After much thought and a bit of spontaneous enthusiasm it seems that I may be opening up the bicycle shop that I have mentioned in the past on this forum somewhat sooner than I imagined.
I have made a formal application to rent a shop space (90m2) in Brunswick and have been working out a few things here and there with various suppliers.
I remember posting a message Re. the shop awhile back (20-05-2012) and there were a lot of interesting responses from forum users both positive and negative which is not such a bad thing, I have been a regular user of the forum for some time and value the opportunity I have to share my ideas with people who also have an interest in bicycles.
The plan at the moment is to stock a local and inexpensive bicycle brand in the shop and continue with the original theme of operating a quality workshop with significanly cheaper than normal parts (cheaper priced parts, not cheaper quality).
I welcome any thoughts or suggestions (both positive and negative) from forum users as to what they would like to see in the shop (prices, concepts, service, products etc.) and what they feel most other bicycle shops in Melbourne may lack.
Ideally the shop would cater for all cyclists and although that may be almost impossible I would like to think that with some advice from the forum users I could create an environment that would honestly and fairly give local cyclists a reason to keep returning to my shop.
I appreciate all responses and will promise to keep updates on the progress of my business as is practical.
Goodluck mate, will definitely support if you end up with good pricing on comsumables like Ulegra cassettes etc. Oh and the option to build customer bikes with parts bought online.
Customers buying parts online will become an important part of my business, not only will I support it but I will also advise customers what parts may be more or less suitable for different applications before an online purchase is made.
In my earlier posts I mentioned that I would be selling parts at just above the wholesale price anyway and in an ideal world this would reduce the need for customers to purchase online and ensure they got what they wanted sooner with a valid warranty via a wholesaler in Australia.
I don’t expect to become instantly wealthy from this venture although with enough volume and a quality workshop the concept of having a business that appeals to the online crowd as well as other everyday cyclists seems achievable.
Cycling is pretty broad… I would probably stick with a niche and Market the hell out of it until you can broaden your skills/stock etc.
I mean, look at it, track, road, cx, MTB (and all it’s variations), as well as urban, Fixie kids and all that. If you always need to order parts in rather than having them there and then, there is no benefit to purchasing in store than online.
I think being a smaller shop you will need to pick a smaller market, and a smaller selection of brands and push that image. Plenty of bigger shops/franchises that do the ‘bit of everything’.
Maybe another thread could be started to discuss the BSC bankruptcy.
Good luck with the shop Titanium. Takes balls to do something on your own.
I don’t have any real advice to offer, but in regard to this, “what they feel most other bicycle shops in Melbourne may lack.”, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anything lacking in Melbourne bicycle stores. What’s lacking in one, will only be made-up for in another. Rather than trying to find a niche, just be nice and helpful to customers and do a good job. That’s all anyone really wants from a bike shop.
Best of luck with this! Sounds like it could prove to be an interesting endeavor.
As for advice, I’d second what ianhuman said, as long as your pleasant to deal with and helpful, that’ll keep
bringing your customers back. This seems (to me anyway) like a more important thing to focus on rather than a niche, personally.
If the service is average, people would have no trouble finding somewhere else to go.