Posted: 5/21/2011 10:19:31 AM EDT
Popped in to see an RFD friend today at his shop. He keeps a good stock and serves a rural community, ie huntin', shootin', fishin' types. Sadly he said he hasn't been busy for a while, I was only his 3rd customer of the day (@ 3.30pm), on what is usually his busiest day...............
|
|
It is a difficult time for anyone serving a recreational customer base, when times get hard that's the first thing that goes. I went to see a new RFD outlet on Saturday, he is just getting going with the shop which is going to suplement his family's business which is an upmarket country house hotel/golf complex.
I wish him well, we need people like him up here because RFDs are very thin on the ground. |
|
Yep, the economic situation is biting hard.
I know I don't have the same level of disposable income I had 2 years ago. The exchange rates for a lot of imported stuff have had a significant effect, metal prices and the effect on consumables such as bullets has had a remarkable effect on cost as it is. Couple that with inflation, a third year of little or no payrises for many people and the cost of living increases.... not to mention the spiralling fuel costs that are cripling any form of recovery by adding additional cost to almost every aspect of our lives. It may only be temporary, but It's going to be a tough storm to weather for many RFDs. Those that adapt and innovate will have an easier time, I suspect. |
|
Quoted:
It is a difficult time for anyone serving a recreational customer base, when times get hard that's the first thing that goes. I went to see a new RFD outlet on Saturday, he is just getting going with the shop which is going to suplement his family's business which is an upmarket country house hotel/golf complex. I wish him well, we need people like him up here because RFDs are very thin on the ground. what area is the new RFD in? ...from your user name I'm guessing you are up near Aberdeen |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
It is a difficult time for anyone serving a recreational customer base, when times get hard that's the first thing that goes. I went to see a new RFD outlet on Saturday, he is just getting going with the shop which is going to suplement his family's business which is an upmarket country house hotel/golf complex. I wish him well, we need people like him up here because RFDs are very thin on the ground. what area is the new RFD in? ...from your user name I'm guessing you are up near Aberdeen The new RFD is Buchan Guns, about 4 miles from Mintlaw. The man is Grant Buchan, his family run the Meldrum House complex at Old Meldrum. I can dig out his contact details if you wish. You may know Eric Burnett the gunsmith who had a shop in Mintlaw. His brother (& partner in the shop) has just retired and Eric has gone to work with Grant. I am 30 miles north of Aberdeen, I shoot with Aberdeen Full Bore Gun Club and Peterhead RPC. |
|
Quoted:
Yep, the economic situation is biting hard. I know I don't have the same level of disposable income I had 2 years ago. The exchange rates for a lot of imported stuff have had a significant effect, metal prices and the effect on consumables such as bullets has had a remarkable effect on cost as it is. Couple that with inflation, a third year of little or no payrises for many people and the cost of living increases.... not to mention the spiralling fuel costs that are cripling any form of recovery by adding additional cost to almost every aspect of our lives. It may only be temporary, but It's going to be a tough storm to weather for many RFDs. Those that adapt and innovate will have an easier time, I suspect. Mate. I agree with the sentiment, adapt & innovate, but theres only so much you can do, be it RFD or joe public trying to get along. I suggest the real cost of living increases per yr, these last 2 yrs are 12-14% pa, not inc fuel to January of this year. Its worse now. This is not doom & gloom, this is me, sad arse looking at our expenditure on the same things we buy as a family every 6 months. Suggest that you don't do the maths for your own sanity ! From what I can see, theres plenty of gas & oil around, just not enough of ours ! Fuel is 75% duty as we know. This kind of fuel cost relative to wages & cost of living would not wash in the USA. The present UK administration made a terrible mistake putting up VAT another 2.5 % when we were on 15% in 2009. 5% VAT increase in 4 quarters & the UK recovery so far behind Germany & France etc.. lucky we did not go into the Euro or we could easily have had our begging bowls out like Greece & Ireland etc. And yet, those banks that are nationalised / part nationalised & were bailed out by tax payers money are still paying bonus to their staff ! WTF is that about ? The country & its residents are being forced into the black economy to survive, including me to some extent. No, I'm not on my last penny, but i've got two cars with me still that owe me close on £8k & were supposed to be picked up over a month ago. One of the owners in question was due on Monday....so I treated myself at the weekend & bought a trigger, the first big "me" expenditure this year. Gues what Still waiting ! |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
