CIN issue 004 2019

ISSUE 004 // 2019

Raleigh UK moves towards a future supporting the IBD with more brands, better logistics and a focus on sustainability

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from the editor

Jonathon Harker Cycling Industry Chat @CyclingIndustry @JonHarker info@cyclingindustry.news

“OH NO, NOW ANYONE CAN DO IT!” IT’S understandable, but not forgivable, when people moan about their exclusive club or clique being threatened by an influx of new people. For instance, while everyone is entitled not to like e-bikes, to claim they are ruining the cycle industry or they are cheating… well that sounds a bit like ‘oh no, now anyone can do it’.

Much has been said about bike shops making novices nervous and hopefully at this stage only a professional contrarian would claim that the bike industry needs to be less inclusive. Arguably, inclusivity sounds like an awful buzzword, like other wellmeaning phrases like 'legacy', lampooned in satires like W1A and others. However, if the premise of business is that you need to be constantly on the look out for new customers (and I’m pretty sure it is, unless you have some very loyal and immortal punters) then inclusivity is not so much a fluffy buzzword as something that must be at the very core of every business in the cycling industry.

‘Diversity in Cycling’ is a new report that has found that there are more BAME riders than there were five years ago, but also discovered that many survey respondents found a number of cycling clubs to be ‘intimidating’ to novice BAME riders. The report recommended "de-mystifying club culture for those new to the sport, regardless of background", which is hard to argue against...

And in the final pages of this magazine, Brompton’s Will Butler-Adams characteristically cuts to the chase. On the topic of women in the industry he said: “It’s a disgrace. Half of our market are women, yet our industry fails to recruit them.

Sometimes you feel like saying: ‘Wake up! You don’t need an incredible app to be innovative. Just recruit some women to stand out!’”

In business terms, e-bikes are a tool to allow more people to get on a bike and pedal. To work against them seems like a peculiar brand of madness. It’s reckless to reject inclusivity. There are few industries, if any, that don’t need to work harder to be more inclusive. This is not specific to the cycle industry - but it is a problem for the cycle industry nevertheless. And there are other consumer markets which do not have this problem (including, funnily enough, the automotive industry). Correcting the status quo to bring more people to the cycle party is not just a liberal ideal but a profit-driven business objective. And with both those forces working in tandem, the cycling industry has everything to gain by being progressive... and being less sniffy about whatever it takes to get more people cycling.

www.cyclingindustry.news

ISSUE 004 // 2019

Raleigh UK moves towards a future supporting the IBD with more brands, better logistics and a focus on sustainability

RALEIGHB2B.CO.UK

Reduce. Reuse. recycle.

#bECAUSEWECARE

accell-group.com/en/csr

Publisher

Jerry Ramsdale jerry@cyclingindustry.news Managing Editor

Jon Harker jon@cyclingindustry.news Staff Writer

Hayley Everett hayley@cyclingindustry.news Consultant & Contributing Writer

Mark Sutton info@cyclingindustry.news Sales Executive

Logan van der Poel-Treacy logan@cyclingindustry.news Head of Production

Luke Wikner luke@cyclingindustry.news

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Stag Publications Ltd 18 Alban Park, Hatfield Road St.Albans AL4 0JJ t +44 (0)1727 739160 w cyclingindustry.news CyclingIndustry.News is a proud member of the Bicycle Association of Great Britain. ©2019 Stag Publications. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher. The Publisher cannot be held responsible or in any way liable for errors or omissions during input or printing of any material supplied or contained herein. The Publisher also cannot be held liable for any claims made by advertisers or in contributions from individuals or companies submitted for inclusion within this publication. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or of Stag Publications Ltd.

Ride like the Dutch Original Dutch comfort e-bikes

the professionals CREDIT CHECK 91% of new car buyers paid through finance in the last 12 months, according to the FLA. Yet the Bank of England says UK consumer borrowing is rising at its slowest pace since 2014. With reports that new finance providers are entering the cycle market and knocking on the doors of the nation’s bike shops, we asked the trade what the true state of play for finance is in bicycle retail…

Ceri Dipple Founder & Director Twenty3C

Paul Lynn Director, Mountain Mania Cycles

John Hamlen Managing Director, Flag Bikes

WE HEAR THAT MORE FINANCE PROVIDERS ARE APPROACHING BIKE SHOPS OFFERING THEIR SERVICES AT THE MOMENT. HAVE YOU FOUND THAT TO BE THE CASE? Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C Personally I haven’t found that to be the case, we recently changed our finance provider from V12 to Santander and are really happy with the move and aren’t looking for additional providers at the moment.

Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles We have had a couple of finance providers call us but we have seen a downturn in finance in our Wallingford store. However, I think this depends on the affluence of an area and those that pay cash or bank transfers.

Anonymous Unnamed UK bike shop

Anonymous Yes, we have seen more finance providers offering their services, certainly.

“NOW THAT WE ARE PROFITABLE WE’VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN APPROACHES. THIS IS IRONIC BECAUSE IN THE EARLY YEARS WE COULD HAVE REALLY USED THIS!”

John Hamlen, Flag Bikes Yes, there has been an explosion in the number of players in the retail finance market. Like most start-ups, we had a burn-rate and ended up reporting loses for our first three years of operation. Now Flag Bikes is profitable we have seen a big increase in the number of approaches from, not just retail finance providers, but also banks offering business loans. This is ironic because in the early years we could have really used this sort of investment, but now, not so much!

DO YOU CURRENTLY OFFER FINANCE FOR PURCHASES? IF NOT, WHY NOT?

WWW.CYCLINGINDUSTRY.NEWS // 005

the professionals CREDIT CHECK Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C Yes, we have offered finance for the past eight years.

Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles Yes, we do offer finance.

Anonymous Yes. John Hamlen, Flag Bikes Yes, currently through V12 Retail Finance.

IF YOU DO OFFER FINANCE, HOW MANY BIKES DO YOU SELL THROUGH IT? MORE THAN FOUR A MONTH? DO YOU FEEL YOU SEE SALES THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE GOT WITHOUT IT? Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C We sell approximately 20% of our bikes on finance. It’s something that can be used as an incentive for purchase, i.e 0% finance but in that case we have to factor the cost of finance into the sale, but we also offer interest bearing products if it’s a bike that's heavily discounted or an exdemo so the customer can spread the cost but still benefit from a saving. There are lots of factors to consider but at the end of the day it’s an additional sales tool for the team.

Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles Yes, it helps to provide alternative payment methods.

Anonymous It’s a very important part of business.

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John Hamlen, Flag Bikes I don’t want to share our exact numbers on this, but yes, certainly more than four per month are sold through finance.

ARE YOU SEEING MORE NON-BIKE PURCHASES THROUGH FINANCE, EG WHEELSETS, FORKS, ETC? Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C The majority of sales are bikes but we do see some wheel upgrades. Our market around Milton Keynes has been predominantly road so we don’t have a market for forks.

“PROFIT MARGINS ON BIKES ARE ALREADY SLIM, SO THE COSTS OF OFFERING INTEREST-FREE FINANCE OUTWEIGH THE BENEFITS OF THE EXTRA SALE.” Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles We have not seen a change in products sold through finance.

Anonymous Again, yes.

John Hamlen, Flag Bikes No; for us it is almost exclusively bikes. One of the reasons for this is

that we currently only offer finance for purchases over £500. We ran the numbers and believe that - at the moment - the additional costs of offering finance make doing so uneconomic for smaller purchases.

LONGER TERMS ARE BEING OFFERED BY FINANCE PROVIDERS – IS THIS SOMETHING YOU ARE ENCOURAGING IN-STORE OR HAVE SEEN MUCH TAKE UP OF? Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C It very much depends on the scenario.

We can offer anything up to five years but to be honest I personally don’t see the benefit of offering a finance purchase of a bike for that long. In reality, one to three years is where we tend to do the majority of our finance sales and the majority of our customers will finance a portion rather than the entire purchase value.

Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles Longer terms normally reflect higher value bikes.

Anonymous There is increased customer demand for it.

John Hamlen, Flag Bikes Currently Flag Bikes only offers finance at 0% and with a maximum term of 12 months. Profit margins on bikes are already slim, so I believe that the costs of offering interest-free finance outweigh the benefits of the

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the professionals CREDIT CHECK extra sales. Of course it is possible for retailers to actually make money by offering interest-bearing finance for 48 months or more and earning a nice commission from the finance provider. Personally however, I’m not entirely comfortable with encouraging customers to discretionary purchases like expensive bikes on the “never-never”.

CAN YOU SEE THE FINANCE SIDE OF THE MARKET GROW AS HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS APPEAR TO BE GETTING TIGHTER AND E-BIKES, FOR EXAMPLE, ARE RAISING THE AVERAGE UNIT PRICE OF A BIKE? Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C I can see the market growing, not necessarily because household budgets are tightening, because at the end of the day, you are still spending money, it’s just a better way of managing your personal cash flow. If you don’t have the funds then you won’t or shouldn’t purchase it. We are moving towards a subscription economy, a mindset of everything being paid for on a monthly basis so I think a lot of it is how it’s perceived by the consumer.

A lot are against the idea of a ‘loan’ or ‘debt' as such but if it’s framed in a different way then it’s not a barrier. The key is for people to realise they are not just buying a new bike, they are investing in themselves and there are significant benefits to that.

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Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles With e-bikes payment methods are normally by card where most sales for us are £2,000-plus.

Anonymous Absolutely.

John Hamlen, Flag Bikes Absolutely, and this goes for all sorts of products, not just bikes.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS ON FINANCE? Ceri Dipple, Twenty3C The finance providers have the opportunity to shake up the cycle market. To reset the consumer mindset of ‘how much discount am I getting?’ which we have become accustomed to in all industries. By looking at a purchase as a monthly cost and a cost benefit rather than a price then the finance providers can influence whether the local bike shop survives longer term. The cost of finance has previously been prohibitive for independent retailers but with more providers coming into

the market, this is changing.

Paul Lynn, Mountain Mania Cycles You need to offer all payment options to cater for a wide customer base and there is very little cost in this except for the FCA fees if you offer over 12 months which is a joke where you not only pay the finance cost offering 0% to be competitive but also FCA costs reducing your margin.

Other payment options do enable you to upsell which is important.

Anonymous The bike industry isn’t profitable enough for retailers for it, or any other form of margin erosion, to be sustainable in its current structure, period. Asking the retailer to fix this state of affairs by rearranging the deckchairs (engaging any number of time-consuming margin refund gimics, or selling lattes…) is blaming the victim. Try stop giving brands to discounters and giving more margin to real dealers, then there might be room for profitable use of finance products. File this alongside my previous comments!

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(( PROFILE RALEIGH UK P&A ))

Raleigh ‘round IBDs Raleigh’s string of service announcements, including Saturday deliveries, play into its service commitment to IBDs, one of the firm’s three core pillars in its new UK business strategy. CIN speaks with Parts and Accessories Business Manager Lee Kidger about how the P&A arm of the UK business is tackling the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities in the cycle market…

HOW’S BUSINESS? Business is exciting at the moment here at Raleigh UK with different challenges every day. We are seeing good growth in the industry for the past nine months which coincides with a new structure to our Parts & Accessories Team. We now have a complete team in all areas of the business that really understand the bicycle industry and especially what the IBD network need from a distributor in order for them to succeed.

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WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THE STATE OF THE CYCLE INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW? IMPORTS ARE DOWN, BREXIT… IS IT TOUGH OUT THERE AT THE MOMENT? We totally agree it’s tough, but we have introduced changes that really support the retailers that work with Raleigh UK. Our industry leading logistics (9pm cut off for next day and 6pm for Saturday delivery) means IBDs no longer carry as much stock but can order as and when needed, only keeping the essen-

tials. Whilst imports are down, and the political uncertainty does not help we are very positive about the future of the trade. From feedback we are seeing a rise in workshop, mobile mechanics and retailers refocusing their business models. These changing times mean we have to respond to what our dealers need and what consumers are demanding. It’s not a case of just distributing a brand that’s important to the IBD now; it’s a number of factors

that assist in their business, like stock levels, delivery timeslots, B2B ordering, timely promotions, etc.

ASIDE FROM NEW BRAND SIGNINGS, RALEIGH HAS MADE A NUMBER OF ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT ITS SERVICE TO THE IBD. IS IT FAIR TO SAY RALEIGH HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY REVAMPING THIS SIDE OF THE BUSINESS (AND SERVICE PROMISES) IN RECENT MONTHS? Raleigh is absolutely committed to supporting the IBD here in the UK and Ireland. There have been many significant changes to our parts and accessories distribution business from 9pm cut off for next day delivery to Saturday delivery and many new brands to add to the portfolio. We also offer six-day free delivery with our SRAM Access programme and the ability to change the address on the B2B to suit the consumer's delivery needs if the IBD does not have the product in stock.

The key for us is to offer independent retailers everything necessary to give the consumer a first-class service.

WAS THE LAUNCH OF SATURDAY DELIVERIES SOMETHING THAT WAS PROMPTED BY DEALER FEEDBACK? We wanted to make sure that our customers are able to offer the very best service to their consumers. We know that stocking every product is difficult so to be able to offer a Saturday delivery is vital to be able to secure the sale for the IBD. With this service free for our Parts & Accessories partners it is being used by a lot of our customers. It's all about convenience; consumers demand products quickly and we can support the IBD with this.

