Your once-a-week dose of retail therapy from Singletrack’s Premier Dealers, stockists and advertisers:
Tuesday Treats gives you a quality serving of independent bike retailing and a chance to win big in this week’s prize draw!
This week, we revisit Chevin Cycles.
Today, we’re revisiting the guys over at Chevin Cycles, who have rounded off the year by winning the prestigious BikeBiz 2014 ‘Best Independent Bike Dealer’ award.
It’s been nothing short of a whirlwind year for the team who have also successfully branched out with two brand new stores, after bedding in their Otley showroom over the last 40 years! Now spanning Leeds, Skipton and Harrogate, Director Sanjai Bhatia tells us why they’re winners …
Sanjai. Congratulations. Managed to catch your breath?
Well, it’s certainly been one busy year, topped off by winning the Independent Bike Dealer of the year. As you have mentioned, we have expanded considerably with the opening of our Harrogate and Skipton stores. Chevin Cycles has been at the heart of the cycle business for a long time, first opening the doors in 1971 and we’ve grown in size and reputation considerably during this time.
For us it’s all about creating the right environment the moment you land in-store or over on our website. We have placed a great deal of importance in building a dedicated team of staff, who are passionate about offering exceptional service from our range of hand-picked quality gear.
We are all mad about bikes and whether it is helping beginners on a journey into the amazing world of cycling, or helping more experienced riders find that special bit of kit, we love it all. With our MTB test-bed of bikes in all shapes and sizes from Trek, Whyte, Lapierre and Bianchi (with road offerings too) rest assured, we’ve got it covered.
What have been the highlights so far?
I’ve not had time to sit back and reflect to be honest – yet. With 16 new jobs created for local cyclists, we’re all so focussed on making sure the magic mix we have developed at our Otley store is replicated and tailored for the locations and customers at the Harrogate (4500sft) and Skipton (3000sft) stores. Each store has a fully equipped workshop with the latest tools, bike fit specialists (in our state-of-the-art Bike Fit Studios) and the all-important customer after-care.
What was hot this summer?
We were truly blessed with some of the best weather to showcase Yorkshire off to the world during the Tour de France Grand Depart and this continued right through to the Otley road races and thankfully our successful, annual Demo Day. Here’s hoping to more of that into next year.
What’s the latest, all things Chevin?
We’ve recently appointed a dedicated Cycle to Work department which means that adding a commuter bike to the mix has never been as affordable and easy to manage. We talk a great deal about what we’re up to and what’s new in-store over on Facebook and Twitter, and we’re not shy of sharing our data on Strava too. We often promote special weekend flash sales, so staying in touch on social media is a good way of staying in the loop.
Lastly, what do Singletrack Premier Subscribers get from you guys?
For Singletrack readers we offer 10% off all full priced parts and accessories.
Tuesday Treats Prize Draw
Click here to win this week’s prize!