Start a Bike Shop

[Shebeen]

On 8/16/2021 at 4:41 PM, wondermakerstudio@gmail.com said:

Hi all

Just a question.

If you start a bike shop or want to start one, what is the procedure?

I ask this mainly because every supplier you find wants to do business with existing shops. This I understand, they want to make sure you are legit. Still. How do you start from scratch? It seems like its impossible, even if you carry your stock cash, you are a new start-up therefore you have no track record. 

Please help.

ha ha. this oke is a legend first poster.

signs up, starts a thread and pisses off 7 minutes later.

 

I guess the other way to start a bike shop that hasn't been mentioned is to buy one.

 

 

 

[Zebra]

3 hours ago, Iron said:

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

umm, rather CONSIDER  not opening a Store, based on v. good, real-life advice posted here, rather than DON'T do it - but I think previoous posters have your best interest at heart.

Something ELSE you could consider in something ALLIED to cycling, but yet not a bike SHOP, maybe some sought-after service ( a niche, in other words), that is way less capital-intensive, way less  - or zero - being held 'hostage' by suppliers MOQ, there WILL be some service you could offer, etc?

Just a thought - and good luck!

[MarcHD]

18 minutes ago, Iron said:

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 .

 

I respectfully disagree.

I was very tempted to go into retail despite all the cons. It's obviously going to be easier when you start with a huge amount of money before hand, but unless you made a fortune elsewhere or inherited money this will likely come from the form of a partner(s), a loan, or investors.

Owning a bike shop can be highly rewarding and highly profitable IF and only if you bother to learn the basics (and hopefully master several) of the essential aspects to owning a business. 

As a Hubber mentioned in a previous post this is things like (but not limited to)

Accounting

Marketing

Technology

Service

Procurement 

 

Some stores have become successful despite having little to no understanding of some of these important aspects of business, usually as they were founded before the necessity for such skills arose (how many bike shops do you know with no webpage... in a day and age where a business is expected to have a social media presence across multiple platforms as a minimum) 

Personally I feel these stores will struggle to stay relevant in an increasingly demanding market unless they learn to adapt soon...

The stores who have mastered all of these aspects as well as adhering to some of the aspects raised in my previous post are the ones who will not only survive, but are currently thriving in our market. 

It can definitely be done 

[DieselnDust]

4 hours ago, Eldron said:

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!

I'm known for driving out of my way for good service

[Mountain Bru]

15 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

I'm known for driving out of my way for good service

The drive to Copenhagen is gonna be a long one though.....

[DieselnDust]

5 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

The drive to Copenhagen is gonna be a long one though.....

Will need a landcruiser........perfect excuse

[Jewbacca]

13 minutes ago, copperhead said:

Something I have noticed over the years of going to bike shops. If the owner is there all the time, actively involved and a swell person you generally going to be in good hands. If the owner is not there and staff man the operations well good luck. No one cares more than the personal trying to make it a success. While staff can be an absolute asset they can also "mostly" are there for the job. Same as any business model I guess.

I haven't read the whole thread so apologies if that has already been said. 

I refer to this as 'the soul' of the business.

Many places start out with the owner busy and in the trenches, but as the processes evolve they tend to step away.

Often this leads to the death of the small enterprise.

I also think on how Trail and Tar started, evolved, grew, got smaller and then closed. If someone like Noel struggled to make it work, there aren't too many out there who will. 

One thing that stands out for me is that 'most' of the bike shops still around and doing a roaring trade are backed/the front for ONE established brand. The Gear Change and Trek/Bontrager, Spez and Giant stores etc.... The old institutions like Bridge and Olympic are so engrained in local folklore that they don't even have on line stores that work but still turn over enough to stay relevant.

It's a really tough industry to crack and it will take a really astute and capable person to succeed.

[Eldron]

20 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Will need a landcruiser........perfect excuse

See you in 3-5 weeks!

[DieselnDust]

9 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I refer to this as 'the soul' of the business.

Many places start out with the owner busy and in the trenches, but as the processes evolve they tend to step away.

Often this leads to the death of the small enterprise.

I also think on how Trail and Tar started, evolved, grew, got smaller and then closed. If someone like Noel struggled to make it work, there aren't too many out there who will. 

One thing that stands out for me is that 'most' of the bike shops still around and doing a roaring trade are backed/the front for ONE established brand. The Gear Change and Trek/Bontrager, Spez and Giant stores etc.... The old institutions like Bridge and Olympic are so engrained in local folklore that they don't even have on line stores that work but still turn over enough to stay relevant.

It's a really tough industry to crack and it will take a really astute and capable person to succeed.

 

Many great points here. We must also not forget that skrinking sales has been ongoing since 2015. The cycling bubble effectively burst around then. Covid has fuelled a resurgence but its is not unpinned by economic growth rather short term availability of cash. The fact that many shops had a superb back end of 2020 and are closing in 2021 is testimony to the fact that the economy isn't ale to support the leisure industry. Globla supply shortages are a factor but not a key reason. Smaller shops with good service and that can operate flexibly , and with real skills in the workshop and shop floor are surviving. 

