What would your shop stock?

warrior4life

I may be opening a bike a bke shop and i just wondered what people would stock in their ideal shop?

I have a friend who works at evans and she's told me the best selling bike they have is specialized followed by trek.

The current local shop sells specialized so were thinking trek as the big brand... but what brands after that? what 5 brands would you want? :?

STEFANOS4784

Bianchi, Kuota, Cannondale, Wilier, Colnago 8)

alfablue

Orbea

Condor

STEFANOS4784

Dam forgot Orbea, drop the Colnago 8)

gabriel959

I would definately stock Orbeas. Wilier and Bianchis after that.

Probably Dawes for affordability too and may be a German brand that does reliable commuters.

singlespeedexplosif

some bike stuff, lots of coffee.

alfablue

Yes, Dawes for the tourers, anyway, though I suppose they sell in low volumes.

Ridgeback / Genesis for hybrids?

warrior4life

Thanks everyone, This wll be noted!

Keep it coming!

maddog 2

Gore/Endura/Altura clobber

+1 on the Ridgeback/Genesis hybrids

Maybe Van Nicholas? Maybe some unusual stuff like Cotic, or Salsa

But definitely good coffee.

Lagavulin

Wilier, Orbea, Colnago, Look and Cinelli.

markos1963

Definatly Orbea & Bianchis then you want some lower end models like Dawes and may I dare say it Raleigh. I say Raliegh(and Dawes) because you will get a lot of older people looking to get back into cycling and they would buy a name from their past.

Mister W

Argon 18............ but maybe I'm biased

Monty Dog

Yeah, Bianchis if you want to deal with lots of warranty claims!
I think you'll find that distributors who want to do business with you will have more bearing on what you can stock, particularly until you can develop a decent trading and credit history. I'd avoid brands being carried by the big multiples and internet resellers who discount significantly at the end of the season. I'd also look at brands without a huge presence but a good reputation like Merckx, Kuota or Cinelli. find out which distributors carry which brands - carrying a bike brand, clothing and accessory line from one distributor should enable you to negotiate better a better discount and hence margin based on volume - remember, you're they're to make money and finance your debt. The fact is you're likely to sell more MTBs and bikes at £200-300 than any number of £2k road bikes.

Nuggs

Monty Dog wrote:

Yeah, Bianchis if you want to deal with lots of warranty claims!
I think you'll find that distributors who want to do business with you will have more bearing on what you can stock, particularly until you can develop a decent trading and credit history. I'd avoid brands being carried by the big multiples and internet resellers who discount significantly at the end of the season. I'd also look at brands without a huge presence but a good reputation like Merckx, Kuota or Cinelli. find out which distributors carry which brands - carrying a bike brand, clothing and accessory line from one distributor should enable you to negotiate better a better discount and hence margin based on volume - remember, you're they're to make money and finance your debt. The fact is you're likely to sell more MTBs and bikes at £200-300 than any number of £2k road bikes.

Sounds sensible.

I'd also include one of the big names like Specialized or Trek as (i) non-cyclists have heard of them (and they'll be the ones buying the £300 bikes off you) and (ii) you have access to a complete range of bicycles (type and price).

batch78

2 Sexy, European, high end players. (Look above ^^^^^, personally not Bianchi)

2 Well known, full spectrum manufacturers. (Speciallized, Giant, Trek)

1 Mid to low end, older folk, 'safe' manufacturer. (Raleigh, Dawes, Ridgeback)


Although, if it were my shop, I'd take a close look at the market and concentrate on any gap currently open, either top end bling or large volume manufacturer.

Road and mountain? If both I'd get rid of one of the high end manufacturers probably.

iga

Lots of these:

http://www.raleigh.co.uk/b_details.aspx?id=120

acorn_user

Apparel: Santini, Lusso.
Parts: Stronglight, Campagnolo, Miche + usual suspects.
Frames: Local custom builder + one lesser known Italian company. How about Viner or Scapin?
Bikes: Truck, Raleigh (I love my Dawes, but their touring bike prices have gone through the roof) + maybe Genesis.

