Number of locations: One

Years in business: 26

Number of employees: 28

Describe your business in terms of what type of bicycle retailer you are? Specialist? Generalist?

We are a generalist cycling retailer catering to cyclists of all ages and abilities.

Tell us a little about your unique attributes.

We genuinely enjoy helping people get out and enjoy all that cycling offers.

Tell us how you got your start in bicycle retail and how you made the transition to owning your store(s).

My husband was friends with the previous owner, who was not passionate about the business or his customers. While on a cycling trip together, they started discussions about selling the company to us. We desired to run a bike shop that welcomes all customers and helps them achieve their goals. My husband’s experience in retail management and my administrative assistance served to guide us as business owners. Still, nothing really could have prepared us for owning a retail bicycle shop.

What do you think the secret to your success has been?

Treating others as we like to be treated. We meet customers where they’re at in their journey whether they’re just riding bikes for a fun activity, setting out on a ride across America, or have a schedule of races set for the season. Our passion is just seeing people enjoy being out on their bikes.

Tell us about how you built your team to help you succeed?

We have several employees that have been with us for 10, 20, and 25 years. They share our passion for cycling and community, and we continually look for others that display that passion for bringing on board. We provide them the training tools to be successful at their jobs and provide generous benefits to keep them motivated.

What role does your shop play in your community?

We choose to take more of a supportive role in our community. While we don’t currently lead rides or have a cycling team, we support all local cycling events by providing staff support, prize donations, and/or monetary support. We are the main sponsor and ride support for our local “Trek the Trails,” a weekly ride that explores various segments of our 100-plus mile trail network. The main question we ask ourselves before considering participation, in any event, is, “does it get butts on bikes?”

What has been your biggest challenge or obstacle to owning a bicycle retail store?

It has been challenging to keep up with all of the responsibilities an owner needs to maintain: marketing, human resources, bookkeeping, inventory management, building maintenance coordinator, training, industry knowledge, and keeping pace with changing products. Always great if you’re lucky enough to have a person on staff to delegate these duties, but if/when they move on, it falls back to the owner.

In your opinion, what could/should the bicycle industry do better to address your concerns and needs better, but your customers as well?

If the industry as a whole could provide better margins to their dealers, we, in turn, could offer better pay to our staff, make improvements to our stores, and invest more in our communities. I believe that bike shops are integral components of their communities but often overlooked by our local municipalities.

Any advantages you feel your perspective gives you to gain a competitive edge?

Having been in the bike industry for over 25 years, we have experienced a wide variety of situations with customers, finances, road closures, economic issues, and staffing. Each has taught us to hang in there. There’s always blue sky beyond the clouds. We continually adapt to new trends, whether it’s the way customers shop or new cycling technology.

How do you see your business evolving in the future?

I see continued success for Summit City Bicycles and Fitness in the future. With our proximity directly on the extensive trail network in our community and the work we’ve done over the years to improve our staff training, customer service, and operations, we continue to look for new opportunities to meet customers’ needs. We’ve also significantly invested in our building to create a more modern and inviting space that will help facilitate an exceptional customer experience, business growth, and sustainability for years to come.

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Sheri Mann: Shop Owner Profiles appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.

What started as an idea from NBDA president Brandee Lepak to do some podcasts (found on the Bicycle Retail Radio page) interviewing retailers and adapting and operating during the worldwide Covid19 pandemic, also has us doing written profiles as well.

So let’s dig in to see how the Trek Stores of Florida are doing at this time. For clarity, it is important to note this profile took place on April 7th, 2020.

Number of stores: 9

Number of employees: 69

Are you currently open? 

Yes, with doors locked and the employees controlling the flow 100%. Most people in the store are generally less than 5. Some are only allowing one customer at a time. The order of importance in the daily store operations right now is employee and customer safety, followed by sales being a distant third. The mindset of the employees is paramount, and they should all feel safe and calm. Store managers have absolute control over the flow of customers. Masks and other cleaning supplies are being sourced, and employees are also looking for help in procuring those items for their personal use as well, as they are hard to find, especially when working full time. Last, if an employee tests positive for Covid19, that store will need to shut down for two weeks, so it is also essential from that standpoint to keep everyone safe and healthy. They are also doing a minimum $40 repair labor charge for each bike to get a wash to drive home further the safety aspect.

