BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Ex-electrical engineer turned bike mechanic of six years Freddie Vaval’s new roaming cycle shop branded the ‘Bike Clinique’ is due to open its (van) doors in late June.
The new shop will operate out of a Lwb VW Crafter van with a euro 6 engine and blue motion technology in bright orange. The shop will operate on the streets of London, with a full shop service available to the public.
Vaval commented on the history of the business: "I started in the trade in 2009 fixing friends and family’s bikes because I’ve been a cyclist for over 20 years. I gave up a career in Electrical Engineering to focus on this passion for bikes. I have been working in bike shops as a qualified Cytech technician for over 6 years.
"I started my company and concept as an evolution of the traditional bike shop. A mobile bike shop that is designed to provide an amazing customer experience by bringing the bike shop directly to the customer offering the ultimate in convenience. Being a bike technician and having worked as a tech for over 6 years, my model was designed with the bike tech in mind to be empowered and taking the lead in a bike business."
He continued: "Costs was largely the reason, as you can set up a mobile shop with a fraction of the cost of opening a brick and mortar shop. Whether it be staff costs, inventory, premise lease, advertising, Utilities etc. Generally, almost all costs can be streamlined.
"Secondly, Customer convenience and experience is greatly improved. From my experience in a workshop, face to face technician/customer interaction is often unheard of. Also, the van is one of the eco-friendly van of its size on the market. We will use a mobile electrical system in the van which is also economical."