PRESUMABLY THOSE MORE FLEXIBLE DELIVERIES FEED INTO THAT CONCEPT OF IBDS CARRYING LESS STOCK – WHAT OTHER WAYS DO YOU HELP SHOPS REDUCE THEIR STOCK HOLDING? Stock holding for IBDs is a key story that we are hearing a lot. We aim to assist with great pricing for minimum commitment; fantastic availability on all products lines. Our Parts & Acces-

sories Partner Scheme offers the IBD added benefits such as direct to home delivery for their consumers (through the B2B). Having access to over 45 brands means that IBDs can always purchase what they want from Raleigh UK & have it shipped the very next day.

WE’VE HAD SOME INDEPENDENT FEEDBACK FROM A SHOP THAT YOUR ONLINE LIVE CHAT HELP HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY USEFUL – IS THAT ANOTHER NEW SERVICE? Live chat was introduced last year by our customer services team who do a fantastic job, it means the dealers can get an answer in real time without picking up the phone. The process is fast and efficient. The team behind the ‘online chat’ are fully trained on all areas of our business and understand the bike industry, plus they ride bikes which adds to their knowledge to support the IBDs.

“LIVE CHAT WAS INTRODUCED LAST YEAR, IT MEANS THE DEALERS CAN GET AN ANSWER IN REAL TIME WITHOUT PICKING UP THE PHONE.” YOU’VE MENTIONED SHARING BEST PRACTICE WITH IBDS… Raleigh currently offer IBDs product training both in-store and at our launch events, social media training and digital assets but in the near future we plan to take this further by offering online training videos for staff across key brands.

I’VE SEEN MENTION OF THE PARTS AND ACCESSORIES PARTNER SCHEME – DOES THAT TIE ALL THOSE SERVICE PROMISES TOGETHER? The P&A partner scheme from Raleigh offers free delivery Monday to Saturday, best margins across key brands including XLC, Schwalbe, KMC, SRAM, Continental and many more. It also offers more support with merchandising, point of sale, digital assets for social media and samples for staff. We believe the shop staff are

the best advocates for our brands and like selling products they endorse.

GOING BACK TO RECENT BRAND SIGNINGS, AT LEAST TWO OF THOSE ARE QUITE WORKSHOP FOCUSED – PROPER CLEANER (GUY MARTIN) & ECARE – CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE PLENTY OF EMPHASIS ON WORKSHOP BRANDS AS THIS AREA CONTINUES TO BE MORE IMPORTANT FOR IBDS? Workshop is a key pillar in future plans of our Parts and Accessories business.

There are many bicycles already out there in the market and many consumers are choosing repair over replacement which is great for our IBD customers. Our strategy is to be a onestop-shop for all parts and accessories, we want to make it as easy as possible to do business with Raleigh, offering the best brands, great availability and industry leading logistics.

CAN WE EXPECT MORE SERVICE ORIENTATED MOVES FROM RALEIGH P&A IN THE NEAR FUTURE? We have ambitious plans and we will continue to be industry leading with the IBD at the centre of all plans. If you look at the market and how it is evolving, we have to make sure we add value to an IBD store and how they retail. Consumer habits are changing rapidly, and we want to help our IBD customers by offering fantastic products and best in class services FINAL POINTERS FOR OUR READERS? As well as logistics and adding more brands we have plans to become more sustainable with a big focus on becoming eco-friendly. Our sustainability project will be using the slogan #becausewecare which we fully believe is the way forward for our distribution channel. This means more than just sustainability – it is the culture in our business to make sure that every decision we make includes this key fundamental topic. I am extremely confident that you will see significant changes in our packaging to become a lot more sustainable. We are currently switching out old style plastic packing with FSC approved recyclable packing and tape.

WWW.CYCLINGINDUSTRY.NEWS // 011

(( PODCAST

))

LISTEN UP! The latest episode of the CIN Podcast welcomes the team from Tern Bicycles to discuss urban transportation in the cycle industry…

EPISODE FOUR ‹ OUT NOW ›

TOTAL RECALL…

While at the Taipei Cycle Show, we caught up with Tern’s Team Captain Josh Hon and Matt Davis, Sales and Business Development Director, to hear all about what the urban transportation brand has been up to over the last year.

During this episode we discussed the huge potential of the urban mobility market for the bike industry, how to capitalise on this area, and uncovered why the brand believes local bike shops are integral to the sector's growth.

You can listen back to all previous episodes of the CIN Podcast via iTunes and Soundcloud. So far, we’ve spoken to voices from three continents and travelled halfway around the world to gain insights into a whole host of trade-related topics. Those who have appeared on the podcast so far include…

BONNIE TU GIANT DOMINIC LANGAN MADISON & SPORTLINE

JOSH HON & MATT DAVIS, TERN BICYCLES ERIC HAWKINS PARK TOOL MARK PETERMAN AIR FOM

SILAS HESTERBERG DEITY COMPONENTS TIM FRY MRP

CLEMENT BONNEAU MOUSTACHE BIKES DAN JONES WINDWAVE

Have a topic you would like to hear discussed, or fancy appearing on the podcast yourself? Then contact a member of the CIN team.

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(( FOCUS ON MANUFACTURING ))

MANUFACTURING

IN THE UK

Bob Elliot baulked expectations by stepping into manufacturing for the first time with replacement wheel brand KX. CIN asks Director Paul Elliot why the UK distributor has made the move into bulk production…

D

espite the fact that the UK is Europe’s second largest manufacturing country, we’re more used to seeing (or expecting) brands to outsource production overseas.

So it was a surprise to see one UK cycle distributor announce it was to move into manufacturing for the first time, in the form of Bob Elliot and new brand KX Wheels.

The replacement wheel line-up will be manufactured in-house and Bob Elliot has bought machinery to bring the project to market.

For the background to the move, Cycling Industry News catches up with Paul Elliot days after his return from China Cycle 2019: “It’s a monster of a show. We got to meet our regular suppliers and meet with new contacts too, which has been helpful with us now building wheels.”

So, what led to the decision for Bob Elliot to become a manufacturer?

Elliot takes up the story: “One of our suppliers announced it was going to close its doors. At that point, our reaction was to go and find another brand as an alternative source for the wheels.

Wheel production equipment, including the robot that builds the wheels, is now installed at Bob Elliot’s HQ

WWW.CYCLINGINDUSTRY.NEWS // 015

(( FOCUS ON MANUFACTURING ))

“When you take into consideration things like freight charges [Ed note: and the uncertainty of what they would be depending on the Brexit deal], we began to focus on the UK. We are talking about entry level wheels so it’s hard to offset additional charges like freight. So we had discussions with three potential suppliers but they were not offering quite what we were after.

“At this point we made contact with some machine suppliers and started to assess what the costs would be to move into production ourselves, how the wheels would operate in different environments, would it fit with our model of doing business?

“The more research we did, the more the idea of manufacturing seemed feasible. We visited the machine supplier in Europe and spoke face to face with them about the

Bob Elliot’s investment includes machinery for lacing and truing

“WE STARTED TO ASSESS WHAT THE COSTS WOULD BE AND THE MORE RESEARCH WE DID, THE MORE THE IDEA OF MANUFACTURING SEEMED FEASIBLE.” support they offer and it was all ticking the right boxes.

Within four weeks the machine was here.”

Was the distributor concerned that it would have to recruit experts to operate the machines? Not so, explains Elliot: “We were fortunate because we already had the skills in-house and some highly experienced wheel builders. The only question was how easy it would be for them to adapt to working the machines. But our guys are so experienced that when the guys from Europe came over to train us on the machines, they were learning from us here. That was great to see and to have a meeting of two different ways of building wheels.”

The range will be comprehensive and divided clearly into the different adult wheel size categories (700C, 26”, 27.5” and 29”) as well as various options on colour, hub and rim types. KX will have continuity of components helping to deliver matching front and rear pairs. All wheels will be finished with hangtags (“like those do not disturb hangers you get on hotel room doors”), barcodes and the assurance of strong quality control from Bob Elliot’s own production.

And thanks to in-house production, the distributor/manufacturer will be able to react to market demands and offer custom options.

“It’s exciting,” Elliot tells CIN. “It’s well outside our normal remit! We’ve not manufactured at all before but now we’ve got to have production plans, we’ve had to adapt our business software to include new modules on manufacturing, it’s a whole new area to budget for… there’s been a lot to grasp but this is absolutely the right path for us.”

Space has not been a problem either. Thanks to a new build four years ago that saw the firm significantly grow its warehouse area, the machines have easily slotted in. “We

016 // WWW.CYCLINGINDUSTRY.NEWS

built it to make space for more pallets, for goods in and to generally give us some more warehouse floor space, so we’ve not had to squeeze it in.”

“The brand we were replacing, we wanted to replicate it with KX Wheels to a degree - obviously not like-for-like, but close enough to allow some consistency in the process of bringing this new brand to the market.”

Elliot admits production has been daunting. “We tend to bring a product to the market that is tried and tested, while now we are looking at things like raw material prices… it’s all quite new.”

And would the firm ever consider exporting? “That’s not even entered our plans at this stage.”

It’s no coincidence that Bob Elliot’s first foray into manufacturing taps into the servicing and workshop growth trend.

“Retail is suffering compared to where it was during the boom years. Our wheels are really in that area of quality replacements from entry level wheels. They are mostly under £50 and we’re also offering premium-economy options which retail from £119.99. The possibilities are endless.”

With strong colour coded hangtags to make identification of the wheels easy for trade and consumers, it seems fair to say Bob Elliot is enjoying channelling its experience of the market into its own brand. “It’s been well received,” concludes Paul Elliot. “I think it has been a bit of a surprise and we have had people get in touch. We’ve also had great feedback from the sales guys who have been taking out samples to shops.”

Contact Bob Elliiot on sales@bob-elliot.co.uk or contact Project Manager Sean Green on 01772 459 887 for any further information.

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(( TRADE OPINION CYCLE TECH ))

WORKSHOP AND SALES TRENDS IN THE BIKE TRADE As the bike retail industry continues to evolve at speed, Martin Wilkins, founder of Cycle Tech UK’s large national network of independent bicycle repair specialists, provides us with the view from the mobile mechanic, the opportunities there are from working more closely with bike shops, and the need for more, ongoing, workshop training…

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“WE ARE EXPERIENCING MANY A BIKE SHOP OWNER CONTACTING A MOBILE BIKE MECHANIC TO ASSIST WITH BIKE BUILDS AND REPAIRS.”

T

he big question: Does the bike trade know which direction it's going? To me, I would say it is hedging their bets, or worst still living on hope!

There will always be cheap bike 'BSOs' (bike shaped objects) in the marketplace as people like to think they are getting a bargain. To some extent, there is money to be made from cheap bikes.

Even if the BSO is checked over and advice is given, it's your time and knowledge and should be chargeable, or you sell them a bike for their needs, or you can even point them to an online dealer. You have to decide and let the customer know that you have a minimum charge to inspect bikes before offering any advice, options or repair.

There are options for mobile mechanics to partner with a dealer or supplier so you can get a percentage of the sale, including wheels, groupsets, and accessories. Many cyclists would rather buy a £600 wheelset than replace a worn out chain and cassette or even buy a new bike. We are at that buy and throw away attitude, you see that bikes have gone up in price and the quality has dropped - just look at bearings, in particular.

This takes me to bikes that are brought online and not assembled by a qualified mechanic. I am seeing a lot less new bike builds from a box, with customers looking to save along with that “I want it now” attitude.

But I am getting an increasing number of enquiries from customers who have just bought their new bike and are asking me: "It’s just the gears, can you take a look?" With those kinds of enquiries you usually find the bike has not been set up correctly.

With a visit, the mechanic visually notices all too often that the bike is the wrong size – usually way too big for the rider – and also frequently finds that the bike has not been assembled correctly with the headset/stem loose, brakes not aligned and so on. This has been a common theme for many a bike shop owner for years, but now it’s more prevalent with bikes getting more technical, requiring mechanical knowledge and the correct tools to do the setup correctly.

Training/learning/product knowledge needs to be ongoing, along with experience and support from a network of mechanics.

The bike trade can move in a direction to help get more people cycling, by helping them onto the correct bike,

sized and delivered to their door and handed over by a qualified mechanic, setting up the saddle, bars, shown the gears, advice on basics and booking in the first service.

We are experiencing many a bike shop owner contacting a mobile bike mechanic to assist with bike builds and repairs as they cannot find a skilled mechanic or don't trust their mechanic with PDIs. Some trade distributors do not want to sell a bike to a mobile mechanic unless they buy a fleet of bikes for an activity/hire centre. But would it not make sense?

It's recognition for the bike brand, the customer is getting better value and reducing returns. A correctly setup bike is more enjoyable to ride and safe. A bike shop can open and sell new bikes with no qualifications or having any skills learned from working in a bike shop. Working with our partners, the customer thinks it’s a great idea.

HAVING GOOD RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS & DISTRIBUTORS Many distributors have been working hard to offer free delivery days or free delivery on certain products. I have dropped the amount of stock I now carry and only keep the essential fast-moving items as parts normally come next day and many jobs have become overhaul jobs and require complete drive chain, bearings, etc... you can't stock everything. This helps with cash flow.

Still, you need a good stock of parts and some accessories that need to be better managed/controlled.

The question to ask yourself, are you selling as much as you were five years ago? If not, why or what are you doing differently? It's all too easy to say prices are cheaper online and you can't match. What I do know, we used to make a minimum of 30% on parts (tyres were double) and this was a big turnover/profit and would also help with buying more stock. Some distributors will even post parts and accessories direct to the consumer on your behalf, so now you can recommend products, take payment and it’s taken care of.

