BELLINGHAM, Wash. (BRAIN) — Kona Bicycles has soft-opened its retail shop in the company's hometown of Bellingham, Wash., and has set a grand opening for the 6,600-square-foot location the weekend of June 20-21.
"This is something I've been hoping to do for quite a while to highlight our brand here in Bellingham since this is our home," said Kona rep Cory Blackwood, a Bellingham resident for 12 years. "I'm quite proud of Bellingham and quite proud of Kona."
The opening is not part of a broader move into consumer-direct sales for Kona, according to the company.
"It's more of a cultural thing than a sign of big business developments in our company. Our dealers are the backbone of our business, so having our own shop provides us further insight that we can then use to enhance our dealer relations," Kona marketing manager Mitchell Scott stated in an email.
The Kona Bike Shop will showcase the brand's full line, with a goal of having 100 bikes on the sales floor, and will also include a service area, storage and offices. It is managed by Matt Hoffmeyer, formerly of Seattle Kona dealer Second Ascent.
Kona already has retail showrooms in France and London that also handle warranty issues for European customers, but they are much smaller than the new Bellingham shop, according to Blackwood.
Kona plans to test out POP displays and other fixtures in the store, and will bring select retailers to the space during its annual dealer event in early August.
"We'd like them to come by here, see what we've done and how we show off our stuff, and hopefully they can steal some cool ideas from it," Blackwood said.
About a mile down the road in Bellingham from Kona's new shop, Jack's Bicycle Center co-owner Kent DeVries — a Kona dealer for 14 years — was caught off guard by Kona's move into the local retail market.
"After 14 years and probably doing the most business with them I ever have last year, it was a little bit of a surprise for them to do this," he said. "I ride Konas myself and I like the people I deal with there, but their new retail is essentially a competitor for me."
But given the recent growth of the cycling market in Bellingham — a city of 82,000 that has become a mountain biking destination and which instituted a bicycle master plan in October of last year — Blackwood believes the community can sustain more than one Kona dealer.
"Normally I wouldn't say that in a town this size, but Bellingham's a little different," he said.