Mechanics should wear blue overalls at all times

mclarent

Focus - reckon they'd sell more if they had a shop distribution (i.e. try before you buy), although good luck getting that with Wiggle in the picture!!!

Brian B

Mister W wrote:

Argon 18............ but maybe I'm biased

I almost bought an Argon 18 - nice bikes and nicer in the flesh. Nice review in this months Procycling!

dombo6

As an independent you should probably not stock too many brands that are kept by Evans. You will unlikely be able to compete with them on price and might find yourself giving lots of free advice and losing sales to the chain.
Maybe Giant, and that's it. Then Less well-known but quality Europeans.

passout

Zanes bikes in the USA is famous for good customer service (see: http://zanes.com/page.cfm?pageID=184 ) and they do coffee! My Grandad had a bike shop and the thing that set it apart, as with most shops, is the customer service. That would be my focus.

I reckon Trek or Specialised as your staple brand plus a more budget brand and a couple of premium brands (Italian probably). Think about the reputation of the supplier - are they good to deal with? For example Specialised are said to be very good when problems occur.

Make sure that you offer Cycle Scheme.

Good luck.

disgruntledgoat

Merckx, Orbea, Stella Azzura, Campagnolo, Etxeondo... <wipes drool from mouth>

FSR_XC

If it were my shop, I'd stock something like:
Cube (lesser known, but high spec brand at good 'fixed' prices)
either Trek,Specialized or Cannondale (all stock wide range & are very well known by non cyclists)
either Willer, Orbea or Cinnelli etc.
Poss one hand made frame manufacturer.

Actual choice would depend on what is available close by and what deals you could get with manufacturers.


Clothing:
Assos, Castelli, Cannondale, Endura and Lusso (covering all price levels while keeping quality)

Lower end products (bikes, clothing & accessories) are the key, as you'll be selling a lot more. You'll probably sell 5 bottom end mtb's to 2 mid range road bikes and around 20 mtbs to one top end road bike.

Brian B

I would stock Trek, Specialised, Bianchi to bring in the customers. But also able to deal in Canyon, Storck, Cube,Argon18 for the people who want something different from the norm.

Assos and Extendeo for clothing along with Gore, Altura and Endura to rake up more sales.

giant_man

There aren't many dealers who stock Argon 18 frames or bikes. They are good frames I should know I've had a Platinum for the past - nearly six years and it has been excellent. Hasn't cracked, the lacquer hasn't dulled and still feels good.

I get the feeling they're not as established in the UK as much as they would like to be; dealers who took on the marque don't sell them anymore, can't understand this myself as the quality and finish is right up there with the best, and they were the first ones who used kevlar in their chainstays for example, before other makes who lauded innovations such as this.

I would question whether to have them in my shop however, as far as sales go. Having said that I wouldn't stock Trek, but would stock Giant, amongst others, and as far as clothing goes, Assos of course!!

equivalence

I see quite a few folk are suggesting Orbea, they do make some stunningly beautiful bikes. However, I heard that to buy in Orbea bikes they normally demand that you make a firm commitment to buy several bikes which obviously means that your cost for stock starts ramping up - this is obviously going to be a key factor when starting out. That said this was a few years ago and things may have changed, but I would imagine issues with distributors are going to dictate what bikes you will sell in the beginning, unless you have lots of spare cash to invest in stock

andrew_s

You want a full spectrum brand (Trek/Giant/Specialized), which allows you to sell the sort of bikes that you wouldn't sell enough of to warrant a special account.

You won't get a free choice of brands. You'll find that the distributors won't want to upset their established accounts by supplying a competitor just down the road.

passout

You'd want one decent MTB brand at least. Orange would be a very popular choice.

warrior4life

The new raleigh bikes look pretty cool!

FHKJ

Get some good/cheap fixie frames you can build up/fart about with. There is a US/Norweigan company called Alien Bikes (www.alienbikes.com). I've got two of their frames and their great value. People would love em...