement. $80 thanks very much. There is not much of tooling and the profit is healthy. Not what the owner is expecting but it well.
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Although still a tragedy, it's good to see the industry still healthy down under.
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Some very interesting and insightful comments on that Guardian article!
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Some very interesting and insightful comments on that Guardian article!
Agree.
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He still makes a fantastic bat.
I found my old Fisher a few weeks ago. He made it for me probably 15 years ago and I rediscovered it having misplaced it 10 years ago when I gave up playing. I took it into Lachlan for an assessment and after a clean up it's still playing superbly.
From what I've heard from a few guys I play with his methods are a bit too traditional for some these days when they want something with thicker edges and bigger sweet spots. Having chatted to him I think that traditional nature and unwillingness to embrace change through things like social media or www are what lets him down. Having said that my bat is a ripper and I'd happily go to him again.
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Have you used a modern bat though Pozza?
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i read this article in the guardian. it's a bit of a bitter read to be honest.
i'm totally in favour of small batmakers rather than the big Companies personally and their batmaking skills
but despite challenges faced by sub continent makers paying low labour rates to make bats anyone needs to move with the times a bit just to keep up.
we could well see a return to more normal sized bats in future which makes the article all the more sad.
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What I liked about the article is what we have known for years the lightest of the light best willow never reaches the shops it's skimmed of for the pros.
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I mentioned it in an earlier post but after the initial article made the newspaper over here a friend and i went to visit Lachlan Fisher and indeed his house (where his workshop is) was for sale and undergoing auction the following week but after a lengthy discussion with him it was clear he has no intention of ceasing making bats. He was moving to a smaller location an hour or so west of Melbourne, he had a lot of willow and bats part made stocked up and said he has orders for willow for the next two years placed with Wrights. He also has a connection to another boutique cricket venue north of Melbourne who grow their own willow. He said he intends to make bats forever.
What was clear was that he is incredibly bitter with his situation and for whatever reason is feeling very hard done by but equally looking at what he has in store and a few things he said he has refused to move with the times which hasn't helped his situation. I think his articles in media are more to
highlight his plight and get his opinion out there, whether it is right or not.
All that said, whether its downsizing or whatever its a shame it has come to this for somebody who has always made bats that are sought after all around Victoria.
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when i was living in melbourne i emailed him to see if there was a business opportunity - i wanted to get into bat making and he was just down the road from me ... didnt get a reply to any of the emails i sent and no answer on the phone. This was 2 years ago...shame...
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You ought to live in the UK seen to many of my students apply for opportunities in all areas and not hear a thing.
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Well love back in the uk now...and no job at the moment so who knows!