A robust business isn't always large but rather tailored to meet the needs of its target market. 

An online service still isn't necessary in SA but an online social media presence is, its cheap advertising.  The shops that get this right survive. The market is broad enough to be serviced by very different types of store. It isn't deep enought to support the large number of store especially those that are inefficient. Those skills that Marc talks are very important, more so than money

[Jewbacca]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

 

Many great points here. We must also not forget that skrinking sales has been ongoing since 2015. The cycling bubble effectively burst around then. Covid has fuelled a resurgence but its is not unpinned by economic growth rather short term availability of cash. The fact that many shops had a superb back end of 2020 and are closing in 2021 is testimony to the fact that the economy isn't ale to support the leisure industry. Globla supply shortages are a factor but not a key reason. Smaller shops with good service and that can operate flexibly , and with real skills in the workshop and shop floor are surviving. 

A robust business isn't always large but rather tailored to meet the needs of its target market. 

An online service still isn't necessary in SA but an online social media presence is, its cheap advertising.  The shops that get this right survive. The market is broad enough to be serviced by very different types of store. It isn't deep enought to support the large number of store especially those that are inefficient. Those skills that Marc talks are very important, more so than money

The key words here.... surviving... Not flourishing.

I kind of disagree with the social media side of things though. I think BRANDS that create awareness through social media create some sort of desire, but shops not so much. But then this comes back to a shop directly representing a brand like the Trek/Giant/Spez model.

 

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

The key words here.... surviving... Not flourishing.

I kind of disagree with the social media side of things though. I think BRANDS that create awareness through social media create some sort of desire, but shops not so much. But then this comes back to a shop directly representing a brand like the Trek/Giant/Spez model.

 

doing the social media thing and trying to keep it fresh daily is LOTS of work.

i tried to do it for one of the previous dealerships I worked at, I think I managed a month at most.

[Spafsack]

Dont think many of us understand how much a bike shop can make just on repairs, services, scary scary, more than what you make selling new bikes.

[ChrisF]

7 hours ago, stefmeister said:

.....

Looking at how bicycle shops look nowadays, it's not just an old little shop with bicycles stacked everywhere and a small glass counter. 

.....

 

So true .... and all too often not for the better ....

 

King Cycles in Worcester must be one of the best bike shops..... old look and glass counter and all....

 

Their workshop is TOPS !!!!

 

 

Their service is excellent.

 

Their range of products rivals most big city bike shops.

 

 

The owner is always in store !!

 

His sons always at the counter, if not outside greeting customers as you park and take the bike of the rack.

 

Owner involvement

Attention to detail

Wide stock range

Excellent workshop

 

This team has got the formula right.

 

 

PS .... we live more than 100km from this store .... found it one Saturday morning when I needed repairs before a MTB event.  They did not know me at all, and immediately helped out ... 

[mazambaan]

17 hours ago, Spafsack said:

Dont think many of us understand how much a bike shop can make just on repairs, services, scary scary, more than what you make selling new bikes.

This has been my take on "bike shops". I think either you, or a partner MUST be a jacked up bike mechanic and you will never be short of work. It may be time consuming, hard and demanding but I would take my bike to a really good mechanic (G2G; good luck Jason) rather than doing some things myself. Most LBS's around me have a pokey backroom workshop, some with all the tools but the knowledge of the mechanics is not that inspiring.

Build the shop around the workshop?

[Hairy]

28 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

This has been my take on "bike shops". I think either you, or a partner MUST be a jacked up bike mechanic and you will never be short of work. It may be time consuming, hard and demanding but I would take my bike to a really good mechanic (G2G; good luck Jason) rather than doing some things myself. Most LBS's around me have a pokey backroom workshop, some with all the tools but the knowledge of the mechanics is not that inspiring.

Build the shop around the workshop?

As a consumer I would agree with this. If a workshop fails me a few times I would be very hard pushed to return to the store to buy something vs another store that has a good workshop. This I have acted on before and voted with my feet and wallet on a few shops.

 

[eddy]

20 hours ago, MarcHD said:

 

  (how many bike shops do you know with no webpage... in a day and age where a business is expected to have a social media presence across multiple platforms as a minimum) 

Personally I feel these stores will struggle to stay relevant in an increasingly demanding market unless they learn to adapt soon...

 

Meh.

I buy a bike every so often and have never done so because the shop has an active twitter or Facebook account. 

I occasionally  buy consumables and spares for upgrade online and typically wizz through the local and foreign websites I am comfortable with - ironically I avoid CycleLab despite them having an active social media presence.

But I use and support my two local bikeshops, neither who spend money on SEO or digital marketing, but both have proper workshops and excellent mechanics. I support both because I want them to stay in business and am prepared to pay a premium on spares etc. to ensure they do. 

For me, no amount of marketing will change my custom away from Tom or Grant as I know and trust their technical ability and they have always treated my and my bikes well.

Substance over form.