Have you been able to keep all your staff?

Yes. We are currently hiring. Some staff members feel safer working off-hours to limit exposure and have been 100% accommodating to their wishes.

Service and bike building volume:

Three weeks out on service and getting behind on bike builds. The business is currently excellent.

Are you doing pickup and drop off?

Yes, but not a significant amount. Most people seem fine waiting in line outside the store to be able to do this in person. Doing some deliveries as well, if needed, but it is time-consuming with all the other things going on.

Vendor supply:

Good so far. Trek has been significant sourcing needs from various warehouses and keeping everyone in the loop.

Has there been an increase in online ordering?

There has been only a slight increase in online ordering.

Do you do online repair scheduling?

Not at this time.

Have you reached out to landlords?

Yes. Some have been great, and some have said the rent is due on time.

Have you reached out to suppliers?

Trek reached out very early on and is very much wanting to help in any way. With the current sales volume, there has been no need to discuss further at this time.

How are you communicating with your customers during this time? 

We are sending more detailed newsletters, websites, and social media posts about changes in processes, and hours.

Are you worried about recapturing the same level of business after the pandemic? 

Business is still there currently, but things will differ until there is a vaccine in regards to cleanliness and distancing. In general, the company will probably not just “snap” back but take a while to get back up to speed overall in the economy. A big potential bright spot is all the new people finding cycling now will hopefully fuel the industry going forward. It could bring more people into it as they discover the sport.

Are you worried that we have now trained our customers to buy online, and has retail forever been changed by this?

Maybe certain aspects, but people can’t browse right now, and people crave interaction, which may have the opposite effect and reinvigorate brick and mortar retail buying habits.

How are you taking care of yourself during this time?

Working more now than in years, with a 4-year-old and schools closed. In addition to being parents and business owners, they are also now teachers. At this point, Joe described his morning routine of typically rising at 4:30 am to get in one hour for himself. Time spent meditating, exercising, and listening to podcasts to get fired up for business and life. Now is a time when you can expand your horizons instead of contracting.

What does the future look like for you?

Being in a strong position before the pandemic gives you back the fruit of your labors and allows you to grow and expand and take advantage of the new opportunities that will arise. Checking out new leases and negotiating poor ones is an excellent example of something you can do.

To wrap this up, speaking with Joseph Dubois is always inspiring as he genuinely cares deeply about not just his business, but his staff as well. His enthusiasm for improving his business is infectious. The energy spent growing the company before this pandemic is helping to dramatically lessen the blow to the store – in fact, at this point, business is booming.

Thank you, Joe, for taking the time for this shop profile!

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Pandemic Shop Profile: Trek Stores Florida appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Small Town, Big Time Cycling

Whitefish is a smallish town of about 6,000 people, which doesn’t feel like much of a population base. Still, there is enough surrounding population base, combined with the fact they sit at the crossroads of several essential funnels of cyclists to their business. First, they are on the Adventure Cycling’s Northern Tier cross country touring route. Mike was quick to proclaim that Adventure Cycling is a “wonderful organization’ and I concur. Many touring cyclists would not have nearly as productive of experience without their work. Second, the Tour Divide route passes within a block of their shop. New singletrack has been built with more in the works accessible right from town, combined with a lift-accessed trail system at the nearby Whitefish Mountain Resort, It gives fills out a full mountain bike town’s amenities list. Organizations like Whitefish Legacy Partners and the Flathead Area Mountain Bikers have been instrumental in the proliferation of trails. Finally, near the entrance to Glacier National Park and the famous Going To The Sun Road, which is a must ride according to Mike, is now firmly on my list of places to visit after our conversation (see you guys this summer!). All of these touring and mountain bike opportunities bring in a massive swell of a seasonal business and lays the groundwork for operating a 100 bike rental fleet as well. Last, they have the Nordic ski component to their business, which helps keep things interesting during the winter months and a junior rental program that serves around 100 grade-schoolers each year, which is a boost to creating future outdoor silent sport enthusiasts.

