Remeber it's a business first and foremost loving bikes and cycling makes it harder not easier. The more stock you have the more start up capital you have to find. Bling will turn slower than small consumables so your working capital is tied up for longer before it becomes cash. Cash pays the bills not profit. Basics right like workshop and spares
Forget the cappucino and cake unless you want to open a cafe.
Mystery shop a few well regarded LBS and get an impression on what it is they're doing well. Also, didn't notice it in posts above, do whatever is required to be a cycle to work scheme stockist. Then see if there's links to be made with large local employers- council, unis, hospitals etc. LBS near where I work does bike checks during 'travel to work' differently week and the like. You don't just need the right 'offer' you need to get the customers
I don't think you will have a good business model using the STW type as your target customer.
People that are really into there bikes and gear tend to know what they want, where to get it
cheaply, quickly, and fit it themselves. Its impossible to stock all things for all people.
I think you would do better looking to the growing commuter crowds who would take a new
rech mech, wheel or tyre at a good price and not care to much about the brand.
basics = range of consumables, spares, knowledgeable staff, pricing and margins. service the community's need for bike caee too.
For some reason this wouldn't go in last post. Joys of a pda!
Okay so here are my observations having worked and shopped in various bike shops over the years.
1. Pimpery is all very good but dont forget the basics, loose bearing nuts bolts that type of thing, as i recall i think Raleigh sell a good starter set for trade, these parts can be used on all types of bikes right from the bso up to the most niche of bikes.
2. Remember that bike repairs are one of the highest profit margin of anything else you do and that doenst include the parts that go with them. Dont turn your nose up at BSO's perhaps even offer a christmas assembly service at a set price.
3. 9-5 Forget it, you wont see many shoppers before 10 or even 11 most week days and youll see many more after 5 after they finish work.
For me a recent visit (and then repeated visits) to Coventry Cycle Centre on Far Gosford Street in Coventry encompasses what I like about a bike shop. Like a kid walking into a candy shop-a good wide selection of not just top end toys/parts but all the necessary bits and bobs even down to bulk bought chains not in boxes at a slightly reduced price. If it kit like that that a rider needs before the weekend or midweek ride and you have it a a near compettative price to the internet alot of people will buy from you and not bother going home logging on and waiting for two days or postponing that weekends ride.
Folding tyres-so many shops seem to stock a limited amount of folding rubber, have as varied a range as possible from suppliers ie not the Standard Conti/Panaracer folders but perhaps some WTB/Maxxis and for all disciplines not just XC/commuting.
The most important thing is great knowledgeable staff who are all riders/ex riders and who dont have an up their own arse attitude. If you can go take a look at the shop I have mentioned and see what you think.
I suppose it all depends on your location and what kind of customers you want to attract but...
Know your sh*t
read the magazines and know what the current trends are. stock up on lots of Shimano stuff... and be prepared for lots of boring fixes like brake cables and gear alignments. And watch out for people who come in with worn drivetrains that don't work with new chains. the number of people who go into a bike shop with a broken chain and then complain when you tell them the whole drive train needs replacing... what do they expect? maybe offer a cheap "complete drivetrain replacement" package to suit people with no knowledge, and maybe an information leaflet explaining why they need to change their chain once in a while.
Don't try and compete with Wiggle and CRC but dont take the pi$$ with prices.
Also, have the small stuff like individual chainring bolts - not just sets of 4/5/6 fancy ones. If we can trust you with the small stuff, we'll trust you with the bigger stuff.
We need to be able to trust you with our friends that don't know about bikes. I've sent 10 friends over the last few years to one particular shop because each time they have come out with exactly the right bike for them at the price that person could afford (IMHO) rather than a bike that was a little bit more than they could afford but was good for the shop. Sending my friends there reflects on me as well as you.
Finally - make a profit. We want you to be around rather than bitter and grumpy in 5 yrs. Profit isn't all bad and can mean a nicer shop for us to hang around in 
somewhere to park you bike is a great idea. I used to cycle to the local bike store, then when I got there had to lean it up against a load of crap and have people squeeze past.
Hire serious riders who are passionate about the sport. Treat them well, help them feel like riders not shop assistants by ensuring they are immersed in the local riding scene at grass roots, not just the race scene.
The weekend is for riding. If you open on Sundays your staff will hate you and treat customers accordingly. You'll end up losing customers and staff. Have limited Saturday opening so you and your staff can get out and meet customers in their natural habitat or at least have some part timers who can cover saturdays - the real riders won't darken you door over the weekend.
Have demo days.
As others have said, have a good range of consumables. Stock some mainstream brand bikes but don't forget the niche stuff - people will come to your store just to look at a bike they haven't seen in the metal and will probably buy something.
