Brooks England, which has been making bicycle saddles at its factory in Smethwick, West Midlands for almost 140 years, has stopped sales to customers in the UK because of Brexit. The suspension of sales applies to order’s made through the brand’s website, with the company’s UK distributor confirming on Monday that it does not affect products sold through premium dealers here.
In a shipping notice on its website, shared on Twitter yesterday by user @MCRCycleSam, the company, which dates back to 1866, said: “At Brooks England, we continue to produce each leather saddle in our West Midlands factory in more or less the same manner as we have for over 150 years.
“However, upon their completion, since some time these saddles are shipped first to our logistics centre in Italy and from there to Cyclists around the world.
“Due to this, the ongoing changes in the Brexit situation have made it necessary to temporarily suspend all new orders to the UK at this time.”
Brooks England said that orders received before 12.00 CET on 29 December would be processed as usual, adding: “Additionally, we will be extending our return window for purchases made prior to this announcement so as to allow for easy returns despite procedural delays. For information about returns or any other questions, please contact our Customer Service department who will be happy to assist you.
“We appreciate your patience while we analyse this situation and plan the proper administrative steps moving forward.”
Owned since 2002 by Italian bicycle saddles firm Selle Royale, Brooks England’s suspension of orders from UK customers highlights one of the impacts of Brexit on trade between the UK and the EU.
Until the end of the transition period at 11pm on New Year’s Eve, companies with operations in the UK and EU member states would have been able to freely move goods between their various locations – for example, sending products made at one site to another to be boxed up then mailed to customers.
Now, however, such goods would require clearance through customs, entailing additional time and paperwork as well additional costs such as VAT charges.
One would expect that Brooks England will change its procedures so that dispatch of products to UK customers is done directly from the West Midlands, thereby circumventing those barriers.
But the fact that the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which runs to 1,200 pages, was only signed on Christmas Eve has given businesses little time to assess the new rules and adapt their practices and systems to them.
The company’s announcement is the latest sign of the disruption that the end of the transition period is causing for UK shoppers within the bicycle market.
As we reported yesterday, Netherlands-based online bicycle parts retailer Dutch Bike Bits has announced that the UK has become the only country in the world to which it will not ship goods.
The company said that it had taken the decision due to the UK government telling overseas firms that they must apply and collect British taxes when selling to customers here, with the point at which VAT is collected, for example, moved from the point of importation to the point of sale.
As a result, online retailers – wherever they are located – are required to register for UK VAT and to account for the tax to HM Revenues & Customs, and to pay an annual fee.
Dutch Bike Bits said that the new regime, which it described as “ludicrous,” made it impossible to sell to consumers in the UK.
Last month, German bike manufacturer Canyon suspended shipments to customers in Great Britain and said it would stop accepting orders entirely from people in Northern Ireland due to uncertainty caused by Brexit.
> Canyon pauses shipments to UK customers, blaming Brexit uncertainty
It said it would resume deliveries after 11 January, once the situation becomes clearer.
62 thoughts on “Brooks England stops online sales of ‘Made in Britain’ saddles to UK shoppers – because of Brexit”
Brexit is idiotic.
Brexit is idiotic.
No doubt someone who voted Leave will be along in a minute still trying to justify this nonsense: yes but, no but, yes but…apply VAT, don’t apply VAT etc. We’re not buying it.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Statistically, I suppose, more likely than not.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Hi.
This isn’t about Brexit, per se. It’s about our Remainer civil service. If we’re the only country in the world doing this, maybe we’re wrong.
Are you high?
Are you high?
you voted for it, you own it.
We’re the only country in the
We’re the only country in the EU leaving the EU. Maybe we’re wrong.
Quote:
How is this different from:
“[B]Selling goods to the final consumer in another EU country[/b]
If you sell goods and send them to consumers in another EU country, you usually need to register your business there and charge VAT at the rate applicable in that country – unless the total value of your sales to that country within the respective tax year falls below the limit set by the country.”
https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/taxation/vat/cross-border-vat/index_en.htm#withintheeusellgoodsfinalconsumer-1
As for Brooks “England”, I don’t suppose all that CO2 generating merry-go-round has as much to do with exporting profits to Italy?