Right here right now, as good as it gets, so if you don't like the current situation, wait until the downturn hits!

There’s more from Martin Wilkins in the next edition of Cycling Industry News.

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(( MARKET RESEARCH WOMEN’S CYCLE CLOTHING ))

DOING IT FOR THE GIRLS Rapidly gaining share of the market, women’s cycle clothing is a sector to watch. Duncan Moore speaks with Rapha, Flare, ION & Café de Cycliste for their take on the field

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B

ack in issue 002/2019 of Cycling Industry News I wrote fit. What we hope to achieve this season with Flare Clothing an insight into how the face of retailing had changed is to give ladies an affordable choice and a fresh look in in relation to female-specific cycling kit. Now it’s time cycling clothes.” to follow up on that with a look at what some of the manuJust how to combine these various elements into a workfacturers are doing in the field of women’s kit and why. able cohesive design is the real secret to cracking the The importance of this market sector should not be overwomen’s clothing market and for Rapha’s Design Manager, looked and, for an example of why, look no further than Maria Olsson that means “being part of a company where Rapha where the women's part of the business represents cycling truly is the heart of the business. Everyone who about 13 per cent of its business. However, the company’s works on the product here rides and has an extensive goal for the next five years is to grow this to be above 20 per understanding for the customers’ needs and the problems cent. For others, the numbers are even more significant. we are trying to solve, male or female.

Remi Clermont, Café du Cycliste's co-founder and creative “For the women's market specifically, I can already see it director who explains that “in 2018, 30 per cent of our growing and developing into something truly exciting and I customers were women, it's a very significant number for believe it will continue to do so. There is nowhere to hide us, even more, because this percentage has been growing anymore as far as taking women's cycling seriously, the considerably in the past two years for Café du Cycliste. brands who don't will not survive in the future marketplace.”

“We are convinced that this market won't stop growing and That idea that clothing ranges should be developed that's very good news. The Women’s equally regardless of the rider’s gender pro-cycling scene is now more visible, is the direction in which ION is heading combined with the better-known beneas Nagel notes: “ION keeps developing fits of a cycling lifestyle, and we can see the women’s products with the same more women taking part in the cycling “FIT IS ESSENTIAL BUT ONCE effort as for the male range. The role of adventure. We do everything we can at women’s products is generally growing THEY ARE ON THE BIKES Café du Cycliste to grow the women's as the traditional role models are market even faster to be able to offer, becoming more and more obsolete. In WOMEN AND MEN ARE THE very soon, as wide a range of products the future, the focus will be on a more to women as we currently offer to men.” women’s specific functions and fit. It is SAME. OUR FEMALE AND For UK-based brand Flare Clothing an important element of brand posiMALE PRODUCTS ARE Co., the growth has not been measured tioning to satisfy the needs of a larger in numbers but the interest as Marsha target group.”

TECHNICALLY IDENTICAL.” El-Hage from the brand notes that “the The idea that gender should not be an women’s cycling market has been issue when developing new ranges is growing over the past 10 years with a one that is spreading through the noticeable increase in women trying industry. “At Café du Cycliste,” says their hands not only at cycling but many different sports.”

Clermont, “we do not use a different approach about the The changing market place for women is nicely men and women markets. In term of style, our approach is summarised by Clermont, Café du who says: “A few years very similar for both, we follow our style direction, which is back the women cycling clothing offer was very limited and very specific to our brand and is pretty gender neutral and was, most of the time, reduced to purple or pink items with most of our products are available, with a different fit, for some butterfly or flower prints. Fortunately, things are both men and women. changing even if some clichés are slow to disappear.

“The main difference is in the fit. We develop our women Female riders have exactly the same needs as men riders, range and test it with female riders to make sure it is they want to look good in their cycling kit and to have comfortable on the bike and women-specific in the comfortable and ultra-performant apparel.” ergonomics or for elements such as the inserts in the bibDavid Nagel, head of bike wear at ION, is of the opinion shorts. So the fit is essential but once they are on bikes that for female users, “aesthetics and feel are more relewomen and men are the same. We don't see any reason to vant than features and technology.” While a similar is put use different fabrics or have a different approach to our prodforward by El-Hage who suggests “that fashion and sport uct development. Our female and male products are technican be blended with the right designs, colour, comfort and cally identical in terms of fabrics, performance and usage.”

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(( MARKET RESEARCH WOMEN’S CYCLE CLOTHING ))

Thanks to the likes of Flare, Café du Cycliste, Rapha and others like ION, women's kit is no longer an after-thought

To illustrate this point Clermont gives the example of The development route being taken by Flare is more Café du Cycliste’s Ginette bib-shorts which he describes as widespread as El-Hage says that “Flare’s aim is to become the brand’s most women-tailored product. These shorts a leading women’s sports specific brand that assembles a use the same fabric as the Anabelle men bib-shorts in the community which supports women of all ages and abilities. men’s range but they are completely redesigned to fit The future is clear that women are multi-dimensional and women’s specific needs complete with a women-specific at Flare we intend to be the brand that addresses that insert, elastic on the waist for better multi-dimensional lifestyle.” support on the hips and one-piece She then goes on to explain that this straps for more comfort as normal season the company aim is to give ones are not ideal for the female form. women an affordable choice and a fresh This design also has the added benefit look in cycling clothes. “We feel “WE'VE DRAWN ON of allowing the wearer to ride with an strongly that fashion and sport can be open jersey on hot days without having blended with the right designs, colour, FEEDBACK FROM 38 WEAR to worry about wearing a base layer comfort and fit.”

TESTERS, FROM PRO underneath.

Giving an example of this she talks Women’s specific bib shorts are also about the Flare women’s cycling jersey.

RACERS TO COMMUTERS, a highlight in the current Rapha range “We felt the price of cycling clothes is with the latest versions of the Souprising every year and we wanted to offer WHO HAVE RIDDEN MORE lesse Detachable Bib Shorts, Women’s a quality jersey for a mid-range price THAN 15,000KM.” Cargo Bib Shorts and Women’s Core point providing ladies of all shapes and Cargo Shorts featuring a completely sizes an affordable fashionable fit. reconstructed chamois in two sizes, “The inspiration behind the designs depending on the size of shorts and considered the current spring trends style of riding. The new insert was three and fashion colours for 2019. We also years in development and talking about the development of took into account the design cut of the pattern to create a the new chamois, Olsson explains: “We’ve drawn on feedmore flattering shape for all the products.” back from 38 wear testers, from professional racers to The final word on the future of women’s cycle kit goes to commuters, who together have ridden more than Rapha’s Olsson who says: “Women are a force of nature and will accept nothing but the equal right to get kit that makes 15,000km. Initial design and subsequent development of the chamois pad was led by the female riders at Rapha HQ. them feel and look amazing. We are definitely here to make sure there is no question about the importance of women's Early prototypes then underwent exhaustive mapping tests cycling kit, no matter what form of cycling you prefer to do.” to ensure optimal distribution of pressure.”

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(( PROFILE STAN’S NO TUBES ))

Stan’s NoTubes POS units have been updated and refreshed

TUBELESS

CHAMPION It was almost two decades ago that frustrated MTB rider Stan Koziatek had enough of punctured inner tubes and, with his wife Cindy Koziatek, replaced the inner tube with a liquid sealant and created Stan’s No Tubes. It wasn’t long afterwards that the brand partnered with Paligap in a distribution partnership that has endured to this day. We grilled Stan’s Brand Manager for Paligap Diego De Napol on going against the inner tube grain, the steady growth of the tubeless market and how tubeless can help bricks and mortar shops compete with online…

The Stan’s/Paligap partnership has endured for 14 years now, which is almost as long as Stan’s No Tubes has been in existence – how did Paligap came to be one of the earliest partners for the brand?

Paligap approached Stan’s No Tubes at the Interbike show in 2005 when tubeless was very new and in its infancy. Andrew Butler, the Sales Director at the time, met Cindy and Stan at the show and the relationship started from October 2005.

Have there been any significant milestones for Stan’s and Paligap that stand out?

Paligap was the company that intro-

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duced the point of sale of program initially that has been rolled out into other markets and with the updated version they have been the leaders with in-store merchandising.

The consensus is that the tubeless sector has grown significantly since those early days - can you put your finger on a specific moment when tubeless started to ‘snowball’, or has it been more of a slow burning incremental change?

Stan’s have quoted they see the market as more “slow burning” and the fact that it has taken a number of years for dealers let along consumers to accept tubeless. One of

the challenges has been that the inner tube was one, if not the most profitable line in-store for IBDs. Tubeless has been gaining ground in the road sector, can you give us a rough idea of the balance between MTB/road in terms of tubeless?

Stan’s currently sees the split predominantly in the MTB market with a share of 90% but within the road sector and the recent introduction of major tyre brand manufacturers going tubeless it is the area that we believe will grow in the next five years and increase the overall growth of the tubeless market.

STAN’S ON THE GRASSROOTS, THE ATHERTONS AND IP Stan’s No Tubes tells Cycling Industry News: “With athlete support and presence in the UK, it was Paligap that introduced us to the Atherton family. This relationship has continued to grow and we are proud to continue to support all aspects of the racing world, from grassroots right up to world class athletes.”

And on the brand’s future R&D ambitions, Stan’s adds: “We have a huge number of patents that carry through from sealant down to rim technology and we are constantly looking at ways to improve on our current technical advancements.”

And what kind of impact would road pro riders turning to tubeless have on the market?

As always, the market looks to pro riders for the direction that the market will go in. However the road market is slow to adapt, but over time it will become the norm as the benefits of the technology outweigh the negatives.

You’ve revamped the POS units on offer through Paligap too, including the bestseller POS unit – can you take us through the details and options?

We identified that shoppers are looking for experiences and that the doom and gloom of retail dying is not necessarily true, so looking at what was on offer with retailers it was clear that we needed to update and refresh and so introduced our POS units. These have dramatically increased sales of Stan’s NoTubes in store. The different levels that we offer are: • SILVER • GOLD • SERVICE CENTRE All of them offer varying levels of margins designed to help retailers sell product that they need to remain profitable.

Tubeless may be increasingly popular, but what kind of training on tubeless does Paligap offer to boost the dealer’s knowledge of tubeless and Stan’s?

With three full time Sales and Brand Merchandisers covering the UK & Ireland, our team cover not only IBDs but many local and national events

REPS ON THE ROAD Paligap has invested in personnel (including on the road) dedicated to Stan’s No Tubes, including: David Chamberlain – South West & Wales Emma Knight – North & Scotland Alex Cubbage – South East & Home Counties Get in contact via 01454 332 110

where they educate customers on the benefits of tubeless and the way to convert to tubeless – and overcome any objections.

With the introduction of Goodyear, Paligap can now offer dealers an even more complete tubeless solution?

Goodyear was specifically brought on board to complement Stan’s and with the complete range of mountain, road and gravel being tubeless we felt it was a great brand to sit alongside Stan’s.

Goodyear has big plans for the bicycle tyre market and over the coming years there will be more product coming to market in all the main categories. We are already seeing the NEWTON range within MTB really gaining momentum and with many UK athletes choosing the product over already well-established brands.

Are there any other incentives you are offering dealers to come on board with Stan’s?

We are about to launch a dealer incentive with reduced and free carriage on all orders over the value of £75 once you sign up to become a Stan’s Silver, Gold or Service Centre.

How’s business for Stan’s at the moment?

We have seen real growth in this sector and with the POS set up this has proved a real winner within the IBD sector. Also, we believe the reduction in brands and improved focus on education around tubeless we have committed to in the last six months is paying dividends now and will continue to into the future.

“WE BELIEVE THAT TUBELESS IS STILL ON A GROWTH CURVE.” While the tubeless sector has grown, do you feel there is still plenty of room for it to grow further? What’s the potential and are retailers missing out if they’re not offering it?

Paligap believes that the sector is still on a growth curve and with the gravel market plus the number of road tyre brands that are now coming to the market in the last few years it will only be a matter of time before consumers will be converting to road tubeless. This is where we believe the IBDs can really grow their workshop business as consumers will require an IBD with its workshop and skills to set the customer up initially with tubeless and help educate them to the set up for future installation and the general maintenance.

Any further thoughts you’d like to share with our readers?

Paligap has reduced its portfolio of brands in the last two years and is now a very different business, instead focusing our time and energy on Stan’s, Goodyear, ALE clothing, Cipollini and DMT. We believe that by focusing on becoming Brand Specialists we are able to deliver on the needs of the brands that we work with and increase overall market share in what appears to be a turbulent time within the industry.

