Start a Bike Shop

[DIPSLICK]

3 hours ago, Eldron said:

Not so long ago people were banging on about how bike shops were rip offs and making bathtubs full of cash. This thread has balanced that fallacy quite nicely.

8k first order? You can't even put a basic workshop together for that or support 1 brand poorly.

50k sounds like bare minimum.

I have a tiny 1 man shop and I reckon there is close to 2 bar of equipment, tools, spare, stock and clothing in here and even then I still need to place urgent orders and pay extra for shipping because I don't have the part in stock.

It's cool being passionate about biking but before you make the leap consider that from the start you need to have at least moderate skills in marketing/SEO, basic accounting, bicycle mechanics, fitting, industry knowledge, rental agreements, POS software, sales, market Intel etc.

Or just throw yourself into it! I did it in a foreign country and it worked out (with some sleepless nights, good luck, manic work, amazing customers, awesome dealer support and a myriad of other thing I hadn't even considered when I started that could have potentially scuttled all my plans).

 

And to be fair to represent your modest “presentation “ you had a very jacked set up here in SA and you were importing product and and and

[love2fly]

23 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

Cool heat wanted a 50k 1st order 10 years ago..... Not sure if that has changed.

 

 

Ive heard the same plus they dicatate what you will buy.....

[love2fly]

2 hours ago, DIPSLICK said:

And to be fair to represent your modest “presentation “ you had a very jacked set up here in SA and you were importing product and and and

Just for fact sake....the 8k supplier I worked for was an aftermarket supplier of components and bling so not necessarily going to supply the full bag of stock to a workshop....

[Jewbacca]

4 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Just for fact sake....the 8k supplier I worked for was an aftermarket supplier of components and bling so not necessarily going to supply the full bag of stock to a workshop....

Max, is that you? ????

[love2fly]

17 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Max, is that you? ????

Nope.....name starts with a T. I'll PM you if you like - don't want to mention my or ex-employers name on here.... ????

[Puncture Kid]

On 8/18/2021 at 8:52 AM, Hamstring said:

Me thinks there two sides to this, we have a product that we are offering (bike cleaner) on consignment and it has been a struggle. LBS don’t want to give it a chance at no investment risk from them, it’s just weird  

You have to understand that retailers sell real-estate. They have to fill their shelf-meters with products that they know will sell and make profit. Even if your product is on consignment, it takes up shelf space at the expense of another product and no guarantee that it will be worthwhile. As a retailer your goal is to continuously tweak your products and fill your shelves with those to keep on maximizing returns. Why would you sacrifice shelf space to something that is not proven?

 

-- Former distributor having gone through the same

Edited August 19, 2021 by Puncture Kid

[Eddy Gordo]

We used to buy stock from a german company some years back. They always had moq. Some of the products are/were good for the hobbyist. One day we enquired about getting 1 or 2 cabinets because that was their stock that we carried. The owner came from Johannesberg to come and have a look at spacing etc. In the old end he wanted us to take all 15 cabinets, started making demands about space on the floor etc. like Get rid of the brands I established, which coincidently outsold his similar item(s) The stuff we wanted no one else had. I refused the offer, and getting their stock became very difficult after that. Eventually I stopped ordering from them. It has been years since a customer asked for that brand.

As @Puncture Kid mentioned above, shelf space is money and items that sell is whats needed.

[ChrisF]

9 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

One thing to consider is that MOQ is relative. A 8-15k opening order on something like cable ferrules and alloy bolts is a lot. On workshop spares and/or accessories not so much.
On a COD account, plain stupid. Especially if only carrying niche brands where half of them (which are on the site) are being cleared because they are no longer carrying the brand. Let's compound that with restricting access to a limited time frame of approx two weeks prior to MOQ, on a COD account. 

Do me a favour .... 

 

Jip "8k" means nothing without context ....

 

But even with a COD account one can understand that the retailers dont want to supply parts to the guy busy with a DIY project at home .....

 

 

[Zebra]

21 hours ago, Mountain Bru said:

Thanks for taking the time to share. I have no ambition to ever loose money owning a bike shop, but there are some super valuable universal principles you shared. 

For 1 - The power of convenience. I've never thought about it that much, but it's so true. There are at least 3 Postnets that are relatively close to where I stay. I always use the one that has by far the worst service because it's next to the Checkers where I do my groceries. Every single time I'm there, I have a terrible experience, hate myself for putting myself through the same torture over and over, and vow that the next time I need to send something, I'll just drive somewhere else. And flippen every time I need to send something, I end up going to the same crappy Postnet after doing groceries. I'm not a moron (I don't think), I'm just flippen lazy, and I'm not going to walk past a Postnet and drive somewhere else just to get better service. I guess the same applies to bike shops. 

