LBS expanding but moving out of town

[Deleted member 26715]

but will the customers follow?

Absolutely, I'm struggling to see a down side, I live about 4 miles North of a small town, if I wanted something from a LBS given the options of going into the centre of town (which I never do) or going to somewhere on the outskirts I know which I will choose every time. I would even go 10-15 miles in the other direction rather than going into the town centre.

 

[Tom B]

Happened to a LBS near me. MK Cycles .

He had a large double shop on a busy main road and was there for years. It wasn't the most salubrious area but they seemed to well. They certainly sponsored na fair fee things over the years.

They decided they wanted to move and seemed hell bent of a cake and coffee offer. They moved to a small industrial estate in a former mill about 3/4 miles out of town in a small village.

I used to be a regular for odds and ends and bought a few bikes from them but I just don't go now, there is always something closer or easier.

It didn't seem to go well at first, but they're still there and.... Oh it was discussed here https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/useless.237538/post-5363915

 

[nickyboy]

Leisure Lakes, in Daventry, moved from a smaller oldish back street premises near the town centre to a new shiny chrome mezzanine floored place on a retail park.
Yes, you could see the stock more easily and have a pricey coffee if you were prepared to wait ages.
I would imagine that it was a big jump in costs for them with higher rent, more staff etc.
It looks very 'chain store' now, and too me, has lost it's soul.

You're probably not the type of customer they are targeting. For relatively novice cyclists or newcomers to cycling, the traditional LBS is intimidating. They're used to going to Argos, or Currys, or Tesco. They like to shop in places they feel comfortable in and the more a bike shop looks like a Chain Store, the more comfortable they are and the more they will spend.

 

[lane]

I have thought for a long time out of town is the way to go for bike shops. Most people go by car and getting into town and parking is a hassle. That said most repair and service only businesses round here offer collection and delivery back to your house; they keep their overheads down by working from their own home. Best place for a bike shop to operate is probably somewhere like an industrial estate - like Spa or Mercian do.

Edit - Mercian recently closed their shop and operate form an industrial estate

 

[Archie_tect]

Successful businesses have to adapt and change to stand still these days... a new LBS opened on a farm about five miles out of the village and roughly 12 miles from the centre of Newcastle. Everyone thought they were mad but it's become the go-to place on route to Morpeth and Rothbury - the distance is just right for the first coffee stop so their cafe has become really popular, [Kirkley Cycles and Cafe] if you are ever out this way!

I've ridden my bike and the tandem there to get bits done and they've been really helpful. the owner has plans to create a series of challenging MTB trails in the woods behind which will bring lots more business.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Ribble Cycles did this some 20 yearsago. They had been in the same location for donkeys years. Everybody knew where Ribble Cycles was. Right on a busy junction. No chance of car parking with 1/2 mile. Not the most cycle friendly spot. Traffic flying about from severel directions. They closed the shop "for redecorations" and moved onto an industrial estate. Almost immediatley went online ordering only. No shop as such, just a pick up point. A few bikes on display but no test rides or servicing/repairs.
They now have(or had) a similar outlet in Birmingham.
They don't seem to be doing too badly.

 

[Dan77]

This looks like a great idea. I live near Worcester (Fernhill Heath) and whilst the existing shops are much closer to me, I have never used them. Granted I've only been riding since May and I would have bought my hybrid from them if they'd had stock.

It's a nice location and huge premises so I wish them well and will do my best to support them. I'm not concerned about the location at all. In fact I am far more likely to go there. Can even combine it with a trip to the Camp House for a pint of Bathams by the river. I think it's a smart move. People visiting in cars won't have a problem and the main road is largely avoidable when riding if you really want to. The route can be through some nice places. If they were to put a cafe in there it could be a nice stop off and a facility for the village too, especially with them working on turning the pub (The Crown) into a chain pub rather than the well established, upmarket place it is currently.

