ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BRAIN) — Shanna Powell considers herself a bicycle unicorn "in cat ears and butterfly wings." She's also something even more rare: a woman entrepreneur in the bicycle industry. For this Thanksgiving holiday shopping season, she wanted to highlight that and offer inspiration to others by participating in the Women-Led Wednesday initiative.
"I wanted to give myself the opportunity to share that info (about being woman-owned) with my customers," said Powell, the owner of Endless Bike Co., which manufactures chainrings, singlespeed cogs, and spacers. "I don't think a lot of folks know that a woman owns Endless. That being said, I doubt many folks care too much. It is inspiring for some women though. We're just all people trying to have a good time on bikes and make awesome bike parts."
Women-Led Wednesday was held Nov. 25 and much like Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, it's a day to encourage patronage to local businesses, especially those owned by women. According to the Women-led Wednesday website, this year's acknowledgment was even more important. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly two million women have left the workforce.
Powell offered 25% off orders on Women-Led Wednesday.
"In years past, I have offered either a Small Business Saturday or Cyber Monday promo," said Powell, who has owned Endless Bike Co. since 2008. "One day doesn't really seem to make more difference than the other for the sale. This year, I heard about the Women-Led Wednesday movement. ... I wanted to do WLW because as you know Endless is a woman-owned and operated bicycle component business and that's a pretty rare thing."
Despite the website crashing and being down for about five hours, the Women-Led Wednesday sale generated traffic comparable to past holiday sales, with the Kick Ass singlespeed cogs being the best seller, Powell said.
Overall, sales are up about 40% year-over-year, with Endless Bike Co. recently introducing a line of direct-mount chainrings. But sharing a machine shop with Asheville neighbor Industry Nine has meant a delay in some direct-mount rings.
"I was supposed to have 30-tooth DM chainrings ready to ship months ago, and now they're looking to be closer to January," Powell said. "Selling lots of cogs and other chainrings though."
Powell hopes her business will fully benefit from the bike boom in the near future.
"I only offer aftermarket parts, and with folks buying all of the new bikes, I haven't seen a lot of increase," she said. "The new bike parts will wear out eventually, and hopefully, they'll buy new rings from me and I'll get a later bubble boom. Singlespeed is dead, you know. Singlespeed joke for all those who don't know."
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Endless Bike Co. singlespeed cogs. -
Endless Bike Co. singlespeed spacers.
