5 ms·

As a former resident of Italy, I'm a bit stumped by "logistics center in Italy". Italy's a great place for many things - I could talk about it at length - but s

by davidw 6y ago

As a former resident of Italy, I'm a bit stumped by "logistics center in Italy". Italy's a great place for many things - I could talk about it at length - but shipping and logistics is not one that comes immediately to mind.

mikey_p 6y ago
Probably because their parent company is in Italy. > Owned since 2002 by Italian bicycle saddles firm Selle Royale
rob74 6y ago
Well, if you are a huge Italian bicycle saddle maker, and you buy a small boutique British bicycle saddle maker, and you decide to centralise your logistics, where are you going to do it?
- petre 6y ago
  Move EU production to Italy, keep a smaller boutique shop for the UK market.
busterarm 6y ago
Italy has been mass-importing cheap manufacturing labor from China and it has most-affected textiles businesses.
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  Not Brooks saddles, though. They are still made in the UK. However, cheaper immigrant labor has been used, albeit not Chinese. Brooks' own newsletter reveals that at least some current workers in this British firm with a hundred-year-old tradition are recently-arrived Poles. One place where Brooks has really diminished its fine reputation is handlebar tape: Brooks leather handlebar tape is made in a Chinese factory with just the Brooks logo stamped on it, and it is nowhere near the quality of the famed saddles.
  - busterarm 6y ago
    That's not what I said. We're talking about why Brooks' logistics might be handled in Italy. Which they are. Why do you think it might be cheaper to have their full inventory sent to a company in Italy and then have logistics handled there?
    - walshemj 6y ago
      Italy is a center for leather working
      - busterarm 6y ago
        Except the "working" part of it was already done in the UK here. It's literally stated in the first part of the article. And again, Italy has mass-imported Chinese immigrants to perform its textiles (and other industries') labor. Just because Italy is the "center for X" doesn't mean Italians are the ones doing X.
    - Hamuko 6y ago
      I imagine it's cheaper if you do most of your sales in continental Europe and just sell some units in the UK. Would make more sense to just have one logistics center even if it results in some items being shipped back and forth.
      - busterarm 6y ago
        There's no why in what you said, just stating the same premise that I did. Selle Italia happens to be located in northern Italy, where most of this immigration is concentrated. Granted it's in Veneto and the highest concentration is in Lombardia/Lombardy...but that region has half as many and they're right next to each other.
      - rjsw 6y ago
        If you want something shipped anywhere you don't start from Italy.
abc03 6y ago
I thought so as well until I got shipped a product I ordered from the Apple store from Italy. Then I remembered I got an English book I ordered from Amazon.de shipped from Italy.

by davidw 6y ago

mikey_p 6y ago

Probably because their parent company is in Italy. > Owned since 2002 by Italian bicycle saddles firm Selle Royale

rob74 6y ago

Well, if you are a huge Italian bicycle saddle maker, and you buy a small boutique British bicycle saddle maker, and you decide to centralise your logistics, where are you going to do it?

petre 6y ago
Move EU production to Italy, keep a smaller boutique shop for the UK market.

busterarm 6y ago

Italy has been mass-importing cheap manufacturing labor from China and it has most-affected textiles businesses.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Not Brooks saddles, though. They are still made in the UK. However, cheaper immigrant labor has been used, albeit not Chinese. Brooks' own newsletter reveals that at least some current workers in this British firm with a hundred-year-old tradition are recently-arrived Poles. One place where Brooks has really diminished its fine reputation is handlebar tape: Brooks leather handlebar tape is made in a Chinese factory with just the Brooks logo stamped on it, and it is nowhere near the quality of the famed saddles.
- busterarm 6y ago
  That's not what I said. We're talking about why Brooks' logistics might be handled in Italy. Which they are. Why do you think it might be cheaper to have their full inventory sent to a company in Italy and then have logistics handled there?
  - walshemj 6y ago
    Italy is a center for leather working
    - busterarm 6y ago
      Except the "working" part of it was already done in the UK here. It's literally stated in the first part of the article. And again, Italy has mass-imported Chinese immigrants to perform its textiles (and other industries') labor. Just because Italy is the "center for X" doesn't mean Italians are the ones doing X.
  - Hamuko 6y ago
    I imagine it's cheaper if you do most of your sales in continental Europe and just sell some units in the UK. Would make more sense to just have one logistics center even if it results in some items being shipped back and forth.
    - busterarm 6y ago
      There's no why in what you said, just stating the same premise that I did. Selle Italia happens to be located in northern Italy, where most of this immigration is concentrated. Granted it's in Veneto and the highest concentration is in Lombardia/Lombardy...but that region has half as many and they're right next to each other.
    - rjsw 6y ago
      If you want something shipped anywhere you don't start from Italy.

abc03 6y ago

I thought so as well until I got shipped a product I ordered from the Apple store from Italy. Then I remembered I got an English book I ordered from Amazon.de shipped from Italy.