Also, some of the main road will be avoided from one direction when they build the Kepax bridge from Gheluvelt park over to Hallow Road (probably years away). I would hope that some form of cycle path might be introduced alongside these plans. Preferably alongside the river because some painted tarmac on the main road would be worse than not having one in my opinion.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I have thought for a long time out of town is the way to go for bike shops. Most people go by car and getting into town and parking is a hassle. That said most repair and service only businesses round here offer collection and delivery back to your house; they keep their overheads down by working from their own home. Best place for a bike shop to operate is probably somewhere like an industrial estate - like Spa or Mercian do.

Edit - Mercian recently closed their shop and operate form an industrial estate

Mercian aren't really a bike shop though are they, the frame building aspect is such a major part of their business that they have a devoted customer base and with the end of Bob Jackson are part of a diminishing pool of long established builders. With the basic 725 frame coming in £1310 there is a serious commitment coming from their customers.

For me both SPA and SJS Cycles have become goto places as they stock the sort of components that I want, 8 speed cassettes in road bike ratios, toe straps and other non state of the art things. As these people have the items in stock and are geared up to mail order there is no reason to ask a local shop to order them in for me

However deciding to stock these sort of things and not offer mail order would be a big commitment, how many walk in customers want 8 speed close/medium range cassettes nowadays? Yes, some of these things could be workshop stock, if you have customers who bought 8 speed bikes from mail order/Halfords but I am guessing that there are few enthusiasts with 8 speed that would have their bike serviced at that basic a level.

It may be an age/location thing but a lot of people I know do not have cars, if you don't need one for work then the cost can easily become ridiculous. I went from 50k miles a year to around £1.50 per mile as I was using it so little.

Ribble Cycles did this some 20 yearsago. They had been in the same location for donkeys years. Everybody knew where Ribble Cycles was. Right on a busy junction. No chance of car parking with 1/2 mile. Not the most cycle friendly spot. Traffic flying about from severel directions. They closed the shop "for redecorations" and moved onto an industrial estate. Almost immediatley went online ordering only. No shop as such, just a pick up point. A few bikes on display but no test rides or servicing/repairs.
They now have(or had) a similar outlet in Birmingham.
They don't seem to be doing too badly.

As someone who mostly rides a 531 Ribble I have a soft spot for the name and the Brum shop is interesting in that when I went it was a show room with a fitting jig and absolutely no intention of having stock or servicing facilities. It was a showroom to allow people to see what they were buying, and be persuaded to upgrade, "online ordering only plus" which seems like a great idea.

Being 10 minutes walk from probably Birmingham's main station meant there were enough people to make this worthwhile and
the shopping centre doesn't look one that would take kindly to people bringing muddy bikes in for servicing anyway.

Ribble is interesting in that the owners sold to private finance who seem to have changed the business model, the parts department has pretty much gone and "The Brand" matters, hence the cheap and cheerful blue aluminium frame bike has gone.

They still offer enough of a saving to make it worthwhile over buying from a shop if you don't want or need a shop's support but possibly only just. The blue frame with 105 was a bargain, but with prices rising, the CGR AL with Tiagra at £1k or the 725 Endurance Ultegra coming in at £2k I can see why many would prefer to have a shop to address any issues.

A Specialized Diverge with Claris is £1,100 this is a big difference from the CGR, although it is hard to compare the frames. Also it is unclear now much a dealer will offer as an incentive on accessories as Specialized seem to require dealers to offer the current range at a fixed price.

A Croix De Fer 30 at £2k is a less well specified bike than the Ribble CGR but the real world differences are perhaps quite small, is the current Ultegra that different to current 105?

This looks like a great idea. I live near Worcester (Fernhill Heath) and whilst the existing shops are much closer to me, I have never used them. ....... .....Can even combine it with a trip to the Camp House for a pint of Bathams by the river...

I made the mistake of thinking that the path by the river to The Camp was suitable for a road bike with 700x23 tyres and almost fell into the river.

Bye

Ian

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

I’ve almost fallen into the river at the Camp too but I think the scrumpy was responsible for that...

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

Happened to a LBS near me. MK Cycles .

I had a few spare minutes and had a look at their web site.

