BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Buff
Buff’s time at Core coincided with the brands recognition at the ISPO show, where it scooped a Gold award for its Balaclava Cross Tech. Made with three key layers, the balaclava utilises windstopper, Thermo Fastwick and soft polar fleece layers, making it perhaps the most advanced weatherproof balaclava available. Stock lands in August and the cross tech will cost £36. Four balaclava products are now found in the range.
For the superheroes among us, the label has also added a Marvel licence, meaning you’ll be able to deck customers out in Incredible Hulk prints among others. Meanwhile, kids Star Wars Buffs land in Autumn.
For the ladies, Buff’s feminine Chic line offers a catalogue of winter warmers built with GoreTex Windstopper fabrics and fleece.
New SueMe designs land in stock around Easter time.
Citrus-Lime
Citrus-Lime has been working hard to make a dent in the discount culture often found in front line bike shops and has come up with a ‘customer rewards’ module that it feels could help retailers retain custom otherwise lost to the internet.
Offering packs of 500 personalised voucher cards, available to the customer for 50p each, the system assists the retailer via a loyalty points programme. All the customer has to do is log onto the retailer’s website to earn rewards with successive purchases.
E-receipts are also now on offer via Citrus- Lime’s software, cutting down on paper.
Further suppliers live stock charts are being added, with the Epos supplier stating “most of the key distributors are on board now.”
Bobbin
With 65 dealers nationwide, Bobbin is beginning to grab market share when it comes to your every day sale leisure bikes, but it may not be long before the kids market takes note of the label too.
With the introduction of a kids line, offering 14, 16, 20 and 24-inch wheeled builds, the £165 to £279 range carries a hint of early Schwinn style, along with vivid paintwork and colour-matched accessories, such as baskets and stabilisers, as seen over on the 14 and 16-inch builds.
The adults range saw the introduction of a ladies version of the popular Scout, retailing at £499, based around the same eight-speed downtube shifter system.
Siwis
Si Watts’ popular bike industry eCommerce platform is now divided into three tiers, meaning customers using the platform can tailor their package based on what modules they find useful.
New customers are able to sign up and trial the Standard Platform at the Light platform rate of £80 for the first three months in order to familiarise themselves with select premium features. If customers find out they’ve little use for these, they can revert to the light package with no charge.
For businesses looking to have the all bells and whistles package, which is highly adaptable to the retailer’s preferences, the monthly cost is £125 and comes with features such as the bike upgrade module that allows end-users to customise their bike on the site with prices adjusted as they shop. A new development is the integration of V12 finance at all levels of commitment. If the customer has a Seanic point of sale unit further benefits are available, for example an excellent selection of live stock updates from many of the UK’s top distributors.
Silverfish
Few will have passed through the Silverfish booth without noting two new labels – Onza tyres and Ritte – a Californian road label, of which Silverfish will initially stock two framesets for the trade.
These framesets are the £1,500 Bosberg and £1,600 Vlaanderen, both made from high modulus carbon and supplied with fork headset and seatpost. In the near future, retailer will be able to offer their clients custom paintwork on these builds through Silverfish and eventually complete bikes too.
Onza’s tyre range is concise, but offers a rubber for every use, with two road price points and a variety spanning £21.95 to £44.95 for any off-road use.
Elsewhere Emerald’s long-awaited downhill fork has finally landed with Silverfish. Unique in the market, Emerald will be stocking replacement compression circuits, which will be colour coded to suit the weight and preferences of a rider. Another perk of being an Emerald owner is that the label now offers one-to-one Skype sessions with the head technician, should end-users have an issue they think they can resolve without professional assistance.
Emerald’s ‘Jade’ rear shock is also due with Silverfish in April, along with a trail suited fork later in 2014.
For the rider with Fox Kashima components, SDG has added a collection of six saddles each with the gold highlights to match. There’s also an updated version of the best-selling Bel Air saddle that sports a lower profile EVA foam and more ergonomic rear rise.