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(( TRADE OPINION ))

REPAIR SHOP NUMBER 3 In the last article in this series, Sales Training Expert Colin Rees summarises the answer to the question of what actions are open to bike shops, to live alongside internet purchasing, which still probably has some way to go before reaching a peak in the effect it has on retailers…

Colin Rees Retail Sales Trainer & Business Consultant. w colinrees7.wordpress.com. e Colinrees7@gmail.com

I

have been setting some of the things one can do Of course, the industry has done well without it all these without spending hoards of budget, against the backyears say the old guard, the same owners, some of whom ground of creating a retail space where people really are no longer with us I suspect, who decry my warnings want to return time after time and in some detail, for over 20 years to stop discounting. Instead, train people suggesting ways to achieve that. to avoid the hit, put up the verbal reasons why not, defeat I contend though, sales is only half of the story and the 10% expectation, offer 5% off anything bought at the looking logically at what has happened, selling bikes is same time, sell more; again, it isn’t rocket science. the area affected by the internet, but it cannot touch the But the point is that stores up and down the UK, some workshop. In the last article, I explained how to add as tiny family firms with no more than three people, and much as £100k to your turnover by using repairs to mop some huge beautiful stores have doubled their accessory up all those accessory sales you have been missing. sales and general business after being properly trained In this last article, I will explain how it is perfectly and implementing ideas such as the one in the last artipossible, over time, to put competing repair shops out of cle. How much healthier would your store be if it took an business by using simple logic together with an estabextra £100,000 of which almost half went straight on to lished marketing technique that if one knows about it, the bottom line as there is no cost? one can easily implement, for a cost of £5 maximum.

So, as usual, it’s up to the owner to do as they wish and But one other factor comes one thing I suspect they wish is into the mix and I apologise for that the internet would mentioning it again, but without explode. Well, it isn’t going to, “IT’S UP TO THE OWNER TO DO sales training, no business will so this series has explained ever proceed as strongly as it how to create that super store, AS THEY WISH AND ONE THING could, because it’s human a joy to be in, regularly visited, nature for a staff member to a sort of ‘club’, where I SUSPECT THEY WISH IS THAT proceed in any job, the way the customer choice has created a THE INTERNET WOULD EXPLODE.” individual believes is best. That space they will not leave to go contrasts with both best practice anywhere else. and all the theory and education We started with staff, refinpeople gain from business qualifications and degrees. ing your people so that the skills you need are the ones The staff member I watched go to the till to take a you enjoy. Creating those people into a truly bonded team, customer’s payment offering first, to “give a discount if and rewarding them on a team basis takes time and you want one” is the epitome of the principle. He thought patience but ultimately, given a proper reward procedure in a profit sharing scheme, everyone’s focus is where it that “would cement the sale and make the customer happy”, he said, when in fact the customer was already matters, the reason you are there, net profit creation.

Naturally, technique will be at the front of any discuswell cemented, he was at the till. sions you have with staff explaining why they need to So maybe it is right to emphasise that sales training as change the way they sell and explaining in detail, the new a discipline, which is almost extinct in the entire industry, attitudes the store wants customers to experience. despite being an integral part of achieving a sensible, Customer care service levels, nothing being too much profitable and growing, trading pattern, when missing, trouble, thinking for the customer, these aspects are misses a trick.

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(( TRADE OPINION ))

vital, however the sales person feels that day. The elimination of the word ‘timewaster’ and ensuring every customer leaves with ‘something’ even a leaflet with a coupon, is innovative. The key is communication.

Given the regular daily 8.00 am meeting fully to communicate, train and motivate provides a time when the team is at its best, deciding the game plan for the day, not having it forced upon them, but taking charge of the decisions… with proper guidance through questioning.

That is sensible management and glories in the team’s achievements towards sensible goals. Planning, teamwork and innovation are the watchwords. Changing attitudes is the target because at the end of the day, you are creating a new, happy store where nothing is too much trouble and smiling, building relationships as friends with customers is the order of the day, to create a comfortable place where people want to be. The staff must become different people, and that’s a big ‘ask’ so maybe the team you have today is not the team that will complete the transition.

A good look at the store will also be sensible. Is it a place where people who just do not want to go anywhere else, will be warmly met; inviting, temperature controlled, light and airy, clean for a start? Our new objective is to get them back time after time, building that hard core who will not go anywhere else. The greater emphasis on the workshop being on show as it is the best way to compete with the internet is paramount, however you do it.

Part of that whole process is communication. If I buy a bike from you, when is the next time I will hear from you?

And the next time after that… and so on. Constant, reasonable communication is ‘friendly’.

Changing the atmosphere surrounding sales and selling, targets etc to help to ‘give customers the best riding experience they can have’, illustrates the change of attitude needed. The way staff work with customers changes – overnight and getting staff to think in a different way can change their attitudes as sales people for ever. They also need to act, and be treated, as a team of people not a bunch of bike-y individuals.

We have written a strategic plan to cover all the areas we have discussed; the store, how it looks, the product range, are we stocking too much stuff? Do we need every bike brand that has ever been made on the shop floor so no customer is unable to get what he want (the Evans method) or a sales team trained to sell what’s there, using a representative selection? Only 2% of buyers in the UK go in asking for a specific brand. Other manufacturer products can be by catalogue on next day delivery, the Argos way to shop. Sound wild? It’s the norm now! Negotiate with your manufacturers, it is in their interest.

Natalie Bird, a UK retail expert, was recently talking about what’s happening on the High Street following the collapse of former retail giants. It was almost as if she had been reading this series of articles in her statement underlining ‘service’ in the UK is still not good enough. “Concentration on the retail experience, staff attitude and sensible pricing using offers and sales is the way to combat the internet malaise.”

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GIVE THE CUSTOMERS

BEST

RIDING EXPERIENCE THEY CAN HAVE

So having established, hopefully, the bike shop in your area where customers really want to go, you can assume you have done all you can to make the sales activity and information on ‘products’ you provide, are in the best shape they can be. This new entity also employs the ‘nicest’ team of sales people possible who just cannot do too much to help people, to have the best riding experience they can have.

Communication with customers is paramount to building the entity. Sending out regular emails within GDPR permission keeps your store at the forefront. This includes sending anyone who comes in, out with leaflets, route maps, and coupons to entice them back. As those who have been on courses will recognise, in all forms of promotion, if you do it and the bloke down the road doesn’t, who wins?

So facing directly the challenge of this series, a way to defeat the internet objection, “I can get it cheaper on the internet” all of us hear daily, why do we not think about taking the pressure away from reliance on new bike sales and prioritise the one area the internet is incapable of reaching; the workshop. This to me seems to be the area least considered, yet in essence, it’s the complete answer if done correctly and does not mean you stop selling bikes.

In the last article, the suggestion was made not to hide the area but to make it more prominent to customers. In turn, it needs to be staffed by people not frightened to talk to customers and forcing this by locating a clean area for bike building and ‘light’ repairs in the centre of the store may not be such a silly suggestion.

I have often asked mechanics who say they have Cytech qualifications, where are your certificates? “Under my bed” one replied. Customers need to be reassured by industry competence levels so you can cover your walls with their Cytech certificates.

Next, look carefully at the maintenance programmes you provide. Usually, these sound something like bronze, silver and gold. Does the description you use relate to customers without any level of technical knowledge; do they even comprehend the work and see easily where each gives value?

Another easy encouragement is asking customers what they thought of what you did. Admittedly, this can become an annoyance but some people will respond to highlight what was good but more important, what wasn’t and you need to know so you can do something about it.

Constant communication with people we have already said, is paramount to any success.

When was the last time you reviewed the maintainance levels, worked out what they actually cost you and looked carefully at the profit level you apply over those costs?

The first step most businesses would use to secure their place in a market would be some marketing, but promoting a product or service is a cost and most people are unable to employ big budgets which is what it takes.

So what is there that doesn’t cost and there is plenty of?

When it is well used, the answer is, time.

In addition, there is a way over time, to capture your whole, local repair market by investing in a day-to-a-

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(( TRADE OPINION ))

page diary that cost less than £5. Every customer that brings in a repair, if it is their first time, gets a service second to none, going beyond the brief as necessary, even including washing and polishing it. As they pay, they are told that to keep a bike going properly, like any piece of precision engineering, it needs regular maintenance.

The same goes for anyone buying a new bike.

A date for the next service is put into the diary around six months ahead, depending on the season, so that the shop’s cashflow balance is maintained against poor bike sales months. The customer leaves happy and immediately forgets the date, despite the card they are given and told to protect. It has all the info, phone numbers, emails of the store plus £5 off any accessory fitted while a bike is in for repair, maximum £15, an incentive to keep it.

Four weeks before the date, that customer will get an email reminding them of the arrangement already agreed and checking the date is still good. Two weeks before the date, a phone call is made to discuss the time to receive the bike and check if anything else needs doing and hear how the bike is running so as to set the level of service, the upsell opportunity. Invariably, the customer will say something, usually minor that does need doing.

The bike arrives, the accessories agreed, the work is done, the next diary date is entered. Over time, applying this process to every repair bike and all new ones sold ‘locks’ the customer from even thinking about going elsewhere and will bring all those bikes to you as you are the only store in your area bothering to go out and get the customer to come to you. Other workshops will lose that business and in due course as your reputation grows, your store will end up getting all the repair work in your area and competitors will just not be able to understand where it’s gone.

The key is your staff. Someone said to me recently, “I get my bike fixed in the same place always as I like and trust the mechanic”, his actual words. So here is another

case where training is the key. Surely, it makes logical sense, if you really want to stay in your High street to concentrate on a profit making area that is untouched by the internet, and moreover, never can be and where manufacturers who sell direct to the public, a shameful, recent trend, are totally excluded?

Series Conclusion Through this series of articles, we have tried to see that the staff are right, the shop is as well organised as possible and your new sales target is to provide a standard of service where customers simply would not go anywhere else.

Then, we need to look carefully at where we can concentrate that the internet cannot reach and that’s your workshop. You know how to give the business an immediate financial boost by fitting accessories onto repair bikes that are not already there.

The last section told you how to capture your local repair work market shared by other bike shops using a cheap, sensible diary system and communicating properly with repair customers, regularly.

Those who have been on our training courses will have heard me say before, “If you are doing it, and the bloke down the road isn’t, who wins?” Owners will recall me saying “A business that is not growing is already in decline”. Everyone will remember my repetitive sales attitude target: “To give your customers the best riding experience they can get”.

Good luck. Go forth and multiply.

If you have read things today or joined the series half way through and would like more information on any subject discussed email info@cyclingindustry.news And stay tuned to Cycling Industry News for more from Colin Rees.

“IF YOU ARE DOING IT, AND THE BLOKE DOWN THE ROAD ISN’T, WHO WINS?”

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HOW ARE YOU FEELING?

The importance of feel in the workshop

How are you feeling? Are you well? Seems like an odd thing to begin a workshop article with I’ll admit – but I have a reason, let me explain.

We are blessed to be born with the most sensitive of torque wrenches (our hands) but like any tension or pressure gauge, these hands need to be calibrated.

One of the things that separates the beginner mechanic from an experienced one is this accuracy of feel.

How does it feel? Is a question I ask a lot during the training courses and I’m doing so not because I don’t know how the part being worked on should feel but I want the person on the course to understand how it should feel (I’m sorry I’m going to use the word feel a lot in this article).

Feel is something that has to be learned and I’m not saying that we should use feel for everything, but it is very important and not to be overlooked.

We use feel all the time in the workshop – we use it when the bike is first bought into the workshop to detect faults – sometimes before the bike is even clamped into the workstand.

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By Julian Thrasher, ATG Training

And let’s talk about the workstand for a second. You use feel to prevent you from overtightening the workstand clamp (or you should be!) which is vitally important when clamping onto a dropper or carbon seatpost.

We use feel to detect play or tightness in bearings, to gauge whether the pressure in the tyres is too high or too low, to feel the tension through a tool when tightening a component, when squeezing the spokes to check for tension, even to gauge how hard to tap something with a hammer!

It goes beyond the workshop environment too.

For example, if the bearings are loose in a swingarm of a full suspension bike for example, you may feel it through the bike first before it is felt fully when the wheel is flexed from side to side in the workstand. This feel is very subtle at first and you may even attribute it to you having an off day on the bike, not being able to hold lines or feeling squirmy on the way up the lips of take offs.

Aaron Gwin is noted to have a very keen feel for what the bike is doing underneath him – down to being able to

detect the difference in a psi of the tyre (accurately and repeatedly as confirmed by his Mechanic John Hall).

Sometimes it’s difficult to replicate the feel of something under full load when the bike is in the workstand so if the customer is telling you that the bike doesn’t feel right but you can’t detect the issue in the workstand, then take the bike out and put some load on it.

Torque wrenches and pressure gauges can calibrate our feel and keep you in a safe zone so that you are not over or under tightening products, but a good mechanic should always be asking questions when tensioning or adding pressure to a part.

Blindly setting the torque wrench to the maximum stated torque and wrenching away can have conse-

“IF THE CUSTOMER IS TELLING YOU THE BIKE DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT BUT YOU CAN’T DETECT THE ISSUE IN THE WORKSTAND, TAKE THE BIKE OUT AND PUT SOME LOAD ON IT.” quences if you ignore the subtle feelings going through the torque wrench as the bolt tightens.

Feel is your inbuilt alarm bell as to when something is not correct.

So how can you develop a better feel?

Being conscious and present as you torque a component or add pressure to a tyre is a good place to start.

A game we play on the Cytech course is the ‘one thumb torque wrench’. You are only allowed to use one hand to hold the torque wrench and without bracing it against your body you need to make the head of the torque wrench click. Start at 2NM and work up a Newton metre at a time until you can no longer depress the head of the torque wrench. Make a note of the torque figure you reach. Try doing the test at different times of day, different days of the week. See if you get different readings.

Try and develop a consistent feel.

You could also get another mechanic to inflate the tyres and try to accurately guess the pressure. Try and get it to the PSI. With practice you’ll be able to get your feel pretty good.

Developing a keen sense of feel will allow you to be really precise and accurate in all aspects of your life as a Mechanic.