Youd have to dig into see if
Youd have to dig into see if there were any EU grants to encourage employment in that region of Italy, much like the car factories in Wales/North East of the UK, the EU often indirectly encouraged such cross border supply arrangements,one thing you can be assured of is it didnt cost Selle Italia any extra money to do that ,at least till now, however illogical it might seem.
What does surprise me is businesses with worldwide distribution chains who are totally familiar with form filling (it’s mostly electronic thesedays) VAT & customs,shipping around the globe, who are then claiming this Brexit situation completely flummoxes them,not from political point scoring but from a business model position,despite having had 3- 4 years to prepare for even the worst case no deal scenario.
They had 3-4 years to plan
They had 3-4 years to plan for “something”, less than a week and a half for anything concrete though.
And all the money and time wasted for the preperation of various other deadlines over the past few years, I’m sure many had had their fingers burnt several times already…
They had that time to come up
They had that time to come up with a contingency business plan, on how to operate with the UK as this new separate trading entity, to wait till now to start thinking about it ultimately directly impacts their cashflow and trading figures however big or small an impact it maybe, theyve a warehouse of product that cost them money in time & materials to produce, which they cant now sell direct to the UK, which just strikes me as bad forward planning on their part.
At least we got our
At least we got our sovereignty back (and fish?) and got rid of those pesky foreigners.
Rule Britannia and make Nigel Farage a Saint I say.
I love all you people who voted leave so much, I really don’t know how to show my gratitude – God Bless you all, you have made my life so much better.
So, this should read Selle
So, this should read Selle-Royale suspends sale of Brooks saddles to UK post BREXIT…?
I can’t imagine what reason a company would manufacture goods in the UK, ship them to Italy for ‘distribution’, er….back to the UK? I understand that some supply chains are complex but that is quite simply f**ked up and can only layer on cost to UK consumers. I suspect that this is a rouse to move profits to Italy – but Corporation Tax is higher there….though avoidance is probably easier.
It would be interesting to see where their largest market was. And it would be hilarious if it was the UK.
Because you can’t imagine a
Because you can’t imagine a reason does not mean that there isn’t a good reason. There is a possibility that those who have been operating this business successfully for many years might know more about it than you do.
Yep – I can go with that. I
Yep – I can go with that. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t go into saddle-making, or supply chains.
Well, I looked in Brooks
Well, I looked in Brooks England Ltd’s latest full accounts to see what proportion of their sales are to the UK … and they don’t disclose that, on the grounds it may prejudice the business.
I suspect they ship the saddles out to Italy and they get boxed up and packaged there … the parent will have economies of scale for that …
It’s nothing to do with passing costs on to UK consumers, in my opinion; but it is everything to do with companies that previously were able to spread operations across an entire continent now having to deal with more barriers and costs than previously existed.
Will be interesting to see
Will be interesting to see how much of this disruption is still present in a few weeks.
I’m sure road.cc will do a follow up article to keep us informed.
Shall we keep a tally? So far
Shall we keep a tally? So far we have Canyon, Dutch Bike Bits, Brooks. Are there any more? And we’ll check back at the start of Feb?
BTW I am genuinely not making a point here – let’s see if this is short term over reaction by a few companies or if there’s a real problem.
Edit: just checked the dates that things are supposed to change: 11 Jan for Canyon, no date for Brooks, Dutch Bike Bits seem to be gone forever.
I’d like to see a follow up
I’d like to see a follow up article at the start of February.
My hunch is that the bigger companies will adapt and resume normal service soon enough but a few low volume suppliers may decide it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
People having hunches based
People having hunches based on their Tory/Vote Leave agenda is how we’ve got into this mess in the first place.
I look forward to getting rid of Johnson’s Vote Leave mob, never having to listen to their lies again, and having a decent, honest PM who is actually focused on the good of the country.
Not as accurate as the Remain
Not as accurate as the Remain hunches.
I can still remember those 800,000 job losses immediately after the vote.
Who could forget the massive fall in house prices too?
Let’s see what happens in a month shall we.
Rich_cb wrote:
So much stawmanning.
The problems that were forecast as a result of Brexit could only take place after Brexit took place, which was only a few days back. A simple distinction that Brexiter seem to really struggle with. Like most facts come to think of it.
Still yet to hear of any tangible benefits from leaving despite asking Brexiters for 5 odd years now.
Those forecasts were made for
Those forecasts were made for the 2 years after the VOTE.
If you have any degree of knowledge about the EU you will be able to identify advantages and disadvantages of membership.
If you can identify disadvantages of membership then, lo and behold, you can identify benefits of Brexit.
If you’re unable to think of a single disadvantage of EU membership then you’re either biased, ignorant, stupid or a combination of all three.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524967/hm_treasury_analysis_the_immediate_economic_impact_of_leaving_the_eu_web.pdf
Honestly, a shorter list
Honestly, a shorter list would be EU based stores who are still shipping to the UK, I have only found one so far (bike inn), everywhere else isn’t delivering to the UK. Fine, use UK retailers you say? Stock levels here seem terrible, many out of stock items, only available in Europe, well, or not now.
I tried to order something
I tried to order something from bike-discount.de last week and the UK seemed to have been removed from the list when filling out my address. I emailed them and got a bit of a non response about the ‘rona and a link to the DHL website…. I went elsewhere in the end and haven’t checked back since
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Excellent, I look forward to
Excellent, I look forward to it.
Thanks for engaging BTL too.
So its not a British firm
So its not a British firm anymore. Hardly made in Britain. A bit like the Mini, only the name remains.
I do remember with very fond memories my ’60s mini
Brooks leather saddles are
Brooks leather saddles are designed and manufactured here. The hide is from the UK, – apparently it has to be 5-6mm thick – and only cattle from a cold climate has hide this thick. It is then tanned in Belgium and brought back to the UK to complete the manufacturing process. The Cambium is a Selle-Royal saddle sold under the Brooks label.
The issue here may be that the companies mentioned are just used to trading within the EU…and let’s face it, despite the 4 years we’ve had to negotiate this, it was always going to be a last minute deal and neither the UK Govt or the EC has helped in this regard.
I doubt the hides are sourced
I doubt the hides are sourced from the U.K., most tanneries in Europe source their raw materials from alpine reared cows which is a location typically a fair bit colder. Tannerie Masure in Belgium are ok, they produce fairly cheap veg tan compared to big players like Rendenbach which is probably why they buy from them. French/Belgian tanneries also use chestnut tannin which doesn’t have the same properties as British oak bark tanned leather, it’s a shame Brookes don’t source from the last remaining U.K. tannery, Bakers in Devon which I consider the best in my experience
I read it on a review of
I read it on a review of their factory… it said ‘The saddle’s journey begins in the rolling and verdant hills of Great Britain and Ireland, where the sea-borne chill of the British Isles produces thick-skinned cattle, perfect for a flexible but stiff seat. (This is also where the toughest sole leather for shoes comes from, and it’s why English shoes tend to be heavier than their Italian counterparts.) Hides come in anywhere between 5.5 to 6 mm thick — a bit wider than a pair of nickels — and are then dyed with plant-derived pigments by Tannerie Masure, the same Belgian tannery that’s been treating Brooks leather for more than 25 years.
https://craftsmanship.net/the-best-bicycle-seats-on-the-planet-a-factory-tour/
Very few British factory made
Very few British factory made shoes use English sole leather (or even particularly good quality veg tan as the price for the real deal is too high) and cow hide can be good amount thicker than 6mm – depending more on the age of the animal than the weather to be honest, hides are a by product of the meat industry so cows don’t often get to grow that old. English/Italian shoe construction is a style difference more than locality, much of the upper leather used in the U.K. is tanned in Italy anyway. I suspect the Brooks review is mainly fluff
So, what’s your insight if
So, what’s your insight if you don’t believe the below?
I work in the leather
I’ve worked in the leather goods industry for 15 years, I run a business manufacturing high end goods and I source leather from tanneries and merchants all over the world
I hoped that might be the
I hoped that might be the case. Thanks for sharing your experience. I have a bit of a fetish for decent mens shoes…and I could stare at them for hours! Pity we can’t meet up for a beer these days!
I think the assembly of both
I think the assembly of both is in the UK, though local content is far from 100%. The first BMW Mini engines came from that well known centre of automotive excellence Brazil.
Somewhere in Selle Royale there will be a bean counter who worked out that it was cheaper to centralise distribution. Companies of much size are run by hierarchies of control freaks, many of whom don’t trust things they can’t see. This gives rise to odd decisions or things arising from unintended consequences.
I’ve worked for small and large companies over the years and often been amazed by head office edicts – such as all new hires in a 50,000 people organisation must be approved by the CEO (that lasted about an hour), or that major system changes could be done on the fourth Thursday in November as no one is working then.
Brooks saddles are made in
Brooks saddles are made in Smethwick, although the company is Italian-owned.
The Mini is made in Cowley, although the brand and plant are owned by BMW.
These are actual things made in the UK, not brands that outsource manufacturing elsewhere.
That may of course change in the near future.
Regardless of what anybody
Regardless of what anybody thinks of Brexit it is still a frigging disgrace that saddles to UK customers are shipped to Italy and back again. The EU has been expert at organising or at least not stopping that sort of shite. Prawns trucked from Holland to North Africa to be peeled and then trucked back; potatoes trucked over to eastern Europe to be peeled then trucked somewhere else to be cut and fried.
I’d bet most of the EU lovers on Roadcc don’t remember the beef mountain, the butter mountain, the milk and wine likes or the French setting fire to Irish beef lorries and tipping motor oil into Spanish and Italian wine tankers. Then there was the fraud over non existent tomato plantations (I think olives might have been in there as well. Then there was the little matter of unloading the beef mountain by giving it away in poor African countries which dropped the beef prices in those locations so that local farmers had to bury their cattle because they couldn’t afford to feed them. Lets not talk about the banana regulation that was put in place to bully non EU banana growers (since rescinded). Na, great institution the EU – if you ignore the corruption, expenses scandals and Brussels to Strasburg nonsense….
There, I feel better now. I’ll feel even better when I’ve had a G&T knowing I can get duty free replacements next time I cross the channel.
As the article makes very
As the article makes very clear, Brooks is owned by an Italian company. It should therefore not exactly be a shock that their central distribution centre is in Italy, where presumably plain old economies of scale mean that it is more cost-effective to have one larger centre for all their goods rather than having smaller ones dotted in various companies.
I work for a company that designs its products in the UK but most of the manufacturing is done overseas, outside the EU. It is then shipped back to the UK to our central distribution centre, because that is the best place for us to keep our stock. This practice has absolutely nothing to do with the EU, it is simply how business works. Clearly when circumstances change such that having separate distribution centres becomes more cost-effective, that is what companies will do, whether they’re in the EU or not. You can hardly blame Brooks or their parent company for the short notice they have been given to implement a solution, so a short delay while they put that in place is hardly the end of the world.
Basically, stop being a prat.
I suspect it has more to do
I suspect it has more to do with exporting the profits to Italy. The UK operation can run at cost generating no profit, whilst the retail mark-up accrues in Italy.
You suspect. I suspect you’re
You suspect. I suspect you’re completely wrong.
Sriracha wrote:
I looked at Brooks England Ltd’s accounts (filed at Companies House) for FYE 2019 earlier; in terms of net profit vs turnover, they punched well above their weight at group level.
Listen twathooks, don’t be
Listen twathooks, don’t be insulting. Anybody can cook up numbers in an office to justify such shipping arrangements. If those shipping activities EVER had to pay for their impact on the environment, not to mention damage to the road infastructure caused by trucks, they would never get out of the starting blocks.
Dingaling wrote:
^This. Until the carbon footprint of goods is taxed this sort of thing will continue. All goods, including food, need to be taxed on their true environmental cost.
If the shipping is that much
If the shipping is that much of an issue to you, then would you be happier if Selle Italia cut out the UK part of the process? The leather is sourced from Belgium, the metal presumably from the Far East – why is it coming to the U.K. at all when they have a factory in Italy already?
No, I’d be happier if they
No, I’d be happier if they just used a local agent. Oh, wait, they do:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/brooks-england-distributor-reacts-to-stories-claiming-saddle-sales-to-the-uk-have-stopped-due-to-brexit-487164
Storm/teacup.
The EU is a free market – so
The EU is a free market – so obvioulsy goods / services / people can move around freely. That’s the whole point. The EU does not ‘organise’, it enables. National Governments and business organise the moving of goods / services.
The food mountains are a thing of the past. They were wasteful but they are no longer. Unions of democratic nations are able to solve problems by working together.
The ‘corruption’. What corruption do you refer to?
The bananas – oh, yes. The bananas.
Corruption? Well…I suppose
Corruption? Well…I suppose it’s not all bad.
https://fullfact.org/europe/did-auditors-sign-eu-budget/
I cannot believe that
I cannot believe that companies have waited until the UK has left the EU, surely they have had long enough to put measures in place for a seamless transition?
Based on what deal? Or are
Based on what deal? Or are you seriously suggesting that small companies had the resources to invest time, effort and money on a range of eventualities and incidentaly deal with the business issues caused by a global pandemic?
Wouldn’t have been much of a
Wouldn’t have been much of a head-scratcher for made in Smethwick Brooks “England” though, surely?
CEO: Guys ‘n Gals, we have a problem – they’re pulling up the drawbridge from the EU! How will we ever get our artisanal English leather saddles from our Smethwick factory into the UK? We’ll have to burn the midnight oil on this one, only got four years to figure it out and execute.
LOGISTICS: Sheesh, that’s a conundrum.
INTERN: I have an idea…
Well we all knew that the UK
Well we all knew that the UK would be leaving at 11pm on the 31st. It wasn’t a last minute thing. Companies should have put in place measures for all eventualities.
Are you joking? Johnson
Are you joking? Johnson finally agreed the deal on 24th December – no doubt deliberately last-minute so there would be no time for Parliamentary scrutiny. There is no limit to that liar’s cynicism.
And you’re blaming companies because they didn’t make arrangements to comply with a trade deal they didn’t know about until the last minute? That is ridiculous.
It’s not ridiculous if the
It’s not ridiculous if the company in question manufactures its products IN the UK.
Having a contingency plan for a no deal Brexit would have been pretty sensible, if they had had such a plan in place they would not have run into difficulty now.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
I certainly don’t hold a candle for Boris. But in a high stakes negotiation in which both sides are necessarily going to come up short, logic dictates that neither party can sell the deal with six months left in play. That’s not cynicism.
To be fair to Phil the VAT
To be fair to Phil the VAT changes have been being flagged by HMRC since at least October, they applied regardless of the deal being negotiated.
There were US companies complaining about this then. William Shatners webstore for one.
The EU is putting a similar scheme in place in July, but for the EU 27 as a whole so there is more incentive for companies to comply.
No one had a clue what was
No one had a clue what was going on becuase there was no plan, to clue, no strategy other than unicorns, 350 million and blue passports it was and is all bollox.
Lukas wrote:
The clues were there, from July. Now, that’s got to be enough time to get Brooks “England” branded product out of Smethwick into the UK.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-border-operating-model#history
We have had four years for
We have had four years for companies to come up with plans. If the remainer supporting companies had put as much effort into getting ready for the transition as they did bleating about the thick racist Brexiters and demanding another referendum, the transition would be fairly seamless.
Bollocks. You can’t plan if
Bollocks. You can’t plan if you don’t know what the rules are going to be. We did some contingency/what-if planning but the devil is always in the detail. Suddenly Wiggle’s acquisition of CRC & BikeDiscount makes a whole lot of sense, which isn’t great news for the rest of the UK sports retailers.
biker phil wrote:
That is 100%, definitively, absolute bollocks!
My employer and other businesses in a similar position has spent many hundreds, possibly thousands of hours trying to get answers out of Defra for the entire time since the referendum. Even now it’s almost impossible to get conclusive answers; often any response or statement leads to further questions because there is so little clarity on what is supposed to happen.
That’s nothing to do with whether individuals are voted Leave or Remain. My colleagues and I – and the people we deal with day in, day out – are just trying to do our fucking jobs.
Bit of a PR own-goal from
Bit of a PR own-goal from flag-waving traditional artisanally crafted in Smethwick oh-so-British “Brooks €ngland”
Not really, German and Swiss
Not really, German and Swiss hipsters won’t even notice.
How many UK orders do they
How many UK orders do they actually have to process? If it is genuinely a shipping issue, surely it would not be difficult to employ someone on a temporary basis to pack them up and arrange a courier?