Ongoing Brexit "friction" blamed as Frog Bikes reports £500,000 losses

ChuckSneed wrote:

Once again blaming Brexit for everything. I don't like it either, but take some responsibility for your own business and stop blaming the big bad brexit

"The business was hit by an unexpected import duty of 47.5 per cent, applied to most of our componentry, after the UK left the EU. Prior to this, we had an EU manufacturer's suspension. A full exemption was granted in November 2021, but not refunded, and the 10 months of additional duties (Anti-Dumping Duties) cost us £1.5m from Jan to November 21, and caused the business to make a loss."

They're not making some amorphous "it's not our fault it's Brexit" claim, their supply chain costs rose by nearly 50% as a direct result of duties arising post-Brexit and cost them £1.5M. Whether you approve of Brexit or not, it's impossible to deny that the loss was a direct result of the UK leaving the EU.

"Whether you approve of Brexit or not, it's impossible to deny that the loss was a direct result of the UK leaving the EU". 

You could deny it but you'd be a complete fantasist to do so. Oh, hang on... 

ChuckSneed wrote:

Once again blaming Brexit for everything. I don't like it either, but take some responsibility for your own business and stop blaming the big bad brexit

Are you insane? They have supplied conclusive proof. You're free to have your own opinions, of course, but when they're factually incorrect, it might be better to refrain from sharing them.

Agree. While it's likely that Brexit will be thwarted by the WEF supporters, this ridiculous claim that it also was behind everything from frog bike sales to not getting vegetables from Morocco is outrageous.

The idea Brexit wrecked their business is as likely as the tall story that they set up the business after a "fruitless bike hunt for their own two children". They set up the business to make some fat juicy profits - there is nothing wrong with celebrating that - but decent children's bikes did exist prior to 🐸 bikes setting up business.

In the recent Sunday Article the same claim was repeated - that they they set the business up due to a lack of good kids bikes in the UK.

Frog was set up in 2012, some 7 years after Islabikes changed the market with their own range of kids bikes - which as far as I know were the first to use specially designed components e.g. small brake levers, fully enclosed chain guards etc etc.

I mean, they're not incompatible. 'Lack of' isn't the same as a complete absence - just means they thought the market wasn't saturated and there was room for another supplier of quality kids bikes (Islabike owner here). 

They didn't claim that Brexit was responsible for a fall in sales, they have shown with indisputable evidence that they had to pay a 47% import tax on components which cost them £1.5 million. It helps if you read the article before commenting. Also, yes of course they set up the business to make a profit, who doesn't? Why is that incompatible with them being inspired to do so by what they saw as a gap in the market for quality balance bikes? It's not.

The Accountant wrote:

Agree. While it's likely that Brexit will be thwarted by the WEF supporters, this ridiculous claim that it also was behind everything from frog bike sales to not getting vegetables from Morocco is outrageous. The idea Brexit wrecked their business is as likely as the tall story that they set up the business after a "fruitless bike hunt for their own two children". They set up the business to make some fat juicy profits - there is nothing wrong with celebrating that - but decent children's bikes did exist prior to 🐸 bikes setting up business.

Please read the article again....

Commenting on the losses, the Lawsons said they had struggled with "continuing friction" since the end of the Brexit transition period at the start of 2021.

"The day to day issues in fulfilling orders have dominated most of our trade relationships with the EU," the couple who set up the business in 2013 after a "fruitless bike hunt for their own two children" wrote.

"The business was hit by an unexpected import duty of 47.5 per cent, applied to most of our componentry, after the UK left the EU. Prior to this, we had an EU manufacturer's suspension. A full exemption was granted in November 2021, but not refunded, and the 10 months of additional duties (Anti-Dumping Duties) cost us £1.5m from Jan to November 21, and caused the business to make a loss.

"I couldn't say there was anything positive," Jerry Lawson said about Brexit in April 2021. "There's extra paperwork, and there are extra costs. And there's a whole lot of unknown.

"The paperwork is also incredible. To begin with, some of the countries wanted the paperwork in their language. Now we send them a commercial invoice with a whole lot of customs information. Plus, it's four or five times we have to print it."

I wonder if there are any business that say trade with the EU has become better and easier and more profitable thanks to brexthick.  I mean, that's what the brexitty loons promised - so it should have happened right? 

ubercurmudgeon wrote:

Maybe they should move to Northern Ireland. Maybe all British businesses should move there, if it is going to have the "incredibly attractive proposition" of becoming "the world's most exciting economic zone" thanks to having the same access to both the UK and the EU markets that we all had until a couple of years ago. (Those are direct quotes of that ardent Brexiteer the prime minister, BTW.)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/28/sunak-decides-the-proto...

Quote:

History comes at you fast these days. Many of us could have sworn we saw a man claiming to be the prime minister turn up in Northern Ireland on Tuesday morning. Grinning from ear to ear. All uninfectious enthusiasm that invariably teetered into the annoying and patronising.

This guy was telling us how wonderful the EU single market was and how lucky Northern Ireland was to remain part of it. So it couldn’t have been Rishi Sunak. The Sunak we know and don’t really love campaigned vigorously to get the UK out of the EU and the single market. Had been adamant that Brexit wouldn’t be Brexit unless the UK left the single market. Anything else would be a sellout.

Many of us could also have sworn we saw another man claiming to be the prime minister talking to the same Northern Irish audience about the dangers of the protocol. How it had been a clear and present danger to the Good Friday agreement. How no right-minded person who wanted peace on the Irish mainland could have tolerated it a moment longer.

Only this man also couldn’t have been Sunak. Because Rish! had fought the 2019 general election campaign under Boris Johnson’s leadership on the platform that the NI protocol was the Brexit miracle cure. And guess what? Sunak had gone on to become The Convict’s chancellor without ever admitting to any misgivings about the NI protocol over the next three years. And then, suddenly, this lookalike pops up saying it had been a rubbish idea all along.

It was all most confusing. Odd, even. Then, Brexit can do that to you.

Gotta love a John Crace quote.

This for sure. We've had a couple of Frog bikes that have moved through our 3 kids. They've been great and will still have a lot of milage left in them when our youngest has outgrown the biggest.

At the time, they were great value I bought the last one in 2018 I think, but looking at our local (Irish) stockist now, they're out of stock of the bread and butter ones, and prices are well up on what we'd have paid - 30% or so off the top of my head. A certain amount of this is no doubt down to inflation and supply/demand, but from the article I'd have to believe that the B word that keeps on giving taking away is a factor.

Nevertheless, I hope they get themselves sorted out

There are all sorts of duties.  Based on the context, and it is UK law that has given them an exemption, these appear to be duties to stop China dumping cheap imported components into the UK - (not it also specifically talks about components not bikes).

My assumption is this would be tariffs on imports of e.g. steel tubes, or wheels etc. into the UK - whilst a lot of these will have been with China in mind, because WTO's would limit what discriminatory rules can be put in place (and Boris Johnson and co are all idiots anyway) they'll probably have captured anything falling within the "class" that is imported into the UK.

It depends on the origin of the components, their price, fraction of their value in the total bike and the value which is added in (in this case) the UK.

I'm in the EU but anti-dumping can be a disaster as it typically drives costs up much more than customs duties and is not always easy to predict given that it can be very technical to determine whether or not it will apply.

Tbh, I think this B-thing has brought nothing but grief for everyone.  I used to regularly order with SJS but have given up since the formalities and customs clearance costs just made them uncompetitive and the entire process is a hassle.  Also, I'd like to visit the UK again for a holiday but now I'd need a bloody passport for the entire family + the story of a friend of mine who went to a congress but was detained for almost 8 hours because border force thought she would be seeking employment (she's an anesthesiologist, not a fruit picker) certainly cooled me down.  A couple of border force guys actually started to quizz her on medicine.

The whole mess could have been avoided had the then leaders of the EU27 not decided to granstand and make an example out of Cameron when he asked for failry limited compromises that were rejected out of hand. They doubled down on it by deliberately making him look stupid - only to themselves request some of the same compromises from the Commission a few years down the line.

The same is true with the NI Protocol. For some years we had the likes of Simon Coveney telling us that Britain would need to learn its place and the proposed protocol arrangements from the UK could never be accepted, only for the Commission to accept those same amendments this week.

UK / Europe's weakness is a generation of leaders who see pragmatism as a weakness - meanwhile other economic regions prosper at our expense (loss of jobs / industries etc etc).

open_roads wrote:

The whole mess could have been avoided had the then leaders of the EU27 not decided to granstand and make an example out of Cameron when he asked for failry limited compromises that were rejected out of hand. They doubled down on it by deliberately making him look stupid - only to themselves request some of the same compromises from the Commission a few years down the line.

The same is true with the NI Protocol. For some years we had the likes of Simon Coveney telling us that Britain would need to learn its place and the proposed protocol arrangements from the UK could never be accepted, only for the Commission to accept those same amendments this week.

UK / Europe's weakness is a generation of leaders who see pragmatism as a weakness - meanwhile other economic regions prosper at our expense (loss of jobs / industries etc etc).

Surely even the most ardent Brexiteer can agree that Cameron made himself look stupid.

open_roads wrote:

UK's weakness is a generation of leaders who see pragmatism as a weakness rabid ideology as a strength - meanwhile other economic regions prosper at our expense (loss of jobs / industries etc etc).

Fixed that for you.  There is literally no evidence to back up your claims around Europe and much to suggest its the opposite.

open_roads wrote:

The whole mess could have been avoided had the then leaders of the EU27 not decided to granstand and make an example out of Cameron when he asked for failry limited compromises that were rejected out of hand. They doubled down on it by deliberately making him look stupid - only to themselves request some of the same compromises from the Commission a few years down the line.

The same is true with the NI Protocol. For some years we had the likes of Simon Coveney telling us that Britain would need to learn its place and the proposed protocol arrangements from the UK could never be accepted, only for the Commission to accept those same amendments this week.

UK / Europe's weakness is a generation of leaders who see pragmatism as a weakness - meanwhile other economic regions prosper at our expense (loss of jobs / industries etc etc).

The UK had the best deal of any nation in the EU. That is a fact. Margaret Thatcher had many failings but understood the importance of Europe and she also had some grown ups doing the negotiations. Cameron asked for the ridiculous and was described as a lightweight by US president Obama.

OldRidgeback wrote:

and was described as a lightweight by US president Obama.

Still a thousand times better than Poundshop Churchill though.

True