You feel me?

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(( PROFILE HERRMANS ))

THE HERRMANS TOUCH

With Herrmans celebrating 60 years in the OEM busine business this year, CIN caught up with Business Unit Director Dan Liljeqvist to talk focus, markets and innovation…

H

eadquartered in Jakobstad, Finland, the Herrmans of today employs more than 280 people at its base and in its subsidiaries in Germany, the US, Taiwan and China.

In 1959, Bernhard Herrmans produced his first bicycle component, the rim tape, and quickly realised its potential. Sixty years later, the company is now a leading components manufacturer, designing and manufacturing grips, lights, chain guards, reflectors and rim tapes for the cycle industry.

Whilst Herrmans boasts a global interconnected sales team based in multiple locations around the world, Europe continues to be the manufacturer’s main

market: “Although we’re a truly global company, we are focusing on the European market in particular,” Liljeqvist explains. “It’s important to us to be a European manufacturer. Business has been good due to the sunny European weather and we seem to have had a good start to the year so far.”

The majority of Herrmans’ business is OEM, and the group’s grips and lights are continuing to see innovation throughout 2019. “Grips and lights are a big focus for us.

We are actually planning to release a new product series at Eurobike this year,” divulges Liljeqvist. “Our sister company, Nordic Lights, enables us to borrow innovations from the automotive sector and apply them to bicycles, although it’s challenging. There is more regulation in the bike industry restricting the height and brightness of bicycle lights, especially in Europe.”

Herrmans is continually investing in its in-house research and development department, which harbours modern light and testing labs alongside the latest in simu-

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(( PROFILE HERRMANS ))

lation software. All products go through an extensive testing process to ensure they adhere to the manufacturer’s safety and quality standards.

“We make sure that we do not forget the basics of what we do best, and are known for,” says Liljeqvist.

“We aim to improve our existing range, rather than just broaden it. As a company, our main focuses are on safety, comfort and innovation.”

With the growth of e-bikes displaying a decidedly upwards trend, how has Herrmans adapted to meet this escalating demand? “E-bikes and pedelecs are more demanding because they require better and more advanced components than traditional bicycles,” offers Liljeqvist. “We have a big emphasis on market research and strive to find, design and create the best solutions possible for our customers.”

Herrmans is also striving to reduce the environmental impact of its activities by implementing more sustainable operations, such as its responsible sourcing strategy. The majority of its aftermarket packaging is also recyclable, and it isn’t just the environment that the company is mindful of.

“It is very important to us to support our customers in any way we can,” says Liljeqvist. “If a customer tries to diversify their price, then we must support them with that. Some customers like to see our own-branded components, while others prefer to have their own branding, it depends entirely on the customer.

“For example, we collaborated with Selle Royal to match the material of our grips to the material of their

saddle. It’s really important to do this, and to try to meet the customer’s wants, needs and requirements in whatever way we can,” he continues.

Herrmans will be exhibiting at a number of trade shows this year, namely Shanghai, Eurobike and Taichung. According to Liljeqvist, Taiwan is the next biggest market focus behind Europe and the company is passionate about supporting the local bicycle industry there. Herrmans already has a warehouse and offices on the island and exhibited at the Taipei Cycle Show held in March earlier this year.

Liljeqvist believes having someone on hand on the ground is integral to fulfilling the needs of that market successfully. “We want to support our customers locally,” he explains.

“Having a global team in different locations around the world is really important to us and what we do. It means there is always someone on hand to help and solve a query or problem at all times.”

Working with the likes of Bianchi, Cannondale, Trek and Specialized, Herrmans collaborates closely with each individual customer, applying its knowledge and OEM capabilities to meet their business goals. According to the component manufacturer, its success is down to three core values: customer focus, sustainable operations, and being a great place to work.

Liljeqvist adds: “We are constantly looking to match future needs with our focus on research and development, whilst continuing to fulfil the needs of the market right now.” www.herrmans.eu

Based in Jakobstad, Finland, Herrmans' main focus remains on the European market

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WE ARE MANUFACTURING Our exciting new range of KX Wheels are produced right here at Bob Elliot HQ. Utilising our specialist machinery, we prepare the hubs using reliable, economical, high quality ĉŧśƊŧŞėŞƢƎlj ìŞĐ œìĉė Ƣĸė ǃĸėėœƖ ćėįŧƎė ǠŞĽƖĸĽŞı Ƣĸėś Ƣŧ precise tolerances with the use of a robot which are then quality checked to deliver the perfect wheel every time. !ŧśƊėƢĽƢĽǂėœlj ƊƎĽĉėĐ ƎėƊœìĉėśėŞƢ ǃĸėėœƖ ŧǛėƎĽŞı ì ǃĽĐė selection for 700C and all MTB disciplines. » Built here at Bob Elliot HQ « » Quality componentry from all around the World « » Over 50 years combined wheel building experience « » œœ ǃĸėėœƖ ǠŞĽƖĸėĐ Ƣŧ ėLjìĉƢĽŞı ƢŧœėƎìŞĉėƖ « » Comprehensive range, competitively priced « » Next day delivery available « ·ŧ ǠŞĐ ŧƫƢ śŧƎė ìćŧƫƢ eÜ ×ĸėėœƖ ĉŧŞƢìĉƢ ljŧƫƎ ìƎėì ƖìœėƖ śìŞìıėƎ ŧƎ ėśìĽœ ƖìœėƖΝćŧć̶ėœœĽŧƢ̖ĉŧ̖ƫŐ ŧƎ ĉ윜 ƫƖ ŧŞ ˒˓˙˙˔ ˖˗˛˚˚˙

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(( FOCUS ON URBAN MOBILITY ))

Josh Hon, Team Captain and Matt Davis, Sales & Business Development Director, Tern Bicycles

TERNING THE TIDE ON SUSTAINABILITY We caught up with Tern Bicycles’ Team Captain, Josh Hon, and Sales & Business Development Director, Matt Davis, to hear how the brand is making waves in the field of sustainable urban mobility...

I

n a world where climate change is a real threat to our natural world and carbon emissions are polluting our cities, the need for alternative greener approaches to business has never been greater. Cue, Tern Bicycles.

Tern has been leading the way in sustainable practices for a long time in the field of urban mobility and cycle transportation. At the tail end of last year, the brand rolled out its Bikes for Business programme; an initiative that helps businesses transfer their logistics operations from four wheels to two.

“Bikes for Business is basically going out to our partners globally with products and marketing materials and encouraging them to look for ways to integrate bikes into their supply chains and logistics,” explains John Hon. The flagship model of the scheme is Tern’s GSD, a heavy-duty cargo bike that can carry two kids, a week’s

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worth of groceries or 180 kg of cargo. Hon believes the GSD can fulfil the logistics needs of business operations across a variety of sectors.

“We think there is big potential there, so we’re looking to learn and we’re working with our partners on that,” he adds.

“We think it is a big untapped market with great potential.”

Last-mile delivery has emerged as a hot topic in the cycle industry, with the introduction of congestion zones and air pollution concerns leading many businesses to re-evaluate the vehicles they select for their logistics operations.

Matt Davis believes urban-centred businesses can benefit hugely from switching to cargo bikes over large diesel delivery vehicles. “Petrol costs, maintenance costs, insurance costs, accidents and training; all of those things are historically assumed costs for running a logistics operation,” he explains. “When you bring bikes

and e-bikes into the mix a lot of those things change substantially, and the numbers work out well.”

Hon also believes the switch to two wheels makes economic sense: “In crowded urban centres bikes can often get around faster than delivery trucks, so if there is a city where a bike can deliver something faster than a car, it’s logical,” he reasons. “It makes economic sense for the company regardless of whether they care about the environmental impacts.”

It seems economics is the golden ticket to bringing businesses round to the idea of embracing more environmentally friendly approaches within their logistics operations. “If you want to change human behaviour it has to make economic sense first,” offers Hon. “Our goal is to think about cities and industries where a bike makes sense economically and to then create products for that.”

In addition to its partners’ operations, it’s key to Tern that its own processes are as sustainable as they can be. Wherever possible the brand looks for ways to minimise packaging and works with sustainable suppliers who have a similar eco-aware approach to their business operations.

Tern also operates a cycle to work incentive scheme for its employees, who are paid around 50 cents per kilometre to ride any of the brand’s bicycles to work. This money is then used to pay off the bike, with employees having two years in which to pay off the full amount.

“The other thing is to be putting a high enough quality

product on the market that can be ridden and used over an extended period of time and be repaired,” Davis says.

“So, we’re very big fans and supporters of local bike shops and businesses buying through them, so they have a local service contact.

“When a business buys a bike, to keep it on the road for longer, as well as all the consumables that go with it, it helps to have a local shop on hand to keep that maintenance going, just like you would with a car.”

Hon believes this approach is even more important when e-bikes come in to play. “I don’t know if all local bike shops realise this,” he says, “but if you’re selling an e-bike, the local bike shop is essential. If you’re buying a transportation vehicle that you’re relying on every single day, then you must have local service.”

“IF YOU'RE SELLING AN E-BIKE, THE LOCAL BIKE SHOP IS ESSENTIAL.” The pair are of the opinion that an e-bike should absolutely be purchased from a local bike shop, which are indispensable when an e-bike’s purpose is for transportation of people or goods. According to them, the term ‘sustainability’ doesn’t just apply to the environment but also alludes to the sustainability of the cycling industry itself.

“The dealers also become a point of community

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(( FOCUS ON URBAN MOBILITY ))

contact,” explains Davis. “We’re seeing a very exciting trend globally of a shift towards a better bicycle infrastructure, and where there’s better infrastructure there’s more cyclists. The local bike shop then serves as a support for that burgeoning community and has an opportunity to take advantage of that.”

While there is this shift towards better infrastructure, is it currently adequate to make the bicycle a truly viable option of urban transportation? Hon believes progress is certainly being made: “I think we’re seeing it moving pretty well in a lot of large cities,” he reasons. “There are some really far behind but there are also those who are doing really well. I think every city has advocates out there pushing, and the bike industry needs to support them city by city, community by community.”

One of the biggest obstacles to bicycles being considered a workable urban transportation alternative to cars or public transport, according to Hon and Davis, is perceptions of, and attitudes towards, cycling.

“For the last couple of decades there’s been this identification of people as a ‘cyclist’ and this has a lot to do with sports and those hardcore people who ride back and forth to work,” explains Davis. “We’re now seeing a very exciting shift towards normalising cycling as transportation with the GSD and some of the other initiatives.”

“WE MUST CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE ON THIS PLANET.” He humorously points out, “You don’t label people who drive cars as ‘drivers’, everyone is just assumed to be included in that category!” According to him, the more people that ride bicycles for transportation more often, the less the ‘cyclist’ label is necessary to separate them out, and everyone simply becomes a part of the community.

The entire reason for Tern’s folding bicycles’ existence was to interface well with public transport, so that all these more sustainable modes of transport could interact well with each other. “We’re excited to be seeing these shifts in city planning,” Davis enthuses. “Especially the ongoing conversation that e-bikes are making things more accessible for everyday riders.”

While Tern champions this shift towards urban transportation, the integration of cargo bikes for last mile delivery and points out the importance of local bike shops, the brand knows there is a lot more still to be done to create truly sustainable cities in the future.

“We happen to believe that climate change is real,” Hon states. “We’re seeing a shift in weather patterns around the world; this is not small stuff and we’re only at the very beginning. We absolutely must change the way we live on the planet and consume things.”

But what can the bike industry do to improve sustain-

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ability, both within and outside of itself? Hon insists economic and convenience incentives have the biggest impact on decision-makers in business.

“It’s our part to encourage change,” he says. “But, of course, it has to make economic sense and be convenient for people. You can’t just appeal to environmentalism. You have to appeal to people saving 10 minutes on their commute if they cycle instead of drive, or saving a certain amount of money each month on a public transport pass by swapping the bus for a bike, for example.”

With its focus firmly fixed on transportation, Tern’s goal as a company is as simple as getting more people to take more of their trips by bike, more often. While altering people’s and businesses’ attitudes and habits will always prove challenging, the significant economic, convenience and environmental incentives of integrating bicycles as an urban transport alternative are near impossible to deny. www.ternbicycles.com

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eurobike-show.com #EUROBIKESHOW

(( OPINION RICK VOSPER ))

LEFT SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC After a hard winter and brutal spring season which may or may not have arrived courtesy of global climate change, US retailers are coming into the 2019 selling season in earnest. Here are some items currently impacting the American market which may be of interest to our colleagues in the UK and Australia, from Rick Vosper

CLICK & COLLECT IS ALL THE RAGE, BUT WHO COLLECTS WHEN THE CUSTOMER CLICKS? With Specialized finally dropping the final remaining shoe back in March, all major brands are now engaged in stateside Click & Collect programmes.

Problem is, it's not clear whether net sales are actually increasing or if suppliers are just using C&C to siphon retailer margin dollars into their own pockets from sales that would have happened in any case. It will come as no surprise that brands embrace the former proposition while retailers strongly uphold the latter.

“SOME DEALERS ARE DEVELOPING THEIR OWN C&C PROGRAMMES TO COMPETE DIRECTLY WITH THEIR SUPPLIERS.” The situation has led to a couple of interesting pushbacks from dealers: The first has to do with compensation rates, especially when changes to the

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customer’s original order are involved and/or replacement product has to be brought in, which can leave dealers with extra and/or difficult-to-turn inventory. Different suppliers compensate retailers for C&C sales at different rates, too, with Giant offering full retailer margin, according to participating dealers. At some point, we can expect market forces to level rates out and the various players to develop best practices for exceptions. Or, in the words of American author Earnest Hemingway, isn’t it pretty to think so?

