A version of this feature ran in the April issue of BRAIN.
BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — For our April magazine edition, we asked our State of Retail panel members: What do you do to earn revenue besides sales and service? What have you tried in the past or plan to implement in the future?
MONTCLAIR, N.J.: Dave Adornato, owner Montclair Bikery
Our shop has the traditional offerings you would find in most shops. The closest we have to an alternative stream of revenue is bike fitting, but I believe that falls under service. One thing that helps our revenue is that we are very aggressive with customer follow-up. We make sure every customer that expresses interest in a particular bike receives an email of a quote for the bike. We note their interest and follow up with them, and we also use Ascend's lead list function, categorizing customers by previous purchases, contacting them individually, and reminding them when there are new options to consider that would improve their riding experiences. We suspended mailing online purchases of eligible items a number of years ago due to credit card fraud, so our website's sales fulfillment is in-store pick-up only for everything. I am re-thinking this for the obvious reason: shipping orders opens a larger market from which to draw business.
HARDWICK, Vt.: Jason Bahner, co-owner Riverside Cycles
At this point, the only “extra” items that generate revenue are that we offer winter storage for electric and regular bikes. We are working on getting one of our staff members trained in bike fitting so we can offer that to customers. One idea that we have completed is increasing the size of our rental fleet to correspond with the influx of traffic for the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. In the future, we will be collaborating with community business members to do events that involve our own sponsorship. Additionally, we plan on collaborating with local nonprofits and community organizations to support their initiatives, primarily through in-kind donations, like organizing fundraising benefit gravel rides. We offer rentals for these rides at a discounted rate as well as service at a discounted rate if needed, which brings awareness to our business as well as sales and service in the future by building a positive community element.
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo.: Enric Die-Girbau, operations manager Rhythm Cycles
Two things we do to earn revenue in our store besides sales and service are renting electric bicycles and renting travel bags. We also assist with first-time suspension setup. Most folks benefit from this guided suspension setup, which gets them to 80% of their final set-up in about 30 minutes and $35. In the past, we've offered bike storage at our Trestle Bike Park resort shop. We continue to offer the service on a case-by-case basis; however, we are not currently marketing it due to space limitations at that location.
We have been testing the waters in the electric motocross world, primarily in the service and parts side of things for brands such as EMX, Surron, Talaria, and Eridepro. However, we are wary of the exponential growth in popularity and the sparse regulation concerning these off-road vehicles, and are proceeding with caution. We know bikes and e-bikes and will make sure not to dilute our efforts in the e-motocross category. We see it as an outlet that might buoy our store in the slow winter months.
We have considered providing a telemetry-based suspension setup and a coaching service in the context of our bike-park store. We do not have any current plans for the year because it is a specialized skill, and we feel that the potential client base is small.
COSTA MESA, Calif.: Lisa Fleischaker, owner The Unlikely Cyclist
To earn revenue in our store besides sales and service, we offer coaching services, indoor trainer classes, bike fitting, and bike events. The bike events include local bike tours and an annual metric century. One idea that we've thought of implementing to increase revenue is adding mobile and in-home services. We also have been giving thought to incorporating drop-off and pick-up services for our customers, which will increase the convenience of getting their bikes serviced. In the past, one idea that we implemented to increase services and revenue was opening a training facility that included group classes in yoga, bike trainer rides, and weight lifting, as well as one-on-one personal training. Unfortunately this was 6 months before COVID, and we lost all the momentum we had built up during the lock downs. The training facility was very successful before the pandemic, but we are just starting to build it up again.
BOULDER, Colo.: Diana Freeman, owner/founder Cassiopeia
We are still in our first year of operations, and we’re just establishing ourselves as a retail business here in Boulder. Our business is a cafe and apparel boutique and as such, the revenues generated through our cafe have been important through the winter months and our recent opening. The menu of our cafe is focused on breakfast and lunch offerings, with sandwiches, bowls, waffles, soups, and sides. Another offering that generates revenue is our Velospa. We sell memberships and day passes to the Velospa, which includes massage chairs and access to our indoor heated bike wash. In the future, one of our ideas is to potentially bring in bike servicing and to offer a paid training program to “grow our own” mechanics.
GREENWICH, Conn.: Rob Koshar, owner Greenwich Bicycles
Last year, we started a new offering: lifetime free flat insurance. This is mostly sold with the purchase of a new bicycle, but we also offer it when a customer comes in for a flat repair. For the cost of about two flat repairs, the customer receives a lifetime of free flat repairs, performed in-store, of course. We’ve established bonus incentives for our sales people when they sell it. For every 15 flat insurances sold, we’ve repaired one flat for free. Another revenue-boosting idea that we put into place last year and continue to use is that we incentivize sales people to sell older bike inventory by giving them spiffs. When someone is buying a new, high-end bike from us and they have a nice used bike to sell, we help them sell it on a marketplace like The Pro’s Closet, Upway or eBay. While what a customer can earn for their used bike and dealing with these companies is not ideal, it gives the customer a realistic idea of what their trade-in is worth.
BELLINGHAM, Wash.: Staci May, co-owner Earl’s Bike Shop
Currently, we don't offer anything other than sales of bikes and accessories and mechanical service to bring revenue into our business; however, we are thinking about starting some easy group rides for our customers, and we also might start having some non-bike events here in the shop. Honestly, we haven’t really had time to focus on this in between the day-to-day priorities of running the shop. This is something we plan to work on for 2025 and 2026.
MIAMISBURG, Ohio: Sandy Whitman Talley, owner Whitman’s Bike Way Bike Shop
We pride ourselves on networking with business owners in our area for local events, and providing bikes at a discount for fundraising. This gives us publicity and exposure, showing our support for the community. We also have added several Beeline companies, and this gives our service department additional assembly revenue. In the upcoming season, we will be collaborating with an outdoor sports business to offer bicycle, e-bike, and paddle board sports rentals. We are fortunate to not only have a bike path directly behind our store, but a boat launch area as well. In the past, one thing that helped us drive revenue was to hire a bookkeeper, allowing us to focus on what we’re best at: customer sales and service. This gives us the peace of mind that all areas of our business are being reconciled properly. We will most definitely be continuing this for 2025.
SAN FRANCISCO: Brett Thurber & Karen Wiener, owners The New Wheel
We hold bicycle festivals with the support of our brands. These festivals allow us to focus our marketing resources on trying to get as many people as possible to show up and then we work to deliver a great experience that shows what we are all about. These festivals have been a fantastic way to create awareness, educate, and make sales both at the events and in the weeks and months that follow. Aside from this, we work to always remain focused on our core competencies of bicycle sales and service, and we occasionally move into other lines of business, like selling extended warranties, or offering e-bike subscriptions — as long as they fit in directly with our core focus. We are working toward having our service department cover the fixed costs of our business so that we have a strong, reliable financial foundation. Great service writing that ensures we make the most of each service interaction is key to this, so that is our key focus.
