DENVER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Alchemy Bicycle Company is consulting with industry veteran Ben Serotta as it develops new retailer strategies. The company said it is developing a plan to help retailers increase profit margins, manage inventory and lower financial risk. Alchemy makes stock and custom frames and bikes in several materials at its shop in Denver.
"I think I bring 40 years of lessons-learned — the good, the bad, the ugly — it's all experience," said Serotta. "Alchemy has a fabulous foundation, a great and committed ownership and staff, but they are also smart enough to know they haven't grown a bike manufactory before, smart enough to realize there are pitfalls, and I think I can help them navigate some of the growth issues and avoid the pitfalls so they can grow more effectively."
Alchemy recently introduced a new retail point-of-purchase display, which prominently features either a custom or stock, fully-built Alchemy bicycle, as well as a carbon fiber tube that shows paint options, and brochures with product information. The display showcases the Alchemy bike and demonstrates how it was made and how it can be personalized.
In addition to the POP display, Alchemy has reduced lead times on stock frames to 30 days and on custom frames to 60 days.
"We knew we really needed to address lead times and, throughout the last year, we held a weekly meeting where we sat down for an hour or two and discussed everybody's process and how to make it more efficient without sacrificing quality," said Cody Baker, Alchemy's new sales manager. "We've also organized each station's work schedule to coincide much more efficiently with both the station before and after it, streamlining our entire work flow."
