Earlier today
Cycling industry news reported that Mojo Suspension and Fox Racing Shox are to part ways:
Mojo Suspension will no longer act as the UK distributor or service partner for Fox Factory products in the UK the firm has confirmed to CI.N.
“As of today we’re unfortunately no longer the partner for Fox,” said a spokesperson for the business. “Stock will not be replenished once we have sold through.”
Mojo indicated that no immediate replacement for the brand was as yet planned. The firm’s website currently shows a number of lines discounted for clearance.
More to follow.
MENTIONS: @foxracingshox
Mojo were held in such high esteem here in the UK that Fox ought to have tread very carefully if they planned to go it alone, instead what they’ve done is piss us off and (as Waki rightly points out) give us another reason to just go for Rockshox. Nobody, not even Fox themselves will match Mojo’s CS. But I guess they will surpass the volumes of product that Mojo could handle..?
From a consumer POV they’d have been smart to absorb Mojo but that doesn’t seem to be what’s happening.
As a professional mechanic (and rider) Mojo have always been fantastic and super helpful for all suspension servicing we cannot fulfill in store. Strange news....and unwelcome.
@Fix-the-Spade: and Foes 80s porn style babes in advertising.
Over the past few years Fox have become possibly (depending on your opinion of course) the market leader in high end suspension, especially aftermarket. Their product line is now also huge compared to how it was with all of the different wheel sizes, boost / non boost, performance and factory series, all the rear shocks and the post range.
All of this would say to me that Mojo would have to be willing to dig deep into their pockets to stock all available products, and as distributor that is exactly what Fox would expect.
I imagine Fox have requested Mojo stock a certain quantity of 2018 product, likely ordered up front for the coming 2018 season - I would think this adds up to a huge sum of cash, just think how much a fork costs and multiply that in the hundreds for each type available.
I doubt they have a single issue with Mojos service, I have always found them great and like Chris and his approach, I really hope jobs are not lost because of this but fear it is likely inevitable. I may be proved wrong when the story comes out but it sounds to me like Fox have moved on to someone with bigger pockets.
Fox will have a big job on their hands finding someone or setting up something from scratch to match that level of service, let alone surpass it.
But what is shocking right now is Mojo knocking out X2s for less than £250 when the ticket price was north of 700 on some specs. Is that really the mark-up that Fox are dictating?
With no official warranty/service operation who is going to want to buy Fox parts or a Fox equipped bike?
@DaMilkyBarKid
I'm not saying Mojo is a tiny outfit, you are missing my point - I'm suggesting that the Fox range is now much larger and coupled with investor takeover they may be attempting to force large stockholding on Mojo - I have personal experience of a distributor who lost a contract because of exactly this situation - the supplier wanted them to take a huge number of their new product, distribution said not at that QTY so the manufacturer simply left to find someone that would.
Fox are a huge company now, of course I may be completely wrong but my guess is this is a move to either larger pockets or potentially a direct distribution model so the shareholders get Mojos cut of the process.
If he is selling a shock at break even (just to clear it) for £246 then the ex vat price is £205.
If he was selling at £700, the Ex vat price is £583.
So he pays £76 quid (£117 VAT charged less £41 VAT paid to supplier) to the VAT man.
So £700 retail less the £76 VAT and the £246 paid to supplier is £378 gross profit on the sale?
Assuming Mojo is presumably a big enough business to be VAT registered.
The only way Mojo could sell cheaper to the public is to stop supplying the trade and that's just not how it works.
This could be the reason Fox have cut ties, maybe they will setup their own distribution in the Uk as they have apparently done in Germany, that way they keep the percentage of the margin that Mojo would have kept.
It's this way in almost all of the bike industry but if you want your lbs to continue to exist it just has to be this way, unless you go direct sale of course but then who supports the product?
.....a shock shouldn't be 700 quid IMO and forks shouldn't be 1800....maybe a soft pound isn't helping but the prices have got stupid,
Many LBS won't touch the insides of a shock/forks/dropper so you have to ask the question as to why there's any point in them being in the value chain at all. Shouldn't consumers just buy direct? I guess you could ask why a distributor is as well .....but with suspension it needs technical support. How is fox going to handle this? Deal direct with retailers for distribution but have a third party warranty/servicing arrangement? What are they doing in Germany?
Mojo did a fine job of things so whoever replaces them has their work cut out.
A competent workshop should have no issues doing fork lowers and air can servicing in store, plus dropper post maintenance.
Anything involving dampers or wear/damage we'd send out to Mojo (fox) or SRAM tech (rs) as it'll need tooling and parts we don't carry.
Guess we'll find out soon!!
As others have said the service provided and reputation they hold is outstanding so I wish them all the best for the future.
I have BOS stuff and it performs better but the support from BOS is beyond appalling ... so never bought any more. I got FOX because it does the job but after dealing with BOS I realised how important the best quality instant support is. I got that from MOJO, so would have stayed with FOX.
FOX are now leaving the door open for Ohlins and BOS and perhaps DVO to get a better grip of the UK market????
Money talks.. and more then ever before in the bicycle trade.
I'm banking it being fox themselves wanting more cake !
I can imagine the cost to stock a decent number of each of the current range of product would be eye watering - I don't doubt Mojo as a service station but wonder if their pockets just couldn't cover the purchase requests from Fox - it's about the right time of the year for that too.
www.mojo-store.co.uk
So these guys are the new Fox Official service centre, so was it simply a case of one of Mojos main guys leaving and going to Silverfish UK?
Wonder if there's a connection
Corporate rescaling or something
just saying...
You are overlooking how big Fox are - take a look investor.ridefox.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1036004
128million qtr turnover - it will do over 500million in 2017.
I very much doubt they'd do it as it would screw over a major partner of theirs but they would certainly have to opportunity to do it if they wanted.
They are on the breadline.