Create a vibe, a good mood. Make sure it is relaxed. Have a sofa and some flat screens. Allow your staff the freedom to talk and relax with customers. Keep any admin or managerial staff off the shop floor - they kill the atmosphere of a bikeshop for the customer.
Never make a promise you cant keep. Don't order something and lie about the arrival date. The customer will not be back.
Hire the best mechanic around and treat him well - he will ensure a loyal customer base for service work.
Keep a good range of clothing and protection.
Sometimes it's worth having a superior product with an inferior margin rather than an inferior project with a better margin.
And forget coffee. Beer is where it's at.
A 2 stage service.
1 - bog standard, could take up to a week say, to repair.
2 - premium, next day or faster if simple.
Get the punter to fill his details in, ie address and phone number, and phone them whilst they are there to make sure the number is the right one. I live miles from any LBS and it drives me mad the number of times i've been told ready on X at Y, to find out it's not ready. I do like the idea of you mailing/texting me to say that the bike is due a service or an extra 5% as it's your bikes birthday.
List of prices is also very good.
Another thing I'd add is pricing for at least some items on your website, even if you don't have an online shop. I often find that I order items online just because I don't want to make my way down to the shop without knowing the price and end up paying loads more. If I knew the price was the same or only slighter more expensive I'd make the trip to the shop every time...
2nd Ton, Clydsdale cycle stuff is near impossible to get in this country. Neither Mt Borah or Hoss have a dealer in the UK. Gore will do runs of xxxl quality jackets, but no one will place an order, if you will ship to USA you could clean up. Put me down for 1.
Pete
I'll tell you what I like and don't like about my LBS...
+ They are cool guys
+ They stock quite a lot of clothes (I can't buy clothes without trying them on)
+ Their pricing is pretty competitive with the big online stores (don't know how they achieve this)
+ They have often let me use their tools / helped in assembling parts purchased from them (or even from elsewhere) without charging extra (I just bought a 5000€ bike from them largely because they have always been so cool in this regard in the past)
- They are pretty bad at keeping agreed time schedules
- They are pretty slow at responding to emails (even an auto-reply with information on when to expect a reply would be better then days of waiting)
I think one reason why they can be so cool about fitting things / borrowing tools is because they are a fairly specialized shop in a place where all your average joes won't come by accident.
Ok I know we're not always, always.... right... Honesty with your customers is helpful though and avoiding comments like "no, but we can get you one..." referring to not stocking item or being out of stock... 2 months later and a deposit paid... still waiting etc etc. Had that one so many times. My longest wait was for a pair of rims being delivered (with a different excuse everytime)is 6 weeks. Was told 3 days at first. One day they were in the delivery van riding around the town "as we speak" and still had to wait more weeks... rant over
thanks for the inspiration to do it right Mr profit-centric!!
A word of advice - if you're running a business, then you need to make a profit for it to be sustainable, which unfortunately means keeping a close eye on the bottom line.
Great comments people, fantastic to see so many ideas that are very similar to the concepts we're modelling our shop on....keep them coming!!
bikewhisperer - sounds like you've given this some thought yourself???!!
Agreed, for sustainability and long-term growth/customer value then a certain element of profitability - if not the just required turnover and healthy cash flow - is a fundamental. But - the % of profit the shop owners need/want is something else. If you set about modelling a business around the control of huge dividends and directors salaries as an essential, then in trying to achieve said salaries it seems that the focus on the consumer, staff, service and shop philosophy tends to get clipped in the pursuit of the dollar!!
We may be mis-guided fools (tbd!!)....but, we don't think it needs to be this way.......
We could be on a hiding to nothing though!!
Take it you have no family and a very small or no mortgage. Are futureproofed against all the coming increases in taxes etc
Prepared to work 24hrs to satisfy the customer samples on here:twisted:
personally I only use bike shops after work (between 5 and 6) or on the weekend (sat or sun). IMO closing on monday or tuesday would be preferable to closing Sunday
i think you'll possibly need 26 hours a day to achieve all the points above...
an epos system will do quite a few of those things that were mentioned though but ive run a succesful shop for 6 years without the investment of epos...
one thing that gets me up most mornings (and i hate getting up!)is the fact that i enjoy what im doing(which is the first time in my working life)its often stressful,but mostly rewarding...the biggest headache is staff not money or customers...cos good staff make the whole job a lot easier...
id recommend a couple of books(ill get back with what they are,theyre at home) and make freinds with any local dealers big or small...when you cock up with an order they can often get you out of a hole...go in and introduce yourselves.any petty squabbles wont benefit either parties.
good luck!
Similar to cycleworlduks post above, also get a good friendly relationship with local shops if possible. Ian at my LBS (Devereux cycles) is always ringing up Phil at Eddie McGrath cycles asking for advice or the odd part that he doesn't have in stock. No idea how they divvy up money for such things but its nice to know that the shops are working together to keep themselves afloat and give you the best service possible.