I'm also lazy about calling to make a service booking during office hours. I want to be able to remember at 23:30 while I'm lying in bed that I need to service my bike, and then jump on an app and make a booking. Basically, for consumers like me, if your shop isn't on HubTiger, it might as well not exist. I wish more places would have online bookings. I have this argument regularly with doctor/medical friends that their practice should have an online booking system, and they have a 100 reasons why it won't work, but the reality is that you'll win all of my loyalty if I never have to speak to your receptionist and can make a booking online when I go to the doctor/dentist/hair dresser/car service center.

You'll also win my loyalty if you just tell me how much stuff is gonna cost in a simple, convenient way, even if it's more expensive. I can't believe that anyone goes to the trouble of "requesting a quote/price" on some online stores when other stores just tell you what stuff costs and you can order it immediately. 

 

Postnet? We use them, but we have to DRIVE to them; time, fuel, etc.

the Courier Guy comes to US, last 8or 9 years, they charge LESS door to door for many ( not all…) parcels, so save yourself the agro, and have your parcels collected, for less! (2nd or 3rd day delivery, at reduced prices…)

cheers

Chris

[Zebra]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Jip "8k" means nothing without context ....

 

But even with a COD account one can understand that the retailers dont want to supply parts to the guy busy with a DIY project at home .....

 

 

Agreed. Even as a Retailer, we supply a good number of OTHER retailers,; We smply request to see the PREMISES, proper premises, pic or two of any staff, banking account details,and we CHECK on them,if they check out, we supply them, but we do not (yet)supply a guy working from his Garage…

having said that, Istarted my business from my Garage, and so did my biggest Gauteng competitor! But simple checks are essential…

Edited August 19, 2021 by Zebra

[Hairy]

There is a LBS in Table View, where the owner started working from a rented single garage servicing bikes, eventually he started buying stock and now a couple of years later he has a dedicated clientele base, a really decent and large shop and doing well for himself.

 

[Danger Dassie]

13 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

Jip "8k" means nothing without context ....

 

But even with a COD account one can understand that the retailers dont want to supply parts to the guy busy with a DIY project at home .....

 

 

For sure, context stretches further.

This specific case is between distributor and retailer.

 If I as a retailer sell that on at cost plus 10% or at 45% MU, it’s my prerogative. That’s a fundamental of free market economy. 

Regardless, the process is the same across business. Registered business account etc. Without that there’s no account irrespective of the terms.

[Shebeen]

22 hours ago, Eldron said:

 

It's cool being passionate about biking but before you make the leap consider that from the start you need to have at least moderate skills in marketing/SEO, basic accounting, bicycle mechanics, fitting, industry knowledge, rental agreements, POS software, sales, market Intel etc.

Or just throw yourself into it! I did it in a foreign country and it worked out (with some sleepless nights, good luck, manic work, amazing customers, awesome dealer support and a myriad of other thing I hadn't even considered when I started that could have potentially scuttled all my plans).

 

amateur alert - your shop's web locations aren't even in your profile pic!

what is you shop's name/insta, would be cool to see and you probably wouldn't be guilty of punting it as we've discussed that convenience factor already!

[stefmeister]

12 hours ago, Hairy said:

There is a LBS in Table View, where the owner started working from a rented single garage servicing bikes, eventually he started buying stock and now a couple of years later he has a dedicated clientele base, a really decent and large shop and doing well for himself.

 

Think that's the way to go for most service type businesses. Start small in your free time and save as much cash as possible whilst slowly expanding and acquiring your tools/equipment etc. Once you can't keep up with demand, use that savings to expand your setup or quit your current job and go full in. 

If your business management skills are up to the task, you should be able to grow and self-fund your growth, working capital etc, whilst having cashflow to keep going and make a living.

Looking at how bicycle shops look nowadays, it's not just an old little shop with bicycles stacked everywhere and a small glass counter. These things look like car showrooms and try to offer much more than just a shop. The more of them that follow the trend, it'll become the norm of customers' expectations. 

[Eldron]

2 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

amateur alert - your shop's web locations aren't even in your profile pic!

what is you shop's name/insta, would be cool to see and you probably wouldn't be guilty of punting it as we've discussed that convenience factor already!

My shop is in Copenhagen - pop by if you're keen to come and have a look. I had a beer specially brewed for my shop's anniversary recently so I can even offer you an Ale with some organic rooibos in it!

[Iron]

In this industry if you really want to open a store and turn your hard earned money into a 1 million rand profit over a few years you best start off with 10 million when you open your store, this industry you open for passion not profit.

 

Don't do it all the comments from all parties on this topic have given the OP a clear answer .