Bike Me Up

Bike Me Up. Rose Biketown/Munich

Rose Biketown/Munich. They may not have reinvented the wheel, but definitely how to market it. Cycling is not just about being part of a community, but also about innovation. The digital store concept developed by Rose Biketown in Munich puts this theory

into practice, and subsequently won HDE’s “Store of the Year Award 2015”. Text: Isabel Faiss. Photos: Rose Biketown

Multi-channel marketing and the integration of digital technology is not new to the stationary retail industry. Many stores have also already embraced the idea of on-site customisation. However, the combination of both in a highly attractive interactive environment that attracts curious customers, who aren’t even interested in buying a bicycle, can only be described as pure genius. Even if you make it past the iconically laid out bikes, which are placed on illuminated pedestals worthy of a fancy art gallery, you will definitely stop at one of the adjacently attached tablets. And as is always the case, just when you think you’ve silenced your inner child and taken your hands off said tablet, a salesperson appears to ask the right question: “It’s fun, isn’t it?”

Digital Valhalla

Rose Biketown is all about bicycles, but only a fraction of the available products are actually on display. The real goldmine of the manufacturer, who produces exclusively in Germany, is the digital bicycle configuration tool that customers can use on-site. This enables customers to create bicycles in line with their specific needs, requirements, and budget. Other store visitors can follow the configuration process on a giant screen, which is embedded in an 8x3 metre LED wall integrated into the store’s back wall. Naturally, one can also start configuring one’s bicycle at home and finish the process in the store with the assistance of the experts on location. After the bike has been ordered, it can either be delivered to the doorstep or to the store itself. The store also offers “real” bicycles and competent sales staff for those who prefer to test the various models, frames, saddles, and tires. Let’s not forget that analogue shopping can also be enjoyable.

Cycling for Digital Natives

To implement this particular Biketown, which is the second of its kind alongside the flagship store at the corporate headquarters in Bocholt, the family business Rose Bike hired the Blocher Blocher Partner design studio. The renowned design specialists turned the 250 square metre store in Munich’s new Mona shopping centre into a futuristic store that can be described as a paradise for the so-called digital natives. It is also an important benchmark for the stationary retailers in general, especially as the store’s online/offline crossover concept compensates for the weaknesses of the retail and e-commerce industries

Rose Biketown

Mona, Pelkovenstrasse 143-147, 80992 Munich/Germany www.rosebikes.de Opening: October 2014 Owner: Rose Versand GmbH Employees: 4 Sales area: 250sqm Textile brands: Adidas, Alpenheat, Alpinestars, Basil, Craft, Falke, Gore Bike Wear, Hey Sport, Jack Wolfskin, Löffler, Maloja, Odlo, Roeckl, Schöffel, Vaude, and others almost perfectly. It offers unrivalled flexibility and maximum choice/availability despite a small sales area on the one hand, as well as personal advice and a real shopping experience with haptic impressions on the other. The German Trade Association (“HDE”) was so impressed that it decided to hand Rose Bike the “Store of the Year 2015” award in the “Out of Line” category. Let’s return to that vital question asked by the salesperson earlier: “It’s fun, isn’t it?” There can only be one answer: “YES!”