The Future Means Refinement

Plans for the future are simple: basically, they are working towards refining the model they have operating at this point. Business is good, and there is no need to try and change what is working, beyond continuously improving upon the current and keeping the focus on margins and excellent service. They have purchased and outfitted a mobile repair van, which they would like to utilize more fully, but as we will see below, staffing can be an issue, and it’s hard to send someone out the door when the store is already busy.

Challenges

When I asked about challenges, Mike was quick to focus on staffing challenges common with highly seasonal business and the widespread complaint of lack of enough qualified mechanics. Somehow everything gets done, but it is challenging to manage the needs of an explosive tourist season and locals’ needs. Being a week or two behind in the service department is not acceptable when the folks they are serving need help now. Between servicing their 100 bike rental fleet, assembling and reboxing tourists bikes who are visiting to do Backroads and Adventure Cycling tours, amongst others. Also, the fact hat Glacier National Park continues to set record attendance numbers each year, Glacier Cyclery’s issues seem like good problems to have, even though they are not easy to solve. Somehow it all gets done, however, and that’s what makes a good shop great.

Opportunities

If there was an overriding theme to our conversation about the Glaciers business, it was tourism. I was impressed with the varied categories of riders that Glacier Cyclery services. It was nice to hear that touring is alive and well and that the creation of trails and bicycle routes drive business. Glacier Cyclery sits in an excellent position because most of their challenges are not about trying to drive business, but also to find ways to get it all done! A quick search of their online ratings shows that their customers feel they are doing a great job, and that’s what matters. I also need to point out that anything a shop can do to be near or to help create more opportunities to ride will always be rewarded. Access to good riding equals more business.

And with that, we wish to congratulate Glacier Cyclery and Nordic on being named one of America’s Best Bike Shops for 2019!

Words by David DeKeyser

Now, more than ever, it is time to stay engaged in your business and look to others for support and guidance. The NBDA is here to help you with innovative solutions for today’s challenging environment. Please consider joining, renewing, or supporting the only bicycle industry organization with your best interests.

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time, but we need your support

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year.

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Glacier Cyclery and Nordic: Best Bicycle Shop Profiles appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Today – Kegel’s Bicycle Store

Robb works most days in the store and is generally found on the sales floor delivering the type of customer service that is special when it comes from the owner. His wife works behind the scenes in the business taking care of the book work. While Robb still loves to roll up his sleeves and work on bikes, it’s generally pretty difficult as is pulled away so much to return to the sales floor.

THE FUTURE –Kegel’s Bicycle Store

At 57 years old Robb still has some time to keep selling bikes, but he has developed a succession plan for when it is time to retire. The real estate is owned by Robb which puts him in a great position with many options for when that day comes. I am a big fan of owning your real estate as a way to increase the value of your business, and to exert control over your destiny.

CHALLENGES – Kegel’s Bicycle Store

Robb felt his answer to the question may have been a “cop-out”, but he expressed a similar sentiment to many retailers that Amazon was a tough foe. He related a story of a shop sponsored riders sharing their newest purchase from the internet, a situation any retailer who sponsors riders and teams has probably experienced. Robb wasn’t bitter though and understood how easy it is to purchase online, and that the person simply did not connect the dots.

E-BIKES FOR THE WIN – Kegel’s Bicycle Store

Asked to identify a bright spot it was without hesitation Robb highlighted the almost doubling of his e-bike business in only his second year of seriously selling them. He feels confident that the “e-bike thing is going to pop”. His success is coming primarily from recreational riders/bikes with there still being some stigma with the emtb product in his area. There is a new mountain bike trail system being built near his shop and emtb’s are legal on that system, so there is potential for good growth in that segment.

PLACES TO RIDE = INCREASED SALES

There has been recent mountain bike trail development as noted above and that system is only about ⅓ finished, but Kegel’s has already seen a nice bump in mountain bike sales as a result. More places to ride = increased enthusiasm which in turn can lead to increased sales. This is not a new concept, but continuously repeated wherever it happens. While all retailers have many hats to wear and jobs to perform, anything you can do to help increase riding access will be rewarded.