Also I'm not massively worried about having a huge range of stock available here and now but an ability to get stock in asap every time is important. Next day for simple stuff or within the week otherwise.
My old LBS was a really intimadating place to go into, it was very cliquey. Roady whuppets hanging out smirking at people asking what they percieved to be daft questions. When you got accepted as a good customer they couldnt do enough for you but it put a lot of people off.
Not sure what the magic ingredient is to atmosphere but some shops just have a cool vibe.
Be prepared to work very very hard for not a lot of thanks or returns.
Good luck with it though.
try and aviod hanging shitty posters of guys riding in places that your average customer can only dream of. instead go out with a keen photography buddy and get some good shots of yourself or locals riding local spots.
i'd say open all weekend, but have one (maybe two) days off a week. closed monday, half day tuesday and thursday?
don't have a 'closed' sign hanging up. rather a 'gone biking' or 'we're out testing'. i'd rather think that you were doing what you enjoy than shopping at tescos.
This shop is gonna be great!
Where is it going to be?
WHat brands are you going to stock?
When are you opening?
Or is this just a ploy from an existing shop wondering where they are going wrong?
Lots of people have said it already, but don't mess people around. If you say you're going to phone me back, then do it. I'd rather hear my bike will be ready in 3 days at 3pm and actually have it ready then than be told it'll be tomorrow and it's not. Obviously things crop up, but call and let me know before I make a trip in.
Don't tell lies for convenience's sake or the sake of a sale (e.g. that lid that you only have in black is only available in black).
If a job turns out to be more complicated/costly than first thought, phone and discuss it.
If someone's buying a bike and wants to try a different frame size, at least make an effort to get one and if you can't/won't then explain why rather than just insist the one you have is fine.
These have been my main gripes with LBSs over the last few years. I think on the whole people will understand that you're not CRC and you need to make a living, but it's the details people remember, especially if they're negatives.
As Hilldodger said earlier, have everything for free really cos its a hobby not a business.
1)Kettle
2)stock madison stuff
3)SRAM stuff
4)have a hose out back for bikes.
5) shop rides which YOU go on!
alpin - Member
try and aviod hanging shitty posters of guys riding in places that your average customer can only dream of. instead go out with a keen photography buddy and get some good shots of yourself or locals riding local spots.
Or, as an outdoor shop in Salisbury does, get customers to take a pic of them out and about (Ideally with one of your shop carrier bags) and use them as decoration instead. Great for building up a sort of community feel to it.
I know it's not easy to do this, but try not to overbook your workshop. My LBS is about 200 yards away but I ride the two miles (or drive depending on what is bust) to the next nearest because even to loosen a shock bushing has the guy there telling me he can have it back to me in a week (for a 30-second job).
Make sure your staff are as friendly if I'm buying a tube as if I'm dropping 1k on a bike (because sooner or later I will be).
1. Components you can touch, smell, weigh - ya know - not behind a glass cabinet.
2. A set of digital scales so you can weigh components/bikes.
3. Price match with Chainreaction.
4. More bling.
5. Sofas
6. Coffee machine.
7. Sexy staff girls who know their stuff.
8. Santa Claus
Decent range of parts, couple of test bikes. Also think it's a good idea to be open all weekend. Haven't been able to get parts on a sunday a number of times and it's a bit frustrating. Would definitely make business sense to be open all weekend because this is when most people ride, therefore there would be more broken parts to replace. Most importantly, friendly, genuine staff though.
...I see that we're going to be quite busy surpassing such a list of expectations...but, we'll certainly give it a try!!
Thanks again for the suggestions and do keep them coming...!!
We're hoping to be open for mid-Feb......depending on how long it takes to sort the shop layout....we have a vision of what we want interior wise, but not the £££ to do with it what we want...so, if there are any shop fitters/joiners out there drop us a line!!...
Brands/lines we'll be back with once we've had location buy-in from the distributors....
Opening hours - we're thinking closed Tuesdays......Mon - Wed (10 - 7), Thrs/Fri (11 -8)...Sat (9 - 5), Sun (9 - 12)....
Sexy staff girls?........know where we can find any??
those hours are just confusing. KISS.
Agreed....but, it's not that easy to keep it simple!!....maybe this way, people will just be conditioned to think that the shop is open, when it should be open!!...might take a bit of time mind!! Need to keep the staff happy and motivated as a priority....opening until 8 every night and all day Sunday is not the way forward in that respect..
I think location is one of the biggest things with bike shops, I'm always buying bit and bobs on the internet and not because its cheaper, its because my closest bike shop is a 30 min drive each way so its not really an option to shop there
BTW I'm in Hamilton in Lanarkshire if anyone whats to PM me the details of a decent lanarkshire shop i dont know about
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