IRVINE, Calif. (BRAIN) — In a letter sent to retailers Monday, Shimano American announced that it is raising its wholesale prices between 9 and 14 percent on parts produced primarily at its Japanese factories.
"Due to changes in market conditions, with increased costs, we will be making some pricing changes to our higher end products," the announcement said.
For example, Shimano raised the price of the Ultegra 6700 cassette by 10.5 percent; the Dura-Ace 7900 cassette price will increase 9.7 percent.
The price increases are effective June 1; all orders placed before the June 1 deadline will be sold at their current prices.
"We will make adjustments to those orders that are dated or shipping after June 1. All backorders that are not shipped before June 1 will ship at the new price," the announcement said.
The letter, sent via email to its dealers, did not specify what costs had increased at the manufacturing level in Japan or what changes in the overall market were driving the new price increases.
"Overall, the increase on these products will be around 9-14 percent. We also made some minor changes on Y and E part pricing (some increases and some decreases)," it said.
Some of the cuts included the price of the Deore XT 29 wheelset (WH-M8020-29), for example, which will see a cut of $9.75 to the wholesale price, resulting in a 2.7 percent decrease in MSRP.
Shimano said the price increases will not affect XT Di2 (M8050), SLX (M7000), pedals and wheels, excluding tubulars.
"We ask that you make adjustments to your PO's to reflect these changes," the letter said, thanking dealers for their patience and understanding.
In February, Shimano American announced price decreases on many of its parts. At the time, the company gave no insight into why the price cuts were made. In April, Shimano announced a sales decrease of 20 percent in its bike-related products in the first quarter compared with the same quarter the prior year. It was the second consecutive quarterly decline for the Japanese company.
