1. business and industrial

Issue 9, Spring 2015
A PUBLICATION OF THE
CANADIAN INDEPENDENT
BICYCLE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION
WHAT’S NEW AND CURRENT
by Kevin Senior,
President
Spring is almost here and that means it’s time to
get ready for the sales season in the bike business.
That could mean a new look and arrangement for
your show floor, and it probably means hiring and
training new staff; keeping an eye out for natural
leaders who will grow along with your store. It
might mean ramping up your store’s social media
marketing to bring in past customers for tune-up
specials, and maybe attract some new customers
with a sponsored community group ride. Or perhaps
you are looking to upgrade your POS software and
inventory systems to something more suited to
today’s sales environment.
In this issue we asked some retailers and bike
industry experts what kind of preparations stores
are making in 2015 to improve business, boost
sales, and fine-tune their operations.
In This Issue:
>> Preparing for the Season
>> IBD Spotlight
>> Cost of Doing Business
>> FinanceIt: CIBRA Benefit
We also caught up with one of CIBRA’s newest members,
former professional bike mechanic-turned retailer Shawn
Marshall of Velo Lab Cycle Works in Dartmouth, NS, for a
quick Q&A about his business and his outlook on the trade.
Also in this issue, an invitation from the Sports Industry
Credit Association (SICA) to CIBRA retail members to participate in an exciting new initiative for developing essential
data and performance benchmarks for the bike trade. Read
on to learn about this great opportunity to get valuable
industry data cost-free.
We’re gearing up for another busy year at CIBRA–we continue to advocate at various levels of government for the
elimination of the uneccessary and unfair tariff on bikes, we
will continue to agitate on competition issues like untaxed
products coming into Canada from foreign/online vendors,
to help raise awareness the benefits of Shop Local and the
value of local bike shops, and a newly-formed CIBRA committee will begin exploring the possibility of developing
national standards for the training and certification of bike
mechanics in Canada.
We have come quite a ways since the launch of CIBRA one
year ago. On behalf of all our stakeholders I’d like to extend
a warm welcome and congratulations to our new members,
who have seen what CIBRA’s vision is for Canada’s bike retail
trade and decided it was worth supporting.. Through the
investments and active invovlement of our members CIBRA
continues to build upon its value proposition; to ensure that
Canada’s bicycle retailers have the support of an effective
national voice and steward for our trade.
TOGETHER WE ARE BETTER!
Publisher: BILL YETMAN [email protected]
Editor: EBEN HOLMES [email protected]
PAGE 2
FEATURE: PREPARING FOR THE SEASON
by Eben Holmes
The official start of the cycling season–and the bike sales
season–starts when the first warm Sunny day in Spring
arrives and puts thoughts of riding on every cyclist’s mind.
You’ll have already been preparing your stores and staff,
servicing early tune-ups, advertising Spring specials and
organizing group rides to put local riders back in a cycling
frame of mind. Canada’s bike retailers do a great job to
promote year-round cycling with accessories and products
that can weather the winter. Thanks to this more and
more Canadian cyclists are finding ways to cycle
year-round–but nothing gets people in our stores like the
sunshine.
But there are many things for a retailer to do in the
meantime to make the coming sales season a new benchmark for success. SPOKE’n asked around to find out what
vretailers are doing differently these days to prepare their
shops, and went looking for some tips and insights from
retail experts on how to start your season off strong!
We asked Fred Van Den Bulk, owner of Muskoka Bicycle
Pro Shop and a more than 20-year veteran of the trade
what the first order of business is to prepare his shop for
the season. “Well the first thing to do is to get
rid of the fricking snow!” he laughed. “I’ve
run this shop for 17 years now and the
one thing I know is that the
weather decides when
the season starts.
We advertise the spring tune-ups and all that, but it’s
always April/May when the folks take their bikes out of
the shed and say, ‘hey, that needs a tune-up’ and then we
really get going.”
Over at Curbside Cycle in Toronto, General Manager Eric
Kamphof was up to his eyeballs in spreadsheets. “Reports,
spreadsheets- that’s what I’m working on right now.” I’m
making up a Unit Per Transaction template right now so
that mid-season, when we’re busy busy, I can get some
quick n’ dirty numbers on how my employees are doing.
Like, “Who’s selling the folding bikes? Who’s otherwise
doing great on the floor but maybe could be moving
more cargo bikes? It helps make my performance reviews
more effective because you can really drill down into
where the real improvement areas are, and you can see
where your everyone’s real strengths are.”
Chelsea Hobbis, Events Coordinator at Caps Westwood
Cycle said she was making preparations for their Spring
Group Rides. “Group rides are something that we have
had in the past, but it was never as structured as we
wanted. This year we’re changing that, and adding more
structure and options for our riders. We’re providing
experienced leaders, exciting cycling routes, and incentive
PAGE 3
prizes for staff who opt to be ride leaders. We found this to be an important asset as a bike store because if you build the
lifestyle, the bike sells itself.”