Robb has a great business that he and his wife work in, on a daily basis to deliver great customer service and to help their communities riders get out and stay out on the roads and trails, and multiple Best Bicycle Shop awards through the years is a testament to their hard work.

And with that, we wish to congratulate Kegel’s Bicycle Shop on being named one of America’s Best Bike Shops for 2019!

Words by David DeKeyser

David DeKeyser and his wife Rebecca Cleveland owned and operated The Bike Hub in De Pere, Wisconsin, for nearly 18 years. In 2018, they sold the business and real estate to another retailer based in a nearby community. David now writes the Positive Spin series on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and he writes articles for the NBDA’s blog, Outspokin’. David also provides business consulting through the NBDA’s P2 Consult Program.

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Kegel’s Bicycle Store: Best Bicycle Shop Profiles appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.

 Syracuse Bicycle, in Syracuse New York, was chosen as one of America’s Best Bicycle Shops in 2019. I recently spoke with Jim Lampman, the operations manager in order to highlight some things that transform good bicycle shops into the Best!

Syracuse Bicycle in its current iteration has been around since the early 2000s, as Syracuse Bicycle, having been run and owned since sometime in the 1960s by others and having previously been rooted in the Schwinn store model. The business is currently owned by Paul Komanecky. Jim noted that the store still has a pretty good supply of NOS Schwinn “stuff” packed away, that can come to the rescue for long ago obsolete, parts if need be.

CREATING CYCLISTS

My conversation with Jim started when I asked a fairly open-ended question about what the business was “about”. I learned that Syracuse Bicycle has really taken a deep dive into creating community and cyclists by being involved heavily in NICA, youth, and club-style road teams that aim to help with outreach, along with delving into trail work projects. They also have two women’s programs called WOW, or Women On Wheels and Women In The Woods. These women’s programs follow the same story I have heard elsewhere and experienced in our own bike shop. Simply put, women really seem to engage deeply with these types of programs, of bringing riders into the mix at a very green level to the sport and often moving them up through the ranks from riders initially arriving on hybrids to becoming road riders, to eventually even mentoring new riders themselves. The fostering of group mentality is something that has a profound impact on the participants. They have even adapted some of the elements of the youth style programs to the entry-level adult riders. Without hesitation, I can say that retailers looking to stay relevant and create lifelong customers will do well to emulate this approach of concentrating on bringing new riders into the fold. Amazon will never take your riders out and show them the thrill of cycling!

CHALLENGES FACED

I asked Jim to address the challenges he sees day in and out in the store and it was no surprise to hear about the challenges facing retail with heavily commoditized products being sold online and able to be price checked at the swipe of a finger. This generally does not apply to bicycles and that is positive, along with some suppliers delivering unique products that are aimed at the brick and mortar channel exclusively in order for retailers to preserve their margins.

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

The most exciting question for me is what retailers see as the biggest positive on the immediate horizon, and Jim did not stray too far from the theme of engaging with riders. Syracuse Bicycle has delivered with bringing riders events that a wide range of their clients and hopefully those soon to be, can find themselves enjoying. From weekly mid weeknight mountain bike races at a local brewery to fat and cyclocross races, they have attracted a wide variety of fun-seeking competitors, They also took a ride that had 25/50/100 miles distances and changed it slightly to be kilometers to attract even more riders(brilliant!). With beer included after the event, and riders less worn out it created a better post-ride environment. The bonus is the proceeds go to a challenged athlete to help them purchase gear or help with adaptive outfitting to keep them riding.

IN-STORE EVENTS

Finally, in-store events have also organically grown to become somewhat legendary. Starting with Performance Night held each March they hold a very popular evening of their vendors showing off to customers all the latest and greatest stuff, along with door prizes, food, etc.  The number of cyclists I was told who attend the event was pretty incredible! In the fall they have a large sale running from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through the weekend after. This event is credited with providing enough of a boost in sales to allow them to remain simply a bike shop through the winter without having to add additional product lines and risks such as skis.