The second – and to my mind, more interesting – pushback is dealers developing their own Click & Collect programmes and competing directly with their own suppliers for acquisition of the same customers the supplier is trying to pre-empt. There are several US-based companies now offering turnkey web content/ e-commerce site support and POS integration programmes for retailers looking to beef up their online presence. Category leader SmartEtailing indicates it is currently studying expansion into the UK and Australian markets.

USA E-BIKE MARKET SHARE, 2018 (Source: eCycleElectric)

IBD

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EBD

Direct/Mass

TARIFFS & MORE TARIFFS The Trump administration’s new round of increased tariffs will impact some £79 million (US$1 billion; AU$1.43 billion) in bike-related goods, increasing from 10% to 25% on products arriving in the US after 1 June.

This is in addition to existing tariffs, which are generally about 5-11% for cycling goods. Industry boffin and sometime CIN editorialist Jay Townley has an interesting piece about this on the US-based Bicycle Retailer & Industry News website. Here’s what we Americans would call the Money Quote: “…the current trade dispute has had a detrimental impact on all aspects of the US bicycle business that will only get worse if it continues to unfold as now forecast.”

Results are about what you’d expect: depressed import numbers (about £40 million/ US$51 million/ AU$73 million in ex-factory dollars in Q1 alone, according to inside sources), and a

frantic scramble to re-source production to Taiwan, Vietnam and other Asian countries… which is not all that difficult, since the China exodus was pioneered decades ago by the EU’s longstanding anti-dumping duties; see also CIN’s take from last year on the impact of Brexit on this question. And, as with the EU, Shanghai Bike Week attendees tell me there is no shortage of Chinese factories openly willing to create product for nominal assembly and shipment via non-Chinese nations of origin. Of course, this was before China began hinting that it might restrict export of rare-earth magnets (which is to say, high-end e-bikes) in response to its trade war with the USA. So who knows, perhaps the jiggery-

pokery will flow in both directions.

Also interesting is that tariffs and political climate are pushing a resurgent interest – or at least interest in talking about interest – in reshoring bicycle frame fabrication and/or assembly to the United States. On the other hand, there are exactly zero reshoring moves to date among the industry’s quadrumvirate of largest US players (Trek/Specialized/Giant/ Cannondale,collectively represented in more than half of the 7,000-ish US retail locations). On an only slightly smaller scale, spokespeople from Pon are refusing to comment on rumours the Santa Cruz/Juliana/ Cervélo assembly facility in California has halted production. And one hopeful launch from a few years ago, the Walton (Walmart) familybacked high-end carbon brand Allied Cycle, just reported layoffs and some internal shenanigans resulting in the ousting of its founder and president.

EBIKES ARE DEFINITELY GROWING… AND CREATING AN ENTIRE PARALLEL RETAIL CHANNEL USA E-BIKE SELL-IN, UNITS SOURCE: BPSA 8 7

THOUSANDS

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Data from the US supplier group BPSA’s “E-Bike Summit” in March shows a sevenfold increase in ebike units from January 2017 to July 2018, followed by a sharp drop as US tariffs on Chinese goods took effect.

Nonetheless, numbers for January 2019 show some recovery and are expected to continue, despite higher pricing as the tariffs take effect.

At the same time, US import data collected by industry consultant Ed Benjamin of eCycleElectric shows a growing retail channel of independent electric-only bike dealers, or EBDs. One e-bike-only brand, Pedego, claims £39 million (US$50 million; AU$72 million) in US sales out of 108 retail locations, potentially making it as large a player as Trek, which does not report sales and has about ten times as many retailers.

The emergent EBD is currently estimated to be at parity with the traditional IBD channel in e-bike unit sales, and the two combined are about the same size (although

larger in revenue) when compared to the huge number of consumerdirect sales, which are mostly lowdollar imports sold through Amazon or other aggregators.

At the same time, dockless ebikeshare schemes backed by multibillion-dollar giants like Uber and Lyft are proliferating in US

cities, despite coming under fierce competition from e-scooter (known in Europe as step-scooter) brands Bird, Lyme and others. There is a real Wild West era of e-bike development here and a corresponding lack of law and order/ infrastructure/ commonsense practices to support it at any number of levels.

WWW.CYCLINGINDUSTRY.NEWS // 043

(( OPINION RICK VOSPER ))

FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF INTERBIKE, REGIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE SHOWS RUSH TO FILL THE GAP Interbike owner Emerald Expositions announced it was getting out of the bicycle trade fair business shortly after its disappointing 2018 edition, newly relocated to Reno, Nevada from its traditional home in Las Vegas. The show claimed a one-day trade attendance of 2,500. Compare that with “about 18,000” over three days in 2017 and a historic three-day peak of 25,536 in 2012, and the decision seems not just understandable, but downright inevitable.

So now what? As discussed previously, the answer for many is smaller shows in regional markets. Given that the United States is a very large place with functionally nonexistent public ground transportation, show venues tend to be within a half-day drive of major population centres and bike markets.

The industry leader in the regional show business is the Chicago Area Bicycle Dealers Association’s CABDA Expo series. The original CABDA had hosted trade events in Chicago dating back to the 1970s, with the current version in continuous operation since 2015 and pulling some 2,000 retailer attendees in 2019. The organisation premiered its West Coast (San Diego area) edition in January of this year and has announced plans for two new venues: a consumer-focused Denver event slated for November and an East Coast venue for the trade in the New York City area, slated for March of 2020.

“Attendance has grown year on year,” says CABDA show director Jim Kersten. “I’m anticipating probably double the attendance in our 2020 California show, some growth in Chicago, not sure what the premiere of New York holds.” For most shows, Kersten says, he needs about 950 shops to make it viable, but only needs a little more than a hundred for a demo-based event. Keep in mind that new estimates claim there are

more than seven thousand total bike shops in the US (as opposed to traditional estimates of less than half that) and the future of regional shows in the CABDA model seems bright.

“CURIOUSLY, INDUSTRY CHATTER INCREASINGLY REFERS TO CONSUMER EVENTS AS TRADE SHOWS...”

Other examples include the Philadelphia Bike show, which is roughly the same size as CABDA Midwest but more consumer-focused, and Frostbike, a “house show” for mega-distributor Quality Bicycle Products which will move from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Denver for

2020. Both report themselves in good health, although retailer attendance numbers are hard to pin down.

Curiously, industry chatter increasingly refers to consumer events as trade shows. The largest of these is Sea Otter, which will inaugurate a Canadian edition near Toronto in July to augment its established European (Girona, Spain) and original stateside (Monterey, California) venues. Other events promoted to trade status include the various Crankworxes, assorted Outerbikes and various selfstyled “media summits,” all of which are notoriously short on retailers.

Even the North American Handbuilt Bike Show, which changes locations each year and focuses on bespoke builders and buyers, is considered a “trade show” now, despite the fact that virtually no actual “trade” – which is to say, neither retailers or traditional suppliers – actually attend it.

AAAAND…THAT’S ALL, FOLKS! So there you have it: another issue, another birds-eye lowdown on the most recent hijinks from your colleagues across the pond. Hopefully, it’s interesting, perhaps it’s insightful, and, if nothing else, you can always look at our North American antics and say See? It’s not just us, after all.

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info@lyon.co.uk | 015396 24040 | lyon.co.uk/cycle

(( PROFILE NUUN ))

Nuun has recently revamped its range, packaging and ingredients.

Can you fill us in?

In 2019, Nuun will be upgrading the entire product portfolio to hydrate better, taste amazing, dissolve faster and source ingredients more responsibly for our shared planet. To address those claims: Hydrates better: more electrolytes in an optimised blend based on the latest research. Less sodium and more potassium, and now includes chloride.

Tastes amazing: please judge this for yourself but consumer feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

NUUN’S TIME Nuun was the fastest growing brand in Extra’s portfolio last year and with an imminent refresh of the range and packaging, we asked Hamish Bingley, Nuun Brand Manager at Extra UK to fill us in on the updates

Dissolves faster: it used to take approximately five minutes, now it’s less than three.

Better for the planet and humans: ingredient upgrades and first tablet with non-GMO certification.

Nuun didn’t stop there, however. With these improvements, they wanted the product packaging to be more effective than ever. Knowing they could improve the ‘shopability’ of the Nuun family of products and continue to help the hydration category grow, they updated Nuun’s packaging design for 2019. This will flow into the retail channel as a rolling change and should reach retailers from July onwards, depending on the flavour.

The new packaging is easier for the consumer to learn about Nuun products, self-select the right solution for their needs and identify new product lines quickly. It uses a colour blocking technique to clearly differentiate the different need states (Nuun “Active” and “Boost” will be succeeded by “Nuun Sport” and “Nuun Sport with caffeine”).

Consumer-tested and approved, Nuun’s new designs will help add clarity and incrementality your hydration set.

Where does the brand name “Nuun” come from?

It’s shorthand for “Nutrition Uncompromised”, encapsulating Nuun’s unwavering commitment to creating high quality hydration products made with clean, natural ingredients that are better for the planet and humans.

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The vegan trend is now so ubiquitous that Greggs is getting in on the act. But Nuun went vegan-friendly back in 2016…

All of the ingredients across the full Nuun range are plant-based and not only developed to help the performance of athletes, but also benefit their overall health and wellbeing. This is Nuun’s nutrition philosophy and the brand is committed to it through the most respected third party verifications including Non-GMO Project, Informed-Sport, and Kosher. All Nuun products are also vegan, gluten free and dairy free.

Nuun has long appeared to have a policy of getting the product into the hands of potential punters – is that still the best way to get catch new customers?

Sampling Nuun product at events, either in the event village/expo or ‘on course’/post-event is a really important activity within our annual marketing plan. We have a busy event calendar throughout the year. Not only do these events raise awareness for the brand and enable consumers to ask pertinent questions about their sports nutrition, most importantly they’re a unique opportunity for consumers to taste the product firsthand and find out how they work for them. Many Nuun customers’ first interaction with the brand is at an event.

We recommend that bike dealers offer free single serve samples to customers wanting to try before they buy and/or promotional bundles of tubes with a free Nuun water bottle.

For more information on either, please contact Hamish Bingley at Extra UK. Nuun is differentiated from a lot of other cycle nutrition brands because it was the first to separate hydration from fueling. Has that philosophy remained key to the brand?

Yes, developing products that maximise hydration for athletes utilising the latest in exercise science and sports nutrition continues to be a pillar of the brand. The breakthrough research from Stacy Sims PhD in the early 2000s debunked the high calorie, high sugar sports drink model. Leading with this science Nuun was the first to develop a low carbohydrate

sports drink solely focused on hydration. Nuun has continued to learn from Stacy’s world-class knowledge, and she is a consultant on the brand’s product development.

Can you give us a rundown of the current Nuun product range?

There are now five product lines in the Nuun range: Sport, Vitamins, Rest, Endurance and Immunity.

Nuun Sport: What has been known up until now as Nuun Active and Nuun Boost are about to become Nuun Sport. It’s the flagship sports drink product, packed with complete electrolytes and made with clean ingredients that replace what’s lost during exercise. This range will grow dramatically to become nine noncaffeinated and four caffeinated flavours with the introduction into the UK of five new flavours by year end.

10 tablets/tube, RRP £6.99/tube, they’re available now in the UK. Nuun Vitamins: Created for daily healthy hydration on-the-go, Nuun Vitamins hydrates better than water alone. This effervescent tablet blends vitamins, minerals and electrolytes and comes in four noncaffeinated flavours and two with caffeine, 12 tablets/tube RRP is £8.99/tube. It’s available now in the UK.

Nuun Rest: For recovery, this effervescent tablet aims to calm and melt the tension away from overworked muscles. There’s just 1g of sugar, no artificial sweeteners, electrolytes for hydration, magnesium and potassium for muscle cramping prevention and tart cherry and magnesium for inflammation/muscle soreness reduction and aids in a more restful sleep. It recently launched in the USA and could be available in the UK by year end, complementing Nuun Sport.

Nuun Endurance: Intended for use when exercising for 90-plus minutes.

Endurance (powder) uses the latest research to develop a hydration solution using a combination of electrolytes and carbohydrates for optimal hydration (and absorption) benefits for the long-haul. Another recent USA launch, it will head to the UK in due course.

Nuun Immunity: A tasty blend of botanicals and electrolytes packed into an effervescent tablet that will help support and boost your immune system. Popular over winter, Immunity contains 2g of sugar, a botanical blend of elderberry extract, organic ginger powder, organic turmeric and echinacea. Including vitamins A, C, D, E, zinc and selenium, with potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride and sodium electrolytes, it’s another US launch coming to the UK and in two flavours: one caffeinated, one without.

Nuun has been with Extra since 2016 – how have the three years been so far?

Extra UK began distributing Nuun at the end of 2016, the point at which the original formula changed to Nuun 2.0.

This is when artificial sweeteners such as Sucralose, Acesulfame potassium and Sorbitol were removed from the ingredients list, and Polyethylene glycol stopped being used to remove tablets from their molds. Since then, Stevia has been used as the natural sweetener and avocado oil removes tablets from moulds.