Its very much a community rather that a shop isn't it. there is more information on the cakes and customers
https://www.mkcycles.co.uk/coffee-shop
https://www.mkcycles.co.uk/testimonials

than there is on the
https://www.mkcycles.co.uk/bikes

I know the area well having worked in Deakins Business Park and I used to stay at the Strawbury Duck (Entwhistle) and the Rose & Crown (Edgeworth Mar 2005)



Bye

Ian

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

A slightly out of town location with its own private parking has a lot going for it. Customers can easily drive there to drop off bikes for repair or collect stuff they have bought. They can spend as long as they want browsing in the shop without having to clock watch because there's a traffic warden hiding round the corner waiting to give them a ticket if they overstay their time.
High Street shopping is not really a pleasant experience these days for a lot of reasons, and not many high streets seem to have the right mix of premises, parking space, and customer base for it to flourish.
Most of the traditional butchers, bakers and useful hardware shops have long gone, so you often can't get everything you want from one high street anyway - unless you specifically want to place a bet, buy some fried chicken, send some money abroad or pawn some valuables for a cash loan. If I think of the sort of local foot shopping I do, most of it is of a low transaction value, even if convenient to me. It's all a fiver here, a tenner there, maybe the odd twenty pound job. A shop will need a lot of those low value transactions in order to make any money. If I'm buying enough stuff to add up to a decent sum, then I don't want to have to lug it home on foot, which then rules out anywhere with difficult parking.

 

[Smokin Joe]

The High Street has always been an over rated place, everyone claims to regret it's passing but most are looking back through rose tinted glasses. The shops have always had stupid hours, 9 -5 which is when most people are at work so that meant everybody cramming the place on a Saturday, which was a miserable experience. Small shops with limited stock and higher prices to reflect that, a mixture of owners varying from the good to the certifiable lunatics determined to upset everyone who walked in through the door.

The edge of town sheds combined with the internet are the best thing that ever happened to the retail trade, massive stocks, keen pricing and being owned by PR conscious chains who are much more customer friendly overall. You can park for nothing, carry bulky items or your weeks shopping straight to the car and do without the miserable experience of spending half the day trudging from one over crowded shop to another. And the staff are better paid with proper holiday and sick pay and a pension to look forward to at the end of it all.

Nostalgia is a trick of the mind, go back in time and the past was rarely as good as our memories would have us believe.

 

[lane]

Near me we have two Halfords and a Leisure Lakes all out of town and they seem to do OK. Also a repair place that operates from a farm off the A50.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

The High Street has always been an over rated place, everyone claims to regret it's passing but most are looking back through rose tinted glasses. The shops have always had stupid hours, 9 -5 which is when most people are at work so that meant everybody cramming the place on a Saturday, which was a miserable experience.

It worked better back in the days of the traditional nuclear family where the men went out to work and the women could do the grocery shopping during the day whilst the kids were at school. The now-diminished proportion of traditional working age household compositions has resulted in exactly what you describe; less daytime custom during the week but more congestion at the weekend. The ethnic-owned food shops that stay open until 11 or 12 o'clock at night are the ones that bucked the trend, most of the High St is dead after teatime, apart from the pub and the takeways.

 

[Tom B]

Good morning,


I had a few spare minutes and had a look at their web site.

Its very much a community rather that a shop isn't it. there is more information on the cakes and customers
https://www.mkcycles.co.uk/coffee-shop
https://www.mkcycles.co.uk/testimonials

than there is on the
https://www.mkcycles.co.uk/bikes

I suppose it demonstrates how the LBS has changed and how the LBS' place in the world has changed. I suppose not proves it can be a destination business. Even if it means the likes of me aren't popping in for innertubes etc on our lunch hours.

It seems very much a lifestyle business, a cycle shop and cafe that's closed sat/sun is a bit surprising. But hey if it works for them, and it must do fair play to them. My old boss had a saying about not being busy fools doing lots of things that earn small amounts when you can sell one thing for greater earnings.

On the rare occasions I do go through Belmont I forget it's there and end up at Lottie's or Rivington Barn for my tea and cake and soup and butty.