Syracuse Bicycle seems to have figured out the secret sauce to bring new riders into the fold, keeping those riders moving up to enthusiast-level and then onto evangelists of cycling and the shop.

Congratulations to Syracuse Bicycle for being named one of America’s Best Bike Shops for 2019!

Words by David DeKeyser

David DeKeyser and his wife Rebecca Cleveland owned and operated The Bike Hub in De Pere, Wisconsin, for nearly 18 years. In 2018, they sold the business and real estate to another retailer based in a nearby community. David now writes the Positive Spin series on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and he writes articles for the NBDA’s blog, Outspokin’. David also provides business consulting through the NBDA’s P2 Consult Program.

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Syracuse Bicycle: Best Bicycle Shop Profile appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Words by Peter Koch

If you were to stop by Minneapolis’s Angry Catfish Bicycle Shop + Coffee Bar—and you will be tempted to make the “pilgrimage,” should you ever find yourself close to the Twin Cities—you’d be forgiven for thinking you were witnessing the epitome of carefully curated hipster cool. Immediately inside the door is a bustling coffee shop, with tasteful mid-century modern seating and tattooed baristas slinging smoked sea salt mochas and painstakingly crafted pour-overs. Art adorns the walls, lit by track lights that hang from the corrugated metal ceiling. Further back, where it transitions to a full-blown bike shop, the coffee counter becomes a service counter (separated by floor-to-ceiling glass), and photos and paintings are replaced by hand-built wheels and gorgeous bike frames. It’s not an overly serious place (the name “Angry Catfish,” after all, was how a stranger once described owner Josh Klauck at a party) but you can tell they take two things very seriously—coffee and bikes.

But to hear Klauck tell it, the Angry Catfish culture and atmosphere are a result of staying true to himself and the shop’s founding principles, not some slick marketing plan or copying someone else’s notion of trendy. Born and raised a couple of hours north of Minneapolis in a sort of Midwestern vacationland called the Brainerd Lakes, he fell in love with bikes at a young age and then immersed himself in Minneapolis’s cycling culture when he moved there in his early 20s. It wasn’t long, then, before he discovered—and fell in love with—specialty coffee. When he decided to do his own thing, Klauck committed to creating a friendly, approachable shop that would sell smaller, more independent brands, and make the best damn coffee in town. Along the way, even as Angry Catfish has become increasingly successful—making countless “nation’s best bike shops” lists, attracting pilgrims from across the world, and sprouting several semi-related offshoot businesses—it’s maintained authenticity by staying true to that original vision.

The goods on display in the front window of ACF. (courtesy)

A Bike Nerd from Brainerd

Growing up in Brainerd (pop. 13,592), Klauck’s mom—an enthusiast who’s impressive stable today includes multiple fat bikes, mountain bikes, road bikes, and gravel bikes—sparked his early interest in bikes. Through high school, he worked at a catch-all sporting goods store, called Easy Riders, with a heavy bike focus. “I caught the bug there,” says Klauck, who was inspired by some of the ancient Gary Fisher Procalibers and Trek 9000s that had never sold. He rose through the ranks to become store manager, which he did for a couple of years post-graduation before deciding he needed a change.

He followed some friends to Minneapolis, where he was lucky to find a job in the dead of winter at Freewheel Bike Shop, courtesy of his old Trek/Gary Fisher rep, who’d become the Freewheel’s general manager. “Freewheel was a big learning experience,” Klauck says. “There were a lot more enthusiast-oriented consumers and bikes, and a little bit more of a professional atmosphere and professional service department.” Eventually, he took over as sales manager, where he was more exposed to the larger community, and came to better understand the customer base. At that time, he continues, Freewheel took a turn towards more of a Trek-heavy concept store. “I really wanted to stick with smaller brands that felt more fun to me,” he says, “and for which I knew there was a growing customer base.” Lucky for Klauck, he had a standing offer from a family friend to help him start a shop if ever he felt the itch. “I contacted him, we worked out a business plan, I got a couple of friends on board, and we went for it.”

