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[Washington]

Pennine,

Of course i know what the idea of business is, the point im making is that you are not a cricket company you are just merely a rebrander . . .if i bought a Ford car took the badges off (or it came without) and put my own badges on it does that make me a car manufacturer?

As to the the bespoke brands getting thier softs from India, it is a given that they are cheaper, but moreover is due to the indians being very good at what they do!

The reason myself and others like me on this forum pay a premium for bespoke gear is because we know what we are getting . . .a quality product and quality service!

Personally im sick of companies flooding the market with cheap foreign imports and charging the same as what proper cricket companies charge for theirs!

Tell me how you are a bespoke company?

[Tom]

Pennine are not alone in the rebranding of bats and there's nothing wrong with it, Pennine will be buying that bats for restickering purposes from the manufacturer and they'd know that. It's up to the buyer to read up about the brand and see if that's what they want or if they want a bat handmade in the UK. It's the same in TV's, many BUSH tv's you see have Samsung Panels in just the Bezel is manufactured for Bush.

If you want a bespoke bat then stick to a company who can provide that service, but there's a market (probably more locally than online) for companies like Pennine and Gladiator.

[Washington]

I am aware that there are others companies rebrand, (like your previous brand Itias) but why should a consumer have to dig to find the origin of their product? Their website although it doesn't say it suggest that they are handmade uk company, even the name Pennine is miss leading!

He said they are not a luxury bespoke comapny, suggesting they are a bespoke company, his words not mine! How are they a bespoke company?

Anyone can order a bat from India/Pakistan and throw some stickers on it and say custom made G1 EW bats, that is why cricketers like myself buy from companies like those on this forum.

[Tom]

There isn't one big brand on the market who doesn't rebrand a selection of their bats.

And if customers did to a bit of digging as to where the majority of bats are made (or at least pressed, handled and shaped a bit) they'd probably be left with only a handful of companies to buy from.

I would say 90% of people don't care where the bat is made. With Itias I sold 90 Asian mades to approx 5 English mades.

[Washington]

That is why i buy from those handful of companies

I dont want to get petty about it but most people i know, know that the big brands aren't handmade or even made in the UK. Just dont like companies that are just in it to make money without any love or pride in their work.

[Tom]

So who do you buy from out of interest?

[PennineCricket]

Hey calm down Dan, never seen a thing like it, a bit of perspective here please.


>>Of course i know what the idea of business is, the point im making is that you are not a cricket company you are just merely a rebrander . . .if i bought a >>Ford car took the badges off (or it came without) and put my own badges on it does that make me a car manufacturer?

>>As to the the bespoke brands getting thier softs from India, it is a given that they are cheaper, but moreover is due to the indians being very good at >>what they do!

I think you are being very extreme in your examples and seem quite emotional about this. There are many well known brands that no one bats an eyelid (no pun intended), who do EXACTLY WHAT WE DO yet they are accepted as 'cricket brands' yet a start up like us is faced with abuse.

What you are doing is being very literal and picky about what defines what. So basically you are saying it is acceptable for Indians to be good at soft good making, who conveniently happen to be cheaper too hmmm. So why don't these bespoke brands simply just supply cricket bats and leave the Indian branding on the pads and sell them as they are? Surely you must realise its not as clear cut as you are implying.  It's supply chain economics and good business sense.  I have no intentions of getting into a spat with anyone and naming brands but is it also unacceptable in the UK to rebrand and supply another bat manufactured in the UK? I'm not naming names but you know who some of them are.

>>The reason myself and others like me on this forum pay a premium for bespoke gear is because we know what we are getting . . .a quality product and >>quality service!

That is your prerogative and you are entitled to buy bats from where ever you wish, I am not stopping you. As to say foreign bats are not quality and any company that supplies them is not quality is without substance and also quite insulting to the soft good manufacturers who supply your favourite bespoek brand. Many international players within the South Asian countries are proof that the equipment is very good and the podshavers know what they are doing. It is 'Western' brands that have started to copy Asian shapes (this may even be a byproduct of them having equipment made in Asia). I don't want to get into this East vs West thing.

Personally im sick of companies flooding the market with cheap foreign imports and charging the same as what proper cricket companies charge for theirs!

Tell me how you are a bespoke company?

As for 'cheap foreign goods', this is a global economic issue and not one of quality, it is to do with currency exchange. Be careful about this, there is no doubt there are brands who get very shoddy cheap goods who do not deal directly with a manufacturer, but not all of the companies. It is the same in many other industries but you seem more conscious of it because of your passion of cricket.

At no point do we claim to be a bespoke company, but clearly if a customer wants something particular, we will try and get that for them if we can. If we can't we will say so, it's simply good customer service.

I am still intrigued what a 'proper cricket company is'?

I hope I have explained what I am trying to say clearly. If this thread becomes a slagging match I will politely withdraw from the forum. We are not here to have mindless arguments or get into it with anyone.

Cheers

Bash

[PennineCricket]

Tom

You are correct, our focus really is local and thats where we see our current market. Naturally like any good business we need a web prescence and we would welcome customers from all over.

BTW I am genuinely interested to see how the Mongoose bats do. People need to understand cricket has evolved and has always had changes. Companies like Mongoose are simply a new chapter. Good luck!

Kind regards

Bash

[Washington]

Im calm thanks bash, as to me abusing you im simply giving you my opinion on your company, which there are 100's of all over the UK and other countries, that simply rebrand other peoples work. To me that is not a cricket company. You are clearly only in it for the money and im sure not a penny will put into research and development.

By a proper cricket company i mean a company that puts something back into the game and not just jumping on the band wagon. At no stage did I say the cheap foreign goods were of poor quality. As to the global economic crisis, dont you have an obligation, as we all do, to buy British?

I dont want to get into a slanging match either, so will leave it there. I hope you prove me wrong 

[Washington]

Tom I currently use H4L, before that i used Newbery and M&H.

[Tom]

Fair enough, Newbery and H4L make and press their own bats.

[SillyShilly]

M&H can and have pressed and handled their bats aswell.

[Tom]

But also buy a number in...

[SillyShilly]

But have the capability nonetheless

[Tom]

But choose not to use it on occasion, perhaps they get better bats buying in?