COMMENT AND OPINION | Paul Crow
OPINION
PAUL CROW
As a keen cyclist, the Ripples MD’s ride to the top of the
Ain’t no mountain high enough
If you look back over your shoulder have come from, up that climb than you realise
Prior to going on the trip, I got used to the routine of getting up early in the morning to wander over to my garage, where I would then grind away on the pedals of a stationary bicycle for an hour, often until my legs felt like jelly. On those dark and freezing cold mornings of January, I can tell you that staying in bed felt like a much better option, but I persevered.
I
As I looked up at the peak of the mountain, a mile in the sky above me, I had 21km to ride, an average gradient of 7% to tackle, and at least 30°C temperatures that even before I started were causing my eyes to sting from the sweat. I felt pretty anxious.
If I am honest, I went to Italy as I thought it would be good to have a challenge and frankly a distraction from work. I’ve been pretty lax at taking my holiday of late, as there is always something important to attend to at work and I was starting to feel mentally very tired. Work has often been for me a bit like that mountain.
Looking at the challenges ahead, it can at times leave me with an element of anxiousness and uncertainty, but it also leaves me with a quietly resolute attitude not to be beaten.
It’s great that we have some Ripples showrooms smashing sales targets, and they are doing it because they have become really good at what they do. However, it’s not the norm and our franchise partners that aren’t as pleased with their sales are working just as hard as those that are. Oscar Wilde is often attributed as saying ‘I am
was recently fortunate enough to get some time to visit the Italian Alps with a group of friends as we all shared a desire to cycle to the top of the Stelvio – the second highest paved mountain in the Alps. With its peak at 2,757m above sea level, it’s known to be a bit of a brute to climb up, and it was.
not young enough to know everything’, which rang true in my head. And while I still get frustrated, I am honest enough with myself and others to admit that I don’t have all the answers. I’m pretty confident that I’m not alone in thinking like this.
As I wiped that sweat from my eyes, I started my ascent, focusing on the climb as one section at a time. Some bits were ridiculously tough, with the gradient hitting 14%, and others were more kind – especially the tunnels that shielded me from the sun.
As I reached the hairpins, I pushed on and started to overtake other cyclists until eventually the road flattened out a little, carving its way through the deep snow. After another hour of labouring along, it was the final push to the summit and the long-awaited ‘second wind’ and I stood on the pedals and accelerated past the Fausto Coppi monument at the top of the mountain. Oh, the views!
There are always plenty of mountains preventing a business from moving forward, and at the moment they can feel pretty big. Yes, sometimes one can lose momentum and roll backwards, but wherever you may be on the journey, I’m pretty confident if you look back over your shoulder at where you have come from, you will be a bit further up that climb than you realise. The view from the top may well be worth it, but to be honest, I’d take the pain, heat and struggle to get there over that every day of the week. That is why we are going to enjoy the journey we have today, work hard to be stronger and fitter, so that when the road levels off a bit, and it will, we can make up some lost ground on those that don’t.
‘Bathstore lost their way years ago’
So the news is that Bathstore has been, or will soon be, purchased by a financial investment group that specialises in businesses that are underperforming. I think Bathstore lost their way years ago, to be frank, and were too big and heavy to move in an alternative direction. They sure lost a lot of money trying. All independent retailers would feel much better about not having Bathstore breathing down their neck, however, before we breathe a sigh of relief, we should ask ourselves whether or not the competition
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they gave us has been a good or a bad thing. I’m of the view that it’s overall a good thing.
Working harder to prove we are better in so many ways cannot be a bad thing for us independents, because we all know the customer gets better value from us. We do though have to prove it. I suspect they will find a way to resurrect themselves soon, whether like a Habitat as a shop- in-shop type concession in another multi-site retailer, or as a smaller version of themselves. But equally, I wouldn’t be surprised if we never hear of them again and that someone else fills the vacuum.
kbbr kbbreview · August 2019
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