BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Ribble Cycles has opened its new landmark flagship showroom in the heart of the Ribble Valley, Lancashire.
The 2,000 square foot showroom has been designed to showcase Ribble’s complete bicycle range and provides a brand new bicycle retail proposition – blending digital with the physical to create a ‘unique, totally immersive and all-sensory consumer experience’.
The spacious flagship has been designed to individually showcase every bike in the Ribble range with a generous amount of space to allow the customer to interact with the bikes and appreciate the design in detail and the team will also be on-hand to answer any questions.
“We wanted to create a brand showcase which would define the future of cycle retailing and represent our world-class credentials,” stated David Stacey, commercial director, Ribble. “Putting the Ribble brand experience in the heart of the Ribble Valley set amongst the most incredible riding routes directly from our doorstep was of paramount importance.
“From the moment you step into the showroom you will enter a truly immersive experience and it will completely challenge the notion of a traditional bike shop. I passionately believe that we have created a major step forward for retail standards and possibly the best bike shop in the world at launch.”
Andy Smallwood, Ribble’s CEO, added: “This exciting state of the art digitally-focused showroom and brand retail proposition is the culmination of incredible work by the entire team at Ribble and whilst we have been trading since 1897, this absolutely represents our vision for the future of the Ribble business as we continue to innovate and disrupt the cycling and leisure markets on our way to becoming a truly world-class brand.
“This new flagship showroom showcases our significant investment and dedication to and vision for the brand’s future with the digital technology integrated into this physical proposition enhancing and complementing our industry-leading online customer journey demonstrating the ambition and scale of our strategy.”
The new flagship store also houses the Ribble Live virtual showroom team, allowing customers from all around the world to speak with one of the experts via a live one-way video chat and to experience the store from the comfort of their own home. Starting this summer, the store will also become a location for Ribble events and activities including regular ride-outs, evening talks, technical ‘how to’ classes, screenings and Zwift events.
Elements from the new flagship store will be built into more stores as the brand continues to increase the physical portfolio footprint.
The flagship showroom is open seven days a week and is located at: Ribble Cycles, Unit 1, Barrow Brook Trade Park, Barrow Brook, Clitheroe, BB7 9BQ.
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