Putting the workshop centre stage
Putting the workshop centre stage
Posted on 25 May 2017
As we know, online retail is one of the biggest threats to small retailers, not just in the bike trade. But there will always be one thing that physical stores can offer that the online retailers can't - service and repair.
A recent report suggested that ‘service retail' is one of the biggest winners when it comes to independent stores, with more shops opening than any other sector, as consumers are unable to get comparable services via online dealers.
But whether customers are buying in-store or online, servicing and repair is key for the bike trade.
Over in Australia, one of the top bike shops has just undergone a total rebuild - putting the workshop at the focus - with dramatic results visually, functionally and for the bottom line.
Speaking to Phil Latz for Bicycling Trade Australia, Craig Milton of independent retailer Chain Reaction Bikes and Shimano's Toby Shingleton discussed their thinking behind the shops new service centre and 21st century bicycle retailing more generally.
"I've visited bike shops all over the world and found that most of the workshops weren't that impressive. It's time for the retailers out there to lift their game to a level where the workshops are purpose built from the ground up to accommodate the end user. With not just good service, but things like the Shimano wash bay which is built into the workshop so the bikes can be bike spa'd before a deluxe service, so the mechanics enjoy working on them more and the customers like the experience."
Shimano's Toby Shingleton added:
"We want to refocus workshops on maximising profitability. Part of that is having the parts on display and having access to those parts for consumers, so mechanics can actually up sell and explain the technology. They can show they've got the parts in stock so they can do the work right away.
"This is a showcase for us to explain particular concepts and we're already working on the second one that will be in Victoria. It will be done within the next month or so. That will be not as grand as this, it won't take on all the elements of this one, but certainly it will encapsulate a lot of the concepts.
"Essentially, one of the big things we wanted to do here was open up the space and make it more visible to the consumer.
"I come from a hospitality background and my rule of thumb has always been, walk into any restaurant that's been built in the last 15 years and the kitchen is on display.
"I think that's a very similar approach to what we should be having in the bike industry. We should be having mechanics on display, showing off their skills, showing off their ‘toolery', showing off how awesome their workspace is and the knowledge that they've got.
"We want to open it up to the consumer to the point where we can actually bring people in here. Not that we want people wandering around the workshop, but we can take people behind this desk very easily and show them what we're going to do, what parts we've got here and that's a great way for the dealer to maximise the opportunity to sell them a product."
Milton adds "After 25 years of retail plus working in shops like Clarence St Cyclery and Miranda Bicycle Centre and a few other shops, it was always ‘workshop versus sales staff.'
"Our new workshop is working twofold, not from just a Shimano perspective but now the mechanics and sales staff are performing in alliance. It opened the workshop up to the public but it also to the staff as well. It was a good result that we didn't actually expect."
Talking about the threat of online retailers and how they sought to combat this, Milton said "To build some of those sales back can only be done through the service area. We get a lot of people coming in wanting to use the Shimano workshop when they've bought parts online and they're happy to pay the price in a good workshop environment to do that. So it is clawing back a little bit, from the retailer's perspective, some sort of profit out of an online purchase.
"Hopefully, once the online purchases that we install on their bikes is done correctly, you'll have them as a customer for future service."
The rebuild for Chain Reaction Bikes has had dramatic results visually, functionally and for the bottom line - is it time more bike shops put the workshop at the centre of their business?