In 2018, Nuun was the

fastest-growing brand within Extra’s portfolio. In 2019, it continues to go from strength-to-strength with substantial Y-O-Y growth in turnover and distribution. All-in-all a very encouraging picture. There still remains much work to do however as we continue to grow Nuun Sport in the UK market by reaching new consumers.

We are incredibly excited to be partnered with Nuun as it rewrites the rules of hydration in 2019 and beyond for a healthier society and planet.

Nuun 3.0 will be a big step forward to making that vision a reality. Thank you Nuun dealers for your business, partnership and support.

“MANY CUSTOMERS’ FIRST INTERACTION WITH NUUN IS AT AN EVENT, SO THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO OUR MARKETING.” What kind of POS options have you got for dealers and which are most popular?

There is a “2 tubes for £10” promotion running 10 June – 28 July. The buy-in for this comes with a specific countertop POS unit that holds four caddies.

This is really popular!

Alternatively, we have NEW hanging strips which hold 12 tubes that we refer to as ‘bandoliers’. These can filled with tubes of a variety of flavours and hung in different locations within a shop to drive impulse purchases.

We also have a NEW 33-tube hanging rack (11 shelves x 3 tubes). This gravity-fed rack is very effective despite occupying very little footprint.

Otherwise, we have two more conventional slat wall-mount shelf displays which carry either 6x1 caddy (48 tubes) or 4x1 caddy (32 tubes).

Do you get any unusual flavour requests from punters and/or shops?

We regularly get asked if Kona Cola flavour is going to make a come-back.

There’s hope of a limited production run so fans should watch this space.

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(( OPINION SNAPDRAGON ))

COUNTERFEITING HOW TO FIGHT BACK

While certain big brands get a bad name from turning to the courts every time their IP is even mildly threatened, the cycle industry undeniably has a global problem with counterfeiting.

Rachel Jones, Head Dragon at SnapDragon shares her tips on protecting your IP

I

t’s estimated that, in 2017, counterfeit sales reached over $1 trillion, making it the largest illegal enterprise worldwide. Thieves are making big money from stolen ideas and the cycling industry, in particular, has a target on its back.

In recent years, copycat bikes and cycling equipment have crowded the virtual shelves of online marketplaces.

The increase in these knock-offs has been fuelled by the growing number of businesses outsourcing manufacturing to China.

These fakes lure in bargain hungry customers with unbelievable price tags. Popular brands, such as Contador, are spotting fakes on Chinese websites selling for as little as an eighth of their original price.

Fake goods aren’t just bad for business. They are harmful to consumers, too. The difference between a crash helmet that has been carefully developed, rigorously tested and approved by consumer safety bodies, and one simply made out of cheap plastic, can be life or death.

If you’re selling a product that counterfeiters can easily figure out how to copy, they will. Unfortunately, you can’t stop it. But you can guard against it.

Here’s how.

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1. REGISTER YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) Like any strategic asset, securing intellectual property should always be a key factor in the early stages of your brand.

Make sure you register both the brand names and logos as trademarks. It’s also worth implementing patents that cover design and utility, just to be on the safe side. You’ll also want to secure protection in each country that you intend to market your products, particularly those where counterfeiting is prolific, such as China and Southeast Asia.

2. OPTIMISE ANTI-COUNTERFEITING INITIATIVES As online retailing has taken root in our digital culture, e-commerce platforms have been busy battling the counterfeiters with their own anti-counterfeiting initiatives. These initiatives are all about helping brands to operate securely in the online space.

One example is the Amazon Brand Registry, an initiative that allows brands to collaborate with Amazon by providing them with information about their products to help defend them against counterfeit activities. Amazon plays host to tens of thousands of brands selling millions of products.

Collaborating closely with these brands

means they can provide them with the insights they need to help identify issues early on.

3. CONSIDER ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TECHNOLOGY To defend your brand online, your business must embrace advanced technologies, and better still collaborate closely with third-party organisations for support. Deploying brand protection software means that very often it can take just a few hours between detection of counterfeits and the removal of them from the marketplace. This can take days, or even weeks, if done manually.

Speed and accuracy is critical when defending against the counterfeiters, so actively monitoring online platforms where you’re selling your products can save a lot of time and stress.

4. EDUCATE YOURSELF Knowledge is power. And today, you’ll find a wide and comprehensive range of free online resources that can help every business take the preventative steps needed to avoid counterfeiting.

Being forewarned and forearmed with up to date information is the best way you can defend your brand against the inevitable. Make the most of them!

“THIEVES ARE MAKING BIG MONEY FROM STOLEN IDEAS AND THE CYCLING INDUSTRY, IN PARTICULAR, HAS A TARGET ON ITS BACK.”

Source: OECD Better Policies for Better Lives. 2016

Source: World Trademark Review. 2016

Source: Global Brand Counterfeiting Report. 2018

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(( TRADE OPINION ))

LOCAL BIKE SHOP DAY: Save the date – 2 May 2020 May 2020 might seem a long way away, but keen to keep up momentum for Local Bike Shop Day, next year’s date has been set, writes the ACT…

L

ocal Bike Shop Day 2019 was a huge success with over 150 local bike shops getting involved, a growth of 72% from the inaugural year. During the day, the hashtag #supportyourlocalbikeshop had a reach of over 75,000 and there were more than 1,800 unique visits to the Local Bike Shop Day website.

Now, as a collective industry, we need to build on that success and turn the event into a key date in the cycling calendar, for both the trade and consumers.

Mat from John Wood’s Cycle Repair Centre said “We took part in Local Bike Shop Day to promote the shop and the ethos behind what we think a local bike shop should be about. It’s a brilliant tool to be able to engage with customers and have something to celebrate on a small scale that is publicised on a large scale”.

Better Health Bikes had the busiest day ever with the highest turnover and lots of new customers. “For Better Health Bikes, local independent bike shops have little voice within national and local news outlets but Local Bike Shop Day is helping to give IBDs a voice and stay front of mind.”

For Anglesey Bike Repairs, Local Bike Shop Day is important because “it represents the opportunity to share awareness with the local community of the diverse range of very flexible cycle maintenance solutions and skills that we offer”.

To raise awareness retailers can display the logo and link to the Local Bike Shop Day website across all online platforms including social media, as well as engaging with their customer base and local community about next years’ event.

If you are a retailer and are not already registered to take part in next year’s Local Bike Shop Day visit https://localbikeshopday.co.uk to sign up. Once you have registered your shop will be promoted on the Local Bike Shop Day website with the 2020 logo.

HOW CAN SUPPLY BASED BUSINESSES GET INVOLVED? The IBD remains a fundamental part of the UK cycle industry and we need as many supply based businesses to get involved to make next years’ Local Bike Shop Day of even more value to their IBD network...

• Display the logo and website link across all online platforms • Raise awareness throughout their retail network • Web banners on B2B portals • Inclusion in regular email bulletins, news stories and social media • Create consumer-facing offers that can be run in conjunction with IBDs

Local Bike Shop Day next year will be held on Saturday 2 May 2020 Local Bike Shop Day will once again be held on the early Spring Bank Holiday weekend to kickstart the forthcoming peak season and to keep the momentum rolling a brand new identity, social media profiles and website have been created to cater for both consumers and the trade in mind.

Over the last month the event has gathered support from a large variety of industry businesses including suppliers, the media and other consumer facing organisations.

For more information please call the ACT on 01273 427 700 or email info@theact.org.uk.

New logos and web banners available Registered retailers will be able to download the new logo and web banners to use on their sites straight away from localbikeshopday.co.uk/downloads.

• localbikeshopday.co.uk • twitter.com/LBSDayUK • www.instagram.com/lbsdayuk/ • www.facebook.com/LBSDayUK/

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D I S TRI BUT B BUTED TED T ED D I N THE UK BY

WWW.BOB-ELLIOT.CO.UK

(( FOCUS ON MANUFACTURING ))

SANO MAGIC from the coast near Tokyo to the cheaper inland

Master boat builder Sueshiro Sano diversified into bicycle manufacture when his traditional line of wooden boat building work declined

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Traditional Nippon timber construction is at a crossroads. International bicycle industry and trade writer Jo Beckendorff has visited traditional Nippon boat builder Sueshiro Sano in his workshop in Koto City - the historic seat of the Japanese timber industry and wooden boat construction – a couple of times. This year the visit was something special: Because the last of his guild can barely afford the high and continually rising rent of his workplace, Sano will move to the inland’s countryside in Nagano prefecture. This means that Koto is losing some Nippon tradition.

B

oats will continue to be built in Koto, just not made of wood - and certainly not of noble mahogany. For some time, boat and yacht building has moved to glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) instead of wood.

don't even live on the coast anymore?” Naka-Karuizawa is situated on a mountain plateau.

Thanks to its hot springs and thermal baths, this place is better known as a recreational area.

LAST MOHICAN Sueshiro Sano is the last representative of a 200-year old boatbuilding family. He represents the ninth generation and after him there is no one left who has mastered the art of traditional Nippon wooden boat building. Sano would have loved to train a successor.

This wasn’t to be not only because of his finances, but also because he simply couldn't find anyone who showed genuine interest. His two daughters had waived the opportunity early.

SAILING AND MOTOR YACHTS The master still has two mahogany boats standing in his old workshop: "In order to be able to pay for the move at all, I will sell my motor yacht." He only wants to keep his very first-ever built wooden boat. Before the move, he is in the process of giving this sailing yacht, which is already 44 years old, a new shine. Proudly, but also with some poignancy, he says: "This boat was my master examination, which I passed at the age of just 17 under the supervision of my father. And he learned our craft from his father in the same way."

FROM MAHOGANY BOATS TO BICYCLES Sano came up with some innovative ideas to survive. Since 2007, the one-man business carves, bends and grinds mahogany road bikes for lack of the declining wooden boat and yacht business. He was able to reduce the total weight of his custom bikes to 7.8 kilograms by hollowing out the frame, handlebar and seat post. Sano has opted for a wall thickness of six millimeters everywhere. The only exception: the top of the frame top tube is only four millimeters thick. It’s due to his wonderful bicycle construction that Beckendorff became aware of Sano Magic.

A THIRD MAHOGANY PRODUCT FIELD In 2010, loudspeaker boxes made of mahogany were added for the first time. They are much easier to manufacture than a bicycle, for which Sano estimates three months of working time. And: "The price of high-quality boxes is on a par with that of bicycles, but they are much less filigree," explains the master. He says he has been able to considerably improve the sound of his speakers by narrowing them to the rear: "They thus form a triangle.”

INLAND BOAT BUILDING? Is the move to Naka-Karuizawa in Nagano the end of everything? Sueshiro San says no: "My wife and I built a house in the countryside with an attached workshop.

I will continue. But how will my boat business work if I

FUTURE DREAMS How long the 61-year-old can and wants to continue far away from the sea depends on several factors. His big dream is to get another contract for the construction of a wooden yacht: "After all these years, I have so much experience that I would like to bring back completely into a boat. It would certainly be the best sailing yacht I've ever made." The one-man show estimates it would take two to three years for such a construction. That's why it should go quickly: "That requires a lot of strength and stamina, which I may not have at my age." But he would still like to use the rest of his mahogany stock, which he has had for 15 years: "There is enough stock for mahogany bicycles and loudspeaker boxes. But for a boat I need the last 5.5 to 6 meters long mahogany beams, which I still have and take with me to Nagano."

He absolutely wants to take his 44-year-old masterpiece with him. But what do you do with a sailing boat, which once was presented at the world's largest and most important international boat show Boot Düsseldorf 2002 in Germany? "I will set it up on our property in NakaKaruizawa in front of our house as an eye-catcher. Some people will certainly be amazed. Maybe then they will find their way to my workshop."

When it comes to bicycles, Sano wants to take a step back: "Because I actually do everything, including

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(( FOCUS ON MANUFACTURING ))

Sueshiro Sano hollows out the frame, handlebars and seat post to cut weight, with a wall thickness of 6mm throughout.

wheels, on mahogany wood, it takes three months of busy filigree work. For the equivalent of €20,000 for a mahogany bicycle I can also make with a pair of mahogany loudspeaker boxes. And they are less filigree to build and therefore take less time.”

BY NOW ONLY 31 SANO BIKES ON THE WORLD MARKET Since 2007, the master craftsman who came to cycling through his hobby, has built 25 700C and six 20-inch racing and flat-bar (fitness) bikes. These 31 bicycles were bought by private individuals as works of art as well as for riding. He himself kept number one in his workshop. But there are also museums that present a Sano Magic bike in their exhibitions.

In the future, he wants to build exclusively custommade racing bikes and fitness bikes with 700C tires: "I'm not satisfied with the range of racing tyres offered for the

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20-inch compact bike class.” According to Sano, there are enough orders for 700C-tyred mahogany road bikes.

THE LOUDSPEAKER BOX BUSINESS The same applies to the younger loudspeaker business, however, with the most interest from professional musicians in the classical music field. Sano would also like to sell to the western world. However, the designs of its speaker substructure simply do not correspond to Western tastes. As a counterargument, the mahogany manufacturer argues that these substructures are also responsible for the enhanced acoustics of his speakers.

It is a fact that Sano Magic earns just as much with his loudspeaker box construction as with bicycle construction. And the one-man show will certainly still need money after the move.

But it's not always about money: "If I had wanted to

earn money, I would have entered the GFK boatbuilding business years ago. But I always wanted to continue the traditional wood construction art of my family and my homeland."

