Serious Question - How Do You Start A Bike Shop?

alancash100

Hi,

I've been looking into buying retail businesses for some time, mainly in catering, but was wondering if there are any indi bike shop owners out there who can advise me.

I understand the ins and outs of buying retail space / rates / rent / leases and so on as Ive been looking for an on going concern for a year with no success.

With bike shops, how does the buying of stock work. Indeed, do you need to buy stock; can you stock for a supplier and on a kind of shop floor rental basis. Where can I find out more? Should I ring a distributor?

Help would be greatly appreciated.

(no negative replies please)

Al

nicklouse

Take a lot of money and don't expect to see any back.

Unlikely to get any much credit to start with from the suppliers. Expect customers to come in and look at stuff and they buy on the net.

TBH look at buying into an existing concern. Offer service more than sales. Offer a fitting service for online shoppers.

Be prepared for long hours not much return, less riding time but some fun.

navrig

You will need a lot of enthusiasm and interest in cycling.

A business mind.

Commitment to long hours.

A good business plan.

An understanding bank manager or a decent amount of cash.

Accessible and good location.

Sound technical knowledge of bikes.

Patience.

t.m.h.n.e.t

Start with a cytech qualification and go from there.

ugo.santalucia

The business is booming, so you really can't go wrong... problem is the huge investment needed to set up a decent retail outlet... how long can you afford to live without a profit... eventually if you match your offer with the local demand, you will succeed, but you do need someone lending you lots of money at a low rate.
Distributors are mostly sharks, they do offer good deals if you buy lots of stock and terrible deals if you can't afford it. You might want to consider buying from Taiwan direct. There are lots of products that Madison and the likes do not import and people are getting more and more keen to buy "unbranded" products as everybody knows it is exactly the same stuff without the huge mark up.

navrig

ugo.santalucia wrote:

The business is booming, so you really can't go wrong... .

Couldn't disagree more. In a booming market the worst assumption to make is that it is impossible to fail. The large High St companies (Evans) are able to price at low margin high turnover using low cost web sales to subsidise the higher cost of High St sales meaning that it is hard work for other smaller High St retailers.

ugo.santalucia wrote:

...problem is the huge investment needed to set up a decent retail outlet... how long can you afford to live without a profit...

Couldn't agree more and in the current climate the availability and cost of start up money does not reflect your initial comment on a booming sector. Banks are likely to view a startup as high risk unless you have some cash and a very good track record in other retail sectors.

ugo.santalucia wrote:

You might want to consider buying from Taiwan direct. There are lots of products that Madison and the likes do not import and people are getting more and more keen to buy "unbranded" products as everybody knows it is exactly the same stuff without the huge mark up.

To do that you need decent connections in the industry. Existing distributors will not make introductions as that would, effectively, be giving away potential sales and margin. If you are new to the sector how do you find those connections and make those introductions.

It might be a booming sector but margins will be tight if you are small, new and paying for your money.

hulla the hulla

Asking indi shop owners to divulge their "trade secrets" is going to be a tough ask as the last thing they want is another competitor! I think what you'll get from this forum, assuming that the indi shop owners won't want to share their toys, is a large amount of supposition, a fair amount of common sense, which, if you are a savy enough businessman to make a venture like this succeed you know the answers to already and the rest of it will be irrellevant commentary..... (like this )
I've always wanted to do something like this, set up a shop and make a living doing something I love but your are talking £10's if not £100's of thousands to get going and to get to a level where this will make you any kind of living. Assuming you have the money, do you have the vision and market contacts ?

Hopefully you will view this as constructive feedback, not negative comments. I do wish you all the very best if you can make a go of this but I really think it'll be a lot tougher than you think.

dw300

As long as you enjoy selling hybrid bikes to commuters then you should be able to make some money, especially if the shop is in a location on an arterial route into a big town or city.

P_Tucker

If you have to ask how to start a bike shop, perhaps you're not quite ready to start a bike shop

HadronCyclist

This is interesting, as I think I'm the only person to post so far who actually owns a (successful) independent bike shop in a major city (london).

If you have any specific questions, as me via pm. But don't expect people to divulge years of experience on a forum! We all had to start somewhere, and nobody held my hand that's for sure!

alancash100

Hi,

Thanks everyone for you comments. I don't mind the negative ones either; forums are great places for cynics to drone on - comes with the territory.

Thanks again,

Al

dragonontheedge

I wish you every success.

I would love to open up a bike shop. My trouble is I lack the courage to take risks of that nature, I am to comfortable in my 9-5 grind and to set in my middle age ways. I would probably end up keeping a lot of the stock for my own personal use which might be another drawback !

mikeouk

dont rely on retail sales of bikes,accessories,clothing as you're main income. My personal opinion, is, concentrate on bike servicing as the basis of the business, its the only aspect that people cant buy on the net.
I dont know of any bike shops locally to me who offer a pick up and drop off service, this to me would be a big pull.
Keep overheads to a minimum by choosing a "no frills" location for you're business, I dont think a high street presence is nessesary or an advantage to this kind of business.
Offer some kind of loyalty programme to bring customers back.
Offer 3 bike services for the price of 2.
Offer discounts to local cycling clubs.
Sell you're own branded clothing cheaper than branded stuff, theres plenty of Chinese manufactures will produce clothing for you with relatively low minimum orders, see it as cheap advertising rather than a big money spinner.
Offer part exchange on bikes, not many retailers do this, you'd just have to be extremely careful that the bike isnt stolen though.

BelgianBeerGeek

mikeouk wrote:

dont rely on retail sales of bikes,accessories,clothing as you're main income. My personal opinion, is, concentrate on bike servicing as the basis of the business, its the only aspect that people cant buy on the net.
I dont know of any bike shops locally to me who offer a pick up and drop off service, this to me would be a big pull.
Keep overheads to a minimum by choosing a "no frills" location for you're business, I dont think a high street presence is nessesary or an advantage to this kind of business.
Offer some kind of loyalty programme to bring customers back.
Offer 3 bike services for the price of 2.
Offer discounts to local cycling clubs.
Sell you're own branded clothing cheaper than branded stuff, theres plenty of Chinese manufactures will produce clothing for you with relatively low minimum orders, see it as cheap advertising rather than a big money spinner.
Offer part exchange on bikes, not many retailers do this, you'd just have to be extremely careful that the bike isnt stolen though.

+1 to this. There are enough places to buy bikes, but not enough to look after them. Many retailers just aren't very good at it, in my experience. I would rather take a bike to someone who is competent, won't rip me off and do a good job. And offer good customer service. I want my bike shop to contact me when it's ready, not for me to contact them and them tell me "oh it was ready yesterday". :oops: rant over.
The pick up/drop off idea is excellent. Failing that, a rental unit on an industrial park, so if I take it there, I can park my car outside.

Monty Dog

It comes down to fundamental marketing of your business - product, position, price and promotion particularly in relation to your locality, in particular to find your niche - whether it's servicing and repairs, product range etc. Rather than try and find out the fundamentals the hard way whilst paying your overdraft, get someone to pay you to do it by getting some shop management experience to learn the ropes, price structures, margins, distribution for 12 months such that you'll have far better credibility when setting up on your own. What kills / stifles most small businesses is cash-flow by being too ambitious at the outset.

Leeuw

Just look at the number of "how do I...?" type questions on here, and it backs up the other posts that mention majoring on service - and hopefully you will make something on the parts that need replacing too, which don't need to be heavily discounted as the person is stood in front of you, with a broken bike and you have the part to fix it! You'd obviously need a mechanic, and not sure if they need to be qualified these days.... There are loads of courses out there, so maybe get a qualification and start with the "I'll come to you to fix your bike" service?

I would magine you're going to struggle to get accounts with UK distributors, as you have no trading history (chicken/egg scenario - you need trading history to get accounts. Some might offer proforma accounts though...). And keep away from buying from the Far East unless you can buy by the container full and pay up front!

Good luck!

BruceG

Monty Dog wrote:

. What kills / stifles most small businesses is cash-flow by being too ambitious at the outset.

This is very true, ensure you have some basic business financial understanding, its no use being owed plenty when you need to pay your bills, Liquidity is the life blood of a small business

mikeabanks

How about offering a consultation/fitting service combining it with finding the bike online for the client to buy them selves? You would include a setup when they get the bike and first service in the price.

izzy Eviel

Make sure you do alot of research to find the best location. Ease of access, high street visibility, not close to any other bike shops, right town etc.