INDIANAPOLIS, IN (BRAIN) Feb 29, 10:22 MT — Bicycle Garage Indy and BGI Fitness North has reopened in a newly constructed building that increases the retailer’s floor space by 50 percent to 18,000 square feet and doubles its upstairs office and storage space.
The new building was constructed as part of the renovation of the Rivers Edge Shopping Center, home to 29-year-old BGI since 1995. It sits just 100 yards east of the shop’s former location overlooking a river basin, affording a scenic, protected area for test rides, said Randy Clark, BGI founder and president.
Customer feedback since the mid-February soft opening has been overwhelmingly positive, notes Clark. “Everybody’s wild about it. We’ve had some great sales days. The early signs are good,” he said.
Operations manager Tobias Holsman said that rather than add a slew of new product to the extra space, BGI has instead emphasized more effective presentation.
“The great part about it so far is that we’ve been able to stock the same amount of inventory, but people who come in feel like we have much more. The visibility and sight lines are so much better,” he said. “That’s universally been the reaction of people who have been coming here for years.”
A 30-foot-high floor-to-ceiling wood wall—with a BGI Fitness logo is carved into 102-year-old reclaimed longleaf pine wood—gives the store’s fitness area a natural feel, noted Holsman. The new store also features an expanded number of dressing rooms, a coffee and juice bar and a more spacious display of fitness equipment and accessories.
Up on the mezzanine, now 6,000 square feet, shop employees get a new break room and a cantilevered balcony off the building’s east side. BGI also moved its fitting area off the sales floor and into a room upstairs with windows overlooking the sales floor, the better to catch the attention of customers shopping below.
The store will have its grand opening March 16-18 in conjunction with its annual Expo Sale, Clark said.
Bicycle Garage Indy also operates a southern Indianapolis-area location in Greenwood, and in September 2011 opened a downtown Indianapolis location as part of the Indy Bike Hub YMCA bicycle commuter center.