ADVANTAGE SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM So, we're back to the boat and the master still has one arrow in the quiver. From his time in the Netherlands, where from 1991 to 1992 he was introduced by the leading custom-made yacht supplier Royal Huisman to the art of western boat building technology ("especially in the field of interior design and fittings"), there are still contacts. Friends out of Sano’s time in the Netherlands are currently trying to persuade the Scheepvaartmu-

seum in Amsterdam - a world-renowned shipping museum with 500 years of shipping history - to award Sano Magic the contract for a very last traditional Nippon wooden boat, preserving it for posterity even after the retirement of Sano, as the quasi "last Mohican" of this architecture.

Sueshiro Sano would be happy to receive this last boat order, but he can't do more than wait at the moment.

Maybe it's a good thing that he's currently busy with his expensive move. It will take some time before the new workshop is set up and the first Sano loudspeaker boxes and racing bikes made in Naka-Karuizawa are on the market. And with a view to the boat: at the moment, the only thing that helps is to keep fingers crossed.

MORE INFO sanomagic.world.coocan.jp/englishindex.html

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ask the boss

WILL BUTLER-ADAMS > BROMPTON

In a typically upfront and candid interview, Brompton’s Will Butler-Adams speaks out on everything from Evans, Halfords and Sports Direct to the industry’s abject failure to recruit more women, urban mobility, Industry 4.0, e-bikes and glow in the dark Bromptons…

How’s business?

It’s doing OK. You get a natural ebb and flow in any business. I am more interested in how we’re doing compared with three years ago and where we will be in three years. We’re more about seeing steady growth. The big thing for us has been the launch of the electric bike. It launched nearly one year ago and we’ve learnt a lot from the launch.

We have made some mistakes.

We had those scary events around Evans Cycles. We didn’t see that coming but we have been pleased with energy of the new owners.

And we’ve signed with Halfords. That has been in the works for 18 months’ so it actually didn’t have anything to do with Evans’ difficulties. We need to find new end consumers for our bikes.

The electric bike project was a bit of a labour of love. Was it a relief to finally launch it?

No! It got more scary when we launched it.

We were forced to innovate because if you have to carry an e-bike with a Bosch drive then you don’t want to carry it far.

We went through more than 100 prototypes and we tested and tested it, but you know that as soon as you launch it you will get feedback.

We’ve made slightly less than 2,500 so far. I’ll be more relaxed when we’ve had a few winters under our belt. We haven’t

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had 1,000 people riding them for a couple of years.

It’s non-stop replacing and testing.

We’ve been fiddling with our bikes for over 40 years and we still feel there are loads of things we can do better.

We can optimise development now in a way that was unthinkable. The launch of the e-bike is a bit like Andrew’s first Brompton 40 years ago. But the speed at which we can upgrade it now is much faster.

You’ve mentioned the Evans Cycles problems last year, but your experience sounds positive with the new ownership?

Mike Ashley has a formidable reputation. I believe he can see potential in the cycle market. You can see the way he consolidated the sports sector. Before Sports Direct and JD Sports, there were about 2,500 independent sports shops and if you go back before then there were thousands more. The industry has consolidated but that didn’t start to happen until JD and Sports Direct. As the retailer market changes, the average independent can’t spend millions on designing a website or doesn’t have the knowledge how to work with SEO to capture consumers.

But the users they serve have changed. I think he can see the same kind of potential in the bicycle market,

with the opportunity to consolidate.

That doesn’t sound like good news for the nation’s independent cycle dealers…

It’s a serious threat but Brompton is in a similar boat. Bike manufacturing is dominated by much larger businesses like Cannondale, Giant… So we focus on what we do differently and what they cannot do. In my mind, there is loads of potential, but not to do everything the same way you did it 20 years ago.

There are hungry consumers and there is a level of service and richness of stock that big chains simply cannot deliver, whether that’s because of staff turnover, or not having the same depth of knowledge.

We have invested heavily in this problem, including with Click and Collect.

We’ve opened the door for shops to engage with that if they want to – they can ignore it or use it. We are trying to support the dealers.

Consolidation of the bike retail market is happening all over the world. One of our best shop customers, in San Francisco, sadly had to close. They were not treated well by the industry, they had to take on lots of stock to keep suppliers happy… it was very sad and shocking to see them shut. No doubt retail is changing but then you have things like ebikes opening new markets.

You can’t just carry on doing the same thing – this goes for Brompton as well.

The commuter market is of course Brompton’s home turf, but the UK has traditionally had that sporty cycling focus, eg MTB, performance road, etc.

People say there is a shift going on to A-B cycling – do you think you’ve seen that over the years with Brompton?

I can’t really talk about a shift as I don’t have any input in that other side of the market. But what I do see is that I’ve been in the industry for 17 years and I’ve visited lots of countries – Brompton exports 80% of its products. And we really sell to cities, rather than to countries. I’ve seen a net migration of population into cities.

The bike was written out in the 1950s in favour of cars, ubers, buses and the tube/metro. It’s not a change that any of us voted for.

Mental health is a problem globally, physical health is too and it is not surprising for people to not have a house but something akin to a small box to live in. It’s hard to employ people in London and for them to live – some staff have two jobs.

You have millions of people paying to go underground where the air quality is awful and you wonder why people are having mental difficulties.

Only in the last 10-15 years have we started to see governments realise that they’ve messed up. They’ve just been spending six billion on getting people even deeper under the ground [with Crossrail]. We need to get people up from under the ground and ride through the parks and the brilliant cities we have.

And governments are realising it and that does help our business. The bike is the perfect tool. E-bikes are even more perfect. If you’re interested in using the right tool for a job – why on earth would you get in a car to go across a city?

What do you make of the changes Manchester is trying to make with Chris Boardman… and now Sarah Storey in Sheffield?

City mayors are great for us. They are very interested in their community. They can reallocate funds for the longer terms.

Brompton is seen as London-centric and you’ve said there is potential from Brompton in the UK… We are growing in Birmingham, Manchester, York… across a number of UK cities, but we are still way too biased towards London. A Brompton is just as

useful in York as it is in London.

Previously it has been fair to say that we knew more about the cycle market in Barcelona than we did about the cycle market in Birmingham!

Sales growth percentage is gathering pace outside London for the first time and the potential is off the scale.

Brompton has previously stated a sales target of 100,000 bikes a year by 2022 – is that still the plan?

I want us to grow but that is a pretty ballsy target. When we moved into the new facility, we were talking about the capacity to produce 100k bikes a year, so that’s where that number came from.

We have seen 10-15% growth every year for the last 15 years. That’s fine and we want to continue like that. We want people to get on bikes – we don’t want people to buy a Brompton and leave it to gather dust.

We have lots going on in the US, Shaghai and Singapore and all over the world. We want slow and steady growth.

We have no debt, we are completely independent. We want compound sustainable growth. So, there’s no way we’ll hit 100,000 bikes by 2022 – if we get to 50,000 I’ll be very happy. I’ve had a bottle of champagne under my desk back from the days when we produced 6,000 bikes a year and I said I’d only open it when we get to 50,000 – so I’m looking forward to that day.

In CIN we have talked about the maturing of cycle retail into financing, maybe even leasing and a proper second hand market. Bromptons retain their value, so do you as a brand have any appetite to get behind a second hand market – what’s your view on that?

Sharing is pretty relevant, we think.

We’ve spent seven years in bike hire. We didn’t go in with billions of dollars like some other bike share schemes, we have done it British style, slowly and to produce something robust and useful.

The second-hand market is very interesting. But as a brand we have to take a bigger view on things like fatiguing. Bikes do get fatigued, and it is usually imperceptible things that build up and you eventually get a failure. For steel, which is the material we largely deal with, fatique is a gradual thing but with carbon failure can be explosive! Cars don’t tend to fail

due to fatigue, it tends to be something you can see, like rust. So basically fatigue is invisible on a bicycle.

We don’t know the usage of a bike. It can be five years old and have another 30 years depending on how it has been used, how many potholes it’s hit, etc. So we are wary of second hand bikes. We like the second hand bike market, but this is something we have to be corporate and responsible about, so it’s a difficult market to get behind.

It’s relevant for our e-bikes. There is a huge difference in how a bike has been ridden so we can’t guarantee how long a bike has left until you have an intelligent bike that has a sensor or a stress gauge…

You launched a USA office a few years ago (in Brooklyn). How is business in the States?

The US is a funny place. There is a lot of people and lots with a disposable income. The trouble is you need to do it on a big scale.

In terms of urban cycling, the US is generally 10-15 years behind Europe and I see that there is a curve that all cities are on and they are all on different points of that curve.

The US is like Europe. You can make the mistake of thinking it is a country, but there are different taxes and state laws – it is really complex. More so than you’d be given to believe.

We are looking at the long term and not as a drop in the ocean. We have one shop in Manhattan which is going really well, but we’re growing state by state from the ground up. It’s been intuitive, slow and steady progress.

I have to ask the Brexit question… do you have a view on it, does it worry you with so many of your sales overseas?

Like most things in business, when there is a problem, you can’t look at all the possibilities. I look at the worst case possible and then it is very clear what you will be faced with.

When the referendum results came in, we took a look at what could have the biggest impact on the business. Would it be a duty on bikes into the EU? Getting parts into the UK? Changes to antidumping? We were looking at that worse case of a hard Brexit.

We have about 600 shops in Europe, each has around five to ten bikes, so getting bikes to EU consumers won’t be a problem in the short term, there is

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ask the boss

enough in the market. So that became less of a worry.

Bromptons have around 1,200 parts each, from Britain, the EU and the rest of the world. If one of those doesn’t come in that can stop the whole production line. So, we identified that as the biggest threat to the business and we doubled our stocks as a result.

We usually have four weeks’ worth of stock for production so we ramped that up to eight weeks’ worth of stock. And that’s all been done and there’s no point thinking any more about it. We just have to get on!

The worst thing about Brexit has been the amount of time spent talking about Brexit and distracting us from everything else.

You’ve got the new Westfield shop in place – how’s that going?

Westfield is a bit of a punt! It’s a 12 month contract so it’s a bit of a pop up shop. We want to take the brand to new people. It’s one of the main shopping malls in the world and an IBD can’t afford to go into Westfield. Our job is to get the brand to new customers and engage with new people. Who are we selling to? Will we see current customers in the shop? Or will it be new customers? It’s very early days. But it’s about being publicly seen.

We sell in around 1,500 stores around the world. We don’t really spend much on marketing, we prefer to spend on things like bringing dealers into London.

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WILL BUTLER-ADAMS > BROMPTON

Last year we brought 250 dealers from overseas to spend a day at the factory and see the city we love and visit stores.

We tell them who we are and what we stand for. How many women do you think we had in that visit of 250 dealers?

I’m pessimistic, maybe 30?

It was five. It’s a disgrace. Half of our market are women, yet our industry fails to get them in.

In our London Brompton shops, half the sales force are female and they are some of our top performing stores.

Sometimes you feel like saying: “Come on bicycle industry, wake up! Get a grip.

You don’t need an incredible app to be innovative. Just recruit some women to stand out! Have a workforce that represents your customer base.”

What other industry is as bad as this?

We need to make cycling for everyone.

Every production line is intelligence, with Raspberry Pi, etc.

The torque on joints is measured, every part is traceable. The technology that we have now, like 3D printing, FEA etc, means you can to optimise what you do.

But you need to be careful. You don’t have to go mad. You can be industry 4.0 and still be brazing by hand, it doesn’t all have to be automated. It’s about the best tool for the job. Not many companies make bikes in the UK, so that’s why the UK industry doesn’t talk much about Industry 4.0.

We have a system where our staff can work over nine days in a fortnight here. Do your 80 hours (40 a week) and work nine days instead of ten.

70% of the staff do it. It costs us nothing. It’s about offering flexibility.

We’ve spoken about the difficulty in recruiting female design engineers in the past…

It’s getting better now, but it has taken a long time. We have five female designers now but we want to be better.

Back in Eurobike 2105, you trialled a glow in the dark Brompton. Is that something you are still pursuing?

Glow in the dark – it’s so cool! We are still in contact with the company working on the tech and we are still working on it. We haven’t given up on the concept!

A lot of other industries talk about Industry 4.0, zero defect policies… do you see that touching the bicycle industry in any way right now?

Industry 4.0 is everywhere and it’s important to use it everywhere that you want to make a difference.

Any final thoughts?

We are in an industry which can have an impact on people’s lives. There’s such an opportunity to have a positive impact.

Our cities should be the cleanest and most delightful places and bikes have such a core role to play.

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OFFER SOMETHING ONLINE RETAILERS CANNOT.

12-speed Demo bikes available, exclusive to Chicken CycleKit

Chicken Cyclekit’s New Campagnolo Training Centre

LET US TRAIN YOU TO BECOME A CAMPAGNOLO DESTINATION AND DRIVE FOOTFALL TO YOUR STORE BUYING CAMPAGNOLO FROM CHICKEN CYCLEKIT GIVES YOU ACCESS TO: • • • • • • • • •

Free training at our newly built Campagnolo Training Centre Exclusive demo bikes for your customers to try Campagnolo 12-speed IBD-exclusive offers Campagnolo factory visits Campagnolo apparel - exclusive to Chicken CycleKit 24-hour express warranty turnaround Our stock swap scheme The largest stockholding of Campagnolo in the UK Achieve Camapagnolo Pro Shop accreditation through Chicken CycleKit

chickenb2b.co.uk