It’s never a bad time to try something new, especially considering the pace of change in our industry and in retail generally. Mike Hietpas, Canadian Sales Manager at Trek believes retailers need to be ahead of these changes or risk being left
behind. “Bicycle retail is changing at an accelerating pace. Whether because of the internet, product developments, higher
consumer expectations or stronger competition, if a retailer isn’t changing and adapting he may very well not survive”
says Mike, echoing what many bike retailers have been reading in Donny Perry’s recent watershed book, Leading Out
Retail - A Creative Look at Bicycle Retail (2014). “A common thought among best retailers is that retail success is a trailing
indicator to the effort and planning done in the previous off season” says Hietpas, suggesting that the off-season for bike
retail should be the on-season for business planning and development. “Whether you call it ‘continuous improvement’,
‘strategic planning’, or simply ‘business planning’, the idea is the same. Identify the opportunities in the business and make
changes to capitalize on these.”
IBD SPOTLIGHT: Shawn Marshall
Velo Lab Cycle Works
Why did you decide to become a CIBRA member?
www.velolab.ca
Firstly, for a great way to stay in touch with the industry. I wasn’t born a
“businessman,” so any chance I have to learn from others, I jump at. Participating in CIBRA seemed like a great way to
access learning and to have communication with others in the business.
SPOKE’n : What's keeps you up at night about your business?
Right now we are going through a new building purchase which means our store is expanding–so financing, stocking,
relocation is all up there. Once we really get into the season over the next couple of months, it will be all about making
sure customers are happy.
SPOKE’n : What's your absolute favourite ride anywhere?
Since moving back to the Maritimes I’m in love with the Eastern Shore here in Nova Scotia–good roads, low traffic,
options to get in anything from a quick spin to a full day, or anything in between. Nova Scotia and Southern New Brunswick have some real world class riding. It’s a great mix of scenery, hills, coastline, forest, river valleys, small towns... I could
go on, but really–a person has to come out here to appreciate it!
About Shawn:
Before opening his bicycle service and accessories business in Darthmouth in 2012, Shawn Marshall worked for 10 years
as a professional freelance race mechanic with various Professional and National Teams all over the world, and before
that spent five years at Bushtukah in Ottawa as their Head Technician. Today, Velo Lab Cycle Works is getting ready to
expand into a new location that will triple his floor space and launch his bike business into a full-on sales and service
enterprise.
PAGE 4
THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS
CREATING VALUABLE BENCHMARKS FOR CANADA’S IBDS
A Proposal to CIBRA Retail Members from the Sports Industry Credit Association (SICA)
The Sports Industry Credit Association (SICA) is a not-for-profit industry-owned credit association. Since its inception in 1980, SICA has
provided its members–wholesalers and manufacturers of sporting goods–with timely and accurate credit information in order to assist
them in their credit risk assessment.
The Bicycle Industry is one of the sectors that SICA monitors on a regular basis. In contrast to other sporting goods segments that we
monitor like Hockey, Skiing, and Teamsports, the Bicycle industry remains a unique industry sector insamuch as the majority of sales
are driven by independent retailers rather than the Big Box stores, and the longevity of their businesses tends to far exceed that of other
sporting goods specialty businesses.
SICA receives hundreds of financial statements from independent retailers throughout Canada. Based on these statements and other
industry figures available to SICA, we have noted the following trends in the bicycle industry over the last three years:
Debt levels carried by bike retailers have increased by over 30%. The tendency to use supplier financing may
have an adverse affect on one’s business–it can result in strained vendor-partner relations and can impede the timely influx of
new product into the store resulting in lost sales revenue.
Inventory turnover has slowed. This indicates that some retailers may be carrying older inventory which in turn can
affect gross margins and the profitability of the business. It is extremely important for the retailer to manage their largest
asset, inventory, very closely.
Expenses as a percentage of sales has increased. This is mainly due to
increased wages and rent expense. Regular reviews of all expenses are vital when
managing your business.
The number of Bike store closures/insolvency in 2014 was 44%
higher than the previous 3-year average.
In order to assist Canada’s bike retailers SICA, in conjunction with CIBRA, will be
launching a Cost of Doing Business Survey in the coming months, the results of
which will be available at no cost to participating retailers.
Sica also produces its own annual financial benchmarks which provide
valuable metrics for assessing your business performance. Like our
Cost of Doing Business Survey, this report is made available at no
cost to all retailers who submit their financial statements
confidentially to Sica.
We know that one of the keys to staying competitive in today’s
retail environments is access to information about your business and the industry you operate in.
By participating in our Cost of Doing Business Survey and financial reporting, retailers can ensure that they
have access to valuable, up-to-date figures to help fine-tune their performance and keep competitive in today’s marketplace.
Get involved today! Contact SICA at (514) 931-5561
PAGE 5
CANADIAN INDEPENDENT BICYCLE RETAILERS ASSOCIATION
2015 Board of Directors
WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND DEDICATION
President ~ Kevin Senior
Vice President Retail ~ James Wilson
Owner, Bow Cycle (Calgary, AB)
Owner, Obsession: Bikes (Vancouver, BC)
Vice President, Supplier ~ Lutz Brode
Treasurer ~ John Williams
President, Mica Sports Canada Ltd. (Bracebridge, ON)
President, Live to Play Sports (Port Coquitlam, BC)
Director ~ Pierre Laferriére
Director ~ Kevin Wallace
Owner, Sport Olympe (Quebec, QC)
Co-Owner, GEARS Bike Shop (Toronto, ON)
Director ~ Rick Snyder
Director ~ Pierre Grenier
Owner, Mikes Bike Shop (Dieppe, NB)
Sales Director Canada, Louis Garneau Sports Inc.
(St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, QC)
Canadian Independent Bicycle Retailers Association
Association Canadienne des Détaillants de Vélos Indépendants
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