Coffee is high art at Angry Catfish. (courtesy)

Brewing Something New

But Klauck had more on the brain than just bikes. It was 2009, and he was just experiencing specialty coffee for the first time, thanks to a cycling friend who regularly brought him joe from Kopplin’s, one of the area’s original specialty shops. “I was blown away by the coffee, and wondered ‘Why can’t I get this anywhere else in town?’” Meanwhile, he says, he knew he’d be working a lot to get his shop off the ground, “so I figured why not have the best possible coffee that I could have in town integrated into the business?” Not only would it be good for him, but it’d be good for business, bringing a more steady stream of customers through his front door, and making the shop more approachable for casual riders and non-riders alike. “We definitely wanted to be a community-oriented shop, and wanted to remove some of the retail atmosphere and retail barriers of a bike shop, so creating a place that not only we wanted to hang out, but where customers wanted to hang out, was a big part of that.”

Plus, there were only two other shops in town—One on One Bicycle Studio and Freewheel’s Midtown location (which Klauck helped open)—incorporating coffee into their business, and neither of them seemed to take it as seriously as Klauck intended to. He immediately looped in his roommate, Adam, who worked at Caribou Coffee, to manage that part of the business. Together, the two started learning about specialty coffee from the gurus at Intelligentsia, who brought them down to their Chicago training facility to impart coffee knowledge, help them pick out equipment, and consult on the Angry Catfish buildout.

Coffee’s importance to Angry Catfish’s early success can’t be overstated. “We opened in the middle of winter—January 16, 2010—in a neighborhood that doesn’t necessarily get a lot of traffic,” Klauck points out. “The shop was very empty. We had friends’ bikes and our own personal bikes in the store as examples of what we wanted to sell, plus one Surly.” But he had the best damn coffee in town, not to mention a small line of credit with Quality Bicycle Parts. “So I bought a few things, sold some coffee, then bought a few more things, sold some coffee, bought more things, sold a bike, and gradually put inventory in the store.”

It may not be in a “high-traffic” neighborhood, but they still manage to keep the racks pretty full at Angry Catfish. (courtesy)

A Neighborhood Shop

So how did Angry Catfish end up in a “low-traffic” neighborhood? Well, it’s where Klauck and company liked to hang out. “We’d been looking at locations downtown, and in higher-traffic areas,” he says, “but none of them really spoke to us.” One day they were drinking beer on the patio of Buster’s on 28th, the neighborhood’s favorite watering hole. “This building was vacant with a ‘For Sale’ sign,” he recalls, “and we thought, ‘Why don’t we just build it here? This is where we spend most of our time, anyway.’” The rest, you could say, is history. With his then-business partners, he bought the building, built it out with a clean, polished look, and a café upfront, and very gradually—organically, you could say—began to fill the back of the store with bicycles and equipment.

There were three full-time employees, including Klauck, his coffee partner, Adam, and a second barista. Another friend, Thomas, spent evenings (after his corporate job) and weekends at the shop until, in April, things were busy enough that he quit his job, and announced to Klauck that “he was coming in full-time, whether I could pay him or not.” Klauck ordered him a Surly Crosscheck as a sign-on bonus, and he’s been at it—riding bikes and running the service department—ever since. While not a financial partner, Klauck considers Thomas an integral, complementary partner in the business to this day. Since they didn’t have any inventory to speak of, they brought in their own custom bikes from brands like Moots and Salsa to show prospective customers the kinds of builds they were capable of.

Slow, steady growth—fueled by caffeine and a steady stream of local press—was the name of the game in the early running. They dabbled in European road and cyclocross brands, but those never really stuck. During their second winter, they went all-in on fat bikes, which proved hugely successful. “Salsa released the original Mukluk, and we invested as much as we could into those bikes, and sold them all very quickly.” Fat bikes have continued to be a big part of the Angry Catfish’s success through hard Minnesota winters. “It was a very cashflow-based business in the beginning,” Klauck says, “and it took a lot of time—two to three years—to really build up inventory. We met people along the way who helped build the displays in the store for bikes and clothing, so it all just kind of trickled in overtime.”

As the shop grew, they remained committed to a highly curated collection of bikes from smaller companies. “The idea of concept stores and the Big 4 just fighting for business and taking over independent stores, well, that was