Print

[lazza32]

To be honest. Since GM is made and graded in England it does make a difference. Like I said it's not a deal breaker for me it's a case of what I would wish for if I had 3 wishes.😊

[mini998]

I'm pretty sure GM know a lot more about bats than some bloke who set up a cricket shop 2 or 3 years ago

Rude.

on the point.. not always true.

[lazza32]

Rude.

on the point.. not always true.

That's Garrett. Straight to the point.

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk

[VKS]

The key word there is retailer. The nature of their business is for you to browse. This is why it's best to go to a retailer and pick bats up. The best handpicked bats are the ones you choose.

Perfectly said - as retailers thats what we are here for. Even where a customer asks us what we feel would be a good choice for them, we would typically pick out a selection of different ones and leave them to decide as to whether  one of those are suitable. If not then we offer some more options.

[Seniorplayer]

The advantage of handpicking:
Willow is a natural material therefore even with grading all bats have the potential to perform differently.

[lewis_faulds]

With the upmost respect to GM and all GM fans, Paul and IJC sponsor the forum whereas GM does not. Therefore those criticising Paul should remember he pays towards the running of the forum.

On a brighter note, I love the dynamic simplicity of the new range. Doing all the right things so well, Edward! Keep up the excellent work.

[Hennie_vdw]

I can tell you all something know GM make the best quality gear I've ever seen, their bats are exceptional and of the highest quality. I will defiantly be getting me:
X2 original batting gloves
X1 original limited edition batting pads
X1 original easi load bag

 

[Percy]

With the upmost respect to GM and all GM fans, Paul and IJC sponsor the forum whereas GM does not. Therefore those criticising Paul should remember he pays towards the running of the forum.

The fact that he is a sponsor should not mean that we have to accept his views without question.

[Edward Lowy]

Edward any chance these bats in the photos will be available to buy through retailers, some of them look lovely( if so left octane 808) is mine) 

The bats displayed at the launch are typical production.

Kind regards

Edward

[Edward Lowy]

Perhaps a silly question, but just wanted to ask about the weights specified in that catalogue. It says naked weight which according to GM is 3oz less than the finished weight(Page 3). Just so I understand it right, as an example a 3lb bat (at the maximum end of the GM scale) would weigh in at roughly 3lb 3oz then when it comes to the retailer/end consumer. Is my understanding correct?

No - what we are saying is be careful that you are comparing like with like when looking at bat weights. Some brands quote weights or ranges with essentially an unfinished bat, as they don't count stickers, face treatments, toe protectors etc. All of that can add about 3 oz to the weight as delivered to you in a retail store.

Kind regards

Edward

[roco]

Edward

I know I'm in the minority here but why do gm not do long blades as I used a hero happily for years but now I have switched to long blade with my height I have been unable to use gm anymore?

[Edward Lowy]

They do from a distributor.


In my opinion, GM are the most consistent of the big brands in terms of quality control. Yes, you still get the odd REAL gem and odd dud. I've seen many gems, (Favourite being the trial Flare OLE at Vitas) don't think I've actually ever seen a dud, but they really are the most consistent of the big brands. That being said, I can see where IJC are coming from in the hand picking part, in that they want what they deem the best, and most suitable for preorders in terms of weight. (The lack of a value for weight issue is probably the deal breaker) But I can also see that not letting anyone hand pick is also fair on GM's part, which benefits all retailers fairly. Also, with regards to customers coming to pick their own personal bat, they pay RRP prices, which helps retailers as they're more likely going to just pick one out from a retailer and save between 10-20%! If they want to spend that extra, then fair enough, their money!

One question for Mr Lowy, will you be able to provide bats with just the natural finish? I know that the Australian market have some of these (Good friend from HK got a gem of a Mogul from Aussie without the scuff or the toe guard) and I prefer it. Of course, maybe research shows that almost all of the GM users in the UK prefer the GM NOW, in which case it would be pointless offering this option, but one can always hope!

Oh, and another! Will you ever be able to match a retailer's request for a specific weight? I understand that pick up is the most important, but having picked up a 2.11-2.12 which I could have sworn was a 2.8, (Again, same Flare mentioned above) I can see that there is a slight flaw in just using the PI, as dead weight does play a factor as an innings drags on!

Thanks for the questions Chad :

1 we don't sell direct to consumers, we only supply the trade
2 you are quite right about the preference for GM Now and ToeTek as standard in he UK. We can do other configurations but need to do so in batches with a minimum quantity.
3 we send ranges of bat weights to retailers, we don't tend to supply specific weights

I could understand how this could a sound rather proscriptive - it isn't really in practise and all comes back to the fact that trees don't seem to listen to us when they are growing that "could we only have 2 lbs 6 oz straight grained bats please"!

Kind regards

Edward

[skip1973]

We get long blades here in Australia, not sure hat the issue is in the UK.

[Edward Lowy]

They don't allow it.

Until recently with Spartan at least. I'm not sure when in 2014 they started offering it, but it was mid season.

More difficult I guess with stickering operations who just buy generic output from Indian factories to maintain standards of shape etc. As you all know, many Indian makers will just scoop out more and more wood to get to a weight - that's fine, you get the weight, but not the shape. Our preference is to maintain the shape at the expense of potentially grading that blade a little lower.

Kind regards

Edward

[Edward Lowy]

Been an observer on the forum for a long time, this topic has prompted me to join. I am involved in the industry but will not promote/favour/mention anything I am involved in, if cricket is doing well then it's all good by me.

Great range, nice to see GM adding a bit of colour into the softs. The Sigma is a little bit 'look what we can do with our machine' - but that in itself is good because although you do promote DXM and provide lots of info in the catalogue, I doubt the average joe truly knows what the CNC is capable of, or indeed what it means (uniformity of shape bat after bat etc.)

It seems to me that in recent times the range has a bat where all the experiments are carried out. ie the Zona carried a really funky shape and also the brand new logo style. If it had been either the funky shape or the logo I think it would have sold well, to have 2 radically different things launching on one bat was probably a bit too much for most. Similarly the Sigma with the logo milling on the back, scooping/weight removal as well as the digi-camo graphics is a little bit too much crammed into one bat in my opinion. Equally you can't launch a load of experimental bats into a range to test the waters, there is only so much room after all. Look at GN, the Vortex is gone after a season and the Nemesis only just clings on with vastly toned down graphics. 

The topic has been spoiled somewhat by the unnecessary input from an previous stockist. To demand handpicking from one of the biggest and best, a brand who puts all their passion and energy into making bats in the UK and providing the very best they can for every price point is rather strange when you don't from Affinity. With the greatest of respect to Marcus who does provide wonderful luxury products that really do the business, he's only been around for 5 minutes, yet you imply that you trust him more than the only major brand still not relying on anyone else except themselves to provide English Willow cricket bats. GN, Kookaburra and the rest all definitely need to be handpicked, simply because quality control in India (whilst vastly improved) is not to the same level.

Very interesting post Mr (or Ms) Inside - you are right about us using Zona & Sigma as technical showcases. That is not to undermine these items at all, they are both excellent bats in their own right but can be considered niche and, we hope, are items that start conversations with trade customers and cricketers alike. They will be collectors items.

I cast my mind back to our introduction of Zona two years ago - particularly the clear, bold branding provoked some interesting reactions - marriage at one end, burst blood vessels and the imminent destruction of the GM brand at the other. However, this was part of a controlled, managed evolution of the brand started for the 2013 season, developed for 2014, maturing in 2015. I look back at some of the threads around our 2013 & 2014 range launches with great interest and am pleased that some of the doubters then seem more benign this time around.

I was asked earlier in the thread about Sigma in terms of the weight distribution zones :

1 the depth of the zones is engineered to maintain a specific depth with every bat that we manufacture, and with our DXM process we can ensure that every bat has the same depth in each zone.
2 the Sigma outer profile is not concaved - the overall depth is not much greater than that of a concaved bat, and the specific sectors have been chosen to aid both weight distribution and maintain the performance of each bat at the sweetspot.

You know, sometimes a brand will support their new item with a heap of pseudo scientific iffybabble. We are not seeking to do that here, we are using our experience (129 years and counting) of willow and blade performance to have the wood where you need it and to ensure that in manufacture we deliver consistency of production.

Kind regards

Edward