BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Simplon claims to be offering a “new way” to sell custom built premium bikes without the large stock inventory.
The Austrian brand entered the UK market at the start of this year with an online customized ordering system that tailors the model to the rider’s exact specification; the bike is then ordered by the retailer direct from the factory.
The configurator, which launched this week, allows customers to choose from thousands of options across the range and build a completely customised bike. As options are chosen, they appear digitally on the, showing both what they look like and how they affect the purchase price.
As well as choosing from frame colour, wheelsets, bars, brakes, saddles, cassettes, seatposts and stem lengths, customers can also choose from a range of accessories such as cages, racks and mudguards, depending on the model being configured. Customers can also choose crank length, bar width, spacer dimensions and more.
Once configured the retailer can order it and have it delivered to the shop for set up and handover. Simplon’s Kevin Burton commented: “Simplon is a quality brand and everything we do is designed to give retailers and the end user a quality service. The new configurator offers retailers an ideal opportunity to specify a bike that customers want without any of the specification compromises that are often evident in off the shelf bikes.
“In effect, we are offering to custom build a bike for the customer allowing the retailer to offer this service without being forced to hold large component inventory. It’s good fun, too.”
