[cdelb]

This has been an ongoing debate in the mountain bike world for a number of years now. Direct to consumer brands have clearly been making a dent in the traditional retail model. Intense just announced a hybrid model, where shops stock demos and consumers receive their new bike directly from Intense. Seems like a win-win - shops don't have to stock slow moving inventory and consumers get lower prices year round.

This artcle explains the pros/cons in detail: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/intense-announces-lower-retail...

[ghaff]

Not about bikes specifically but I've been a bit surprised that formal showrooming hasn't become a bigger thing. My guess is that, if you're going to have storefronts, for a lot of things you might as well stock merchandise for impulse buyers or those who want to take something home right now.