It’s cycling’s gong-fest season. The avid site trawler will already be well aware that our own Readers Awards caused plenty of debate and engagement during the past few weeks.
Last week, just before our very own awards ceremony, it was the turn of the great and the worthy of the bike industry to gather in Birmingham for the 2015 BikeBiz Awards. An event to celebrate various categories of bike-fettling-greatness. In amongst the gong-giving, two of our Premier Dealers went home very happy.
Both these independent bike businesses work at the service end of the bicycle industry, where dreams are made by bringing shiny new product to the masses and in turn, looking after the owners (and tired kit) when the shininess wears off.
In their own words:
BikeBiz Awards 2015. J E James: Best ‘In-Store Experience’ and ‘Workshop Services’
On behalf of J E James, Mark James … “We were amazed to be nominated for five category areas. The two awards J E James have won really mean a lot. As a Cycle Retailer we are proud to win best ‘In-Store Experience’ and best ‘Workshop’. It also shows that by offering a unique customer experience and service, local independent businesses can still thrive and excel alongside the bigger national companies, and are an important contribution in making the local retail landscape a more unique and exciting place to shop, to get people coming back”.
We are also developing other services. J E James BikeWorx is the companies in-house cycle to work scheme which has seen a steady increase in the number of companies signing up. It’s not just cycling for leisure and sport that’s on the up, but also employers realising the benefits of enabling their employees to cycle to work as a way to improve workplace health and reduce congestion on the roads.
With the 2016 Tour of Yorkshire being mooted as a four day event for 2016, some great local races such as the Sheffield Grand Prix and Tickhill Grand Prix, as well as increasing memberships in local cycling clubs, the future of J E James looks good for both road and mountain biking!”
BikeBiz Awards 2015. Tweeks Cycles: ‘UK Independent Bicycle Dealer’
On behalf of Tweeks Cycles, Sim Pereira-Madder … “to be chosen (by our esteemed bike industry peers) as the best UK Independent Bicycle Dealer at the UK BikeBiz Awards this year was a huge honour – particularly as we were nominated alongside some of the finest IBD’s in the country – in itself that’s incredibly flattering.
There’s not always a prize for hard work but when there is it’s both humbling and gratifying. Over our years in the industry we’ve learned exactly how much hard work, expertise, and dedication goes into creating and maintaining a top quality IBD so the award really belongs to the Tweeks Cycles staff who graft tirelessly to make it happen. Regardless of whether they’re shop-floor, workshop, replenishment, product maintenance, design, content, buying, customer service or warehousing teams – they have all earned the accolade together and can be rightly proud of their work. – It’s testament to a business which genuinely understands and cares about its’ customers and constantly strives to serve them better.
For another business it might be tempting to sit back and relax having won this award but that’s just not who we are. The market doesn’t stand still and what our customers want or need is evolving all the time both in terms of the products they’re looking to buy and the shopping experience they expect when they buy them. We need to continue to understand and keep pace with this evolution.
That’s why we recently launched 365 day returns and are looking at new improvements all the time – watch this space!
It’s often said (and it bears repeating) that the bike industry is all about relationships and like every other retailer we rely heavily on the relationships built up with two specific groups we also want to take the opportunity to express our thanks to here.
Firstly we want to thank our varied and excellent brand and distribution partners who we work with every day for their invaluable support. It’s quality brand partners like ours who make it possible to do business in the competitive modern bike retail environment and their continued partnership is one of our greatest assets.
Lastly we want to thank the many different riders who shop with us, whether they choose to do so online or in-store, whether they be mountain-biker, commuter or roadie and for their valued and continued custom. These people are the reason we get out of bed in the morning and their infectious passion for bicycles whether new-found or more mature is the reason cycling is currently experiencing the growth it is – kudos to them”.
Massive congratulations to all involved. For more info on the other runners and riders, there’s loads more over on bikebiz.com
Comments (3)
Comments Closed
Is there some kind of legal impediment to women working in a bike shop?
Women have more sense.
That could be it! 😀