New bike store concept - would it work?

For me, it comes down to trust. Why would I trust your choice of the best stem?

Not trying to be unhelpful, I run an online business and know how hard it is to get started.

I think it has some legs. There is a bike shop in Herne Hill which I think is excellent (Bon Velo) which sell a very limited but specific stock. For example if you want some winter tights they have one type from Spain which as far as i aware you can't get anywhere else in london. You really get the feeling when shopping there that the owners sell things that they know to be good. It's also appealing to find items you cant get elsewhere.

The shop is not large which I am sure means that they can't stock a huge range but they have turned this round by selling stuff which they know and like. I'm not sure how this could work with the on-line model as a shop ( in my view) will always be able to reinforce with the customer to a greater extend to buy-in to this type of buying. Just my thoughts - I'm (clearly) not an expert ion retail!

Where would you be based? Pyongyang maybe. Like others have said, take away the choice and what would most of us do with our time when we're not riding! And for a retailer would it not be a bit risky in only stocking one brand, putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak. And heaven forbid 20 riders all with these bikes all pull up at the cafe at the same time!

There is a bike shop near me who specialise in top end kit. If you go in its all very nice bikes and minimal amount of kit.
I dont shop there as its just too pricey. If I dont want an assos top, then theres nothing else to sell me.

I think you do need a range. People arent always prepared to pay top dollar.

GSVBagpuss wrote:

For me, it comes down to trust. Why would I trust your choice of the best stem?

Totally, look at the arguments that rage on here whenever someone asks "what's the best tyre?" - for each person that says "Tyre X is amazing, I've never had a puncture, they last 10000km, have ultra low rolling resistance etc.", they'll be someone that says "Tyre X was rubbish, heavy, slow, lasted until I got to the corner of the block and by then, I'd had to stop and repair two punctures".

Realistically, cycling is such a broad church, everyone has their own requirements - beyond even the physical fit requirements (1 stem, even in half a dozen lengths, is never going to work for everyone), everyone has different priorities.

Equally, for a lot of people buying in the high-end, niche marketplace, they don't want just one recommendation - because that's what everyone else (who has shopped with you) has got. They want something different, unique, more exclusive than the stem their mate bought last week.

I own a company in a high-end niche industry, and there's no way we could just carry one of each type of product. Yes, we differentiate ourselves from the more mass-market stores by only carrying product from three or so manufacturers. But we'd never carry just one of a certain product, unless it truly was the only product offering we believed in (and there's only one example of that I can think of for us).

There's certainly a place for stores that sell a LIMITED range of high-end products, but not just one of each component. High end, niche retailing is very hard to make successful - you need to offer a level of customer service WAY beyond anyone else, price doesn't come into the equation, people come to you for your expertise and experience and a customer experience.

To achieve that as an on-line retailer would be even more challenging, as the ability to build trust is made more difficult by the lack of face-to-face contact, but anything is possible.

I'm out

Similar to what keef66 said - How can you give one choice of helmet, shoes or saddle? These are generally the items were personal fit and preference is paramount. Not offering a choice would force people to look elsewhere.

ronancarter wrote:

thanks for the feedback, all. Just market-testing ideas, and this doesn't look like a winner as per comments so far :-)

got the idea from here: http://www.justbuythisone.com/

Not sure if that site is supposed to be serious - the few products I looked at were nowhere near 'the best' by my criteria. Kinda underlines the point made by others above - file under 'fail'.

It would be nice to find a shop with components in a wide variety of sizes for fitting, but then it would be nice if a company manufactures the stuff to start with.
Imagine
"You want some new shoes Sir; would that be in a size 9 or 10"

How about a name for this venture,something like........... All The Gear No Idea

It's not the sort of place I would shop! But, that doesn't mean niche concept stores can't work (although I think they're more suited to bricks and mortar rather than etail).
However, the bit that doesn't add up is your pricing. You want to offer the lowest possible price. That goes totally against niche concept stores.
Niche works when people buy into your concept and what it represents and they will pay a premium to do so.