Yep, the economic situation is biting hard. I know I don't have the same level of disposable income I had 2 years ago. The exchange rates for a lot of imported stuff have had a significant effect, metal prices and the effect on consumables such as bullets has had a remarkable effect on cost as it is. Couple that with inflation, a third year of little or no payrises for many people and the cost of living increases.... not to mention the spiralling fuel costs that are cripling any form of recovery by adding additional cost to almost every aspect of our lives. It may only be temporary, but It's going to be a tough storm to weather for many RFDs. Those that adapt and innovate will have an easier time, I suspect. Mate. I agree with the sentiment, adapt & innovate, but theres only so much you can do, be it RFD or joe public trying to get along. I suggest the real cost of living increases per yr, these last 2 yrs are 12-14% pa, not inc fuel to January of this year. Its worse now. This is not doom & gloom, this is me, sad arse looking at our expenditure on the same things we buy as a family every 6 months. Suggest that you don't do the maths for your own sanity ! From what I can see, theres plenty of gas & oil around, just not enough of ours ! Fuel is 75% duty as we know. This kind of fuel cost relative to wages & cost of living would not wash in the USA. The present UK administration made a terrible mistake putting up VAT another 2.5 % when we were on 15% in 2009. 5% VAT increase in 4 quarters & the UK recovery so far behind Germany & France etc.. lucky we did not go into the Euro or we could easily have had our begging bowls out like Greece & Ireland etc. And yet, those banks that are nationalised / part nationalised & were bailed out by tax payers money are still paying bonus to their staff ! WTF is that about ? The country & its residents are being forced into the black economy to survive, including me to some extent. No, I'm not on my last penny, but i've got two cars with me still that owe me close on £8k & were supposed to be picked up over a month ago. One of the owners in question was due on Monday....so I treated myself at the weekend & bought a trigger, the first big "me" expenditure this year. Gues what Still waiting ! I agree. The position we are in and the cost of living rises we are all facing on a net reduced income is hitting hard. I don't blame this Govt , I do blame the last one as they left us in this position. I don't agree with everyting that the tories re doing but at least they are forcing some hard changes to get us through the mire as quickly as possible. Not nice but cheaper in the long run. The big worry will come if the Euro collapses........ with Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Greece all on the brink, if one of them collapses then the others will follow and the Euro will be doomed. While on the face of it that might sound good, it will mean that these countries will end up going back to their original currencies (or a new one) which will be greatly devalued. Given the Euro/£ exchange rate, all the money and loans we have out there with the EU states will be devalued overnight and practically unrecoverable. The Debt we already have will increase significantly, then we are screwed.....(hence the old addage "Neither a Borrower nor a Lender be") It's little wonder why the Euro zone are trying to get a Pro-Euro tosser in charge of the IMF. They want to secure the bailouts they know they are going to need at the expense of the rest of the world. I just hope they don;t stick Gordon Brown in there........ might as well put King Herod in charge of a creche. That's why, even though it stings to go through it, I am willing to accept some short term pain for some longe term resillience, because if we don't quickly claw back the mess left by Neu Arbeit, we could find ourselves neck deep in poop. With regard to the RFD's (as an example) and adapting and innovating, peole will still want kit, and will still need to get supplies. There will be less money in the shooting pot, which means less all round for the RFDs. Thiose that adapt and find a way to get their competitirs customers through the door will stand a better chance of survivial. I suspect we will see (and in fact I think we already are seeing) the development and rekindling of a UK based firearms manufacting industry, with small engineering operations being contracted to supply UK RFDs with components against a bak drop of rising import costs and a significant increase in cost and diffculty of importing from abroad. |
|
Its going to get much worse I fear.... I'm not even sure this is 'worse before it gets better' either. The whole world is just one epic financial clusterfuck of biblical proportions, the roots of which actually go back way beyond recent governments to the introduction of Fiat currencies which enabled no-cost expansionary moneteray policy spent by keynsian idealists... 30-40 years of FAIL. I'm not even so sure anything can save the system as it is now.. something big will have to give. As the old saying goes about brass lead, steel and gold (the first 3 assembled in the correct order of course).. they might just turn out to be the best real investment for a good many people in some parts of the planet (not the UK, I hope!)..  |
|
FCP, I fear you may be right & I dont have the feckless optimisim to say otherwise.
Funky, I agree with most of what you say except putting V.A.T up from 17.5 to 20%. That was too much too soon & a step too far. I believe we will feel it's full consequence by the end of this yrs 2nd financial quarter. Out of the 32 that I used to work with as Engineers on two shifts in the 1990's, 3 remain resident within the UK. All are scattered to the strong EU countries or US or Oz. One of those commutes back & forth every week end & is in either the German or Austrian tax system full time. The German & Austrian tax systems are not a pushover, so what does that tell you about where we are now ! Hindsight is the most useless tool in the box, but I rue the day I passed over an up & running business in the Eiffel region in 2006, because of the eldests schooling & language concerns from my wife. That would still have been 500,000 euros well spent I reckon. Live long & prosper... |