Pricey Bikes, Anyone? - A Market Friday Contribution

Hello my Steemit friends. It's Friday once again. It's one of the most awaited day of the Week! It's time for the popular #MarketFriday tag hosted by @dswigle. This is an initiative I highly recommend you join or at least know more about. Just click on the link here and have a real cool Steemit experience you'll always look forward to.

For this Friday, I would like to feature these two shops which sell high end motorcycles. My wife and I were downtown to buy our grocery supplies. Since only one of us is allowed to enter the supermarket, I had to wait for her outside and parked just right in front of these stores. I noticed them and thought they'd be a perfect feature for Market Friday.

These two are located on the same compound and are just immediately beside each other. I remember these shops opened a few years ago here in our city and have been a hit with affluent motorcycle enthusiasts. The recent ECQ, (Enhanced Community Quarantine), imposed on our city resulted in the temporary cessation of their operations as they are considered non-essential businesses.

Ducati is a group of companies, best known for manufacturing motorcycles and headquartered in Borgo Panigale, Bologna, Italy. The group is owned by German automotive manufacturer Audi through its Italian subsidiary Lamborghini, which is in turn owned by the Volkswagen Group. (Wikipedia)

And just right beside the Ducati showroom is another store selling a different, but still high end, motorcycle brand, KTM. I have a feeling the owners of both are one and the same.

KTM AG (the former KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces its foundation to as early as 1934. Today, KTM AG is the parent company of the KTM Group, consisting of a number of motorcycle brands. KTM is known for its off-road motorcycles (enduro, motocross and supermoto) although they have also branched out to street motorcycles as well. (Google Search)

I couldn't get a close up pictures of these shops because the area was cordoned off but I was able to get off a few from outside, although I must admit the glass facade and the angle of the afternoon sun made the motorcycle display, especially for the Ducati, a bit muddled but good enough, I hope.

Picture above is a KTM 125 SX with a Suggested Retail Price of US$7,199. That's almost Philippine Pesos 400,000. It's an off-road type of motorcycle used in motocross challenges and races. (I Googled the model and price.)

Another angle of the Ducati showroom.

And another.

This is, if I am not mistaken, a Ducati Scrambler Sixty2, a bike for almost any application. It's SRP is a cool US$10,000 or about 500,000 Philippine Pesos.

Inventory stocks of Ducati with a security guard keeping watch. At the foreground is a Scrambler Sixty2.

The Corona pandemic has indeed caused a huge negative effect on the economy and these shops are one of the hardest hit. Our ECQ's tentative lifting will be on May 15 but rumors are now circulating that it will again be extended to May 25. How soon these companies can get on their feet once the lockdown is lifted is anyone's guess. I am sure with the economy expected to undergo recession, the high end luxury motorcycle business might have to struggle much more than the rest.

That's it for this post. Sorry but I could not give you better pictures. But rest assured, once the ECQ is lifted, I will revisit these shops and get better ones for another post. Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoyed your stay. Please stay safe, wear your masks and practice social distancing. God bless you all and may you have a great weekend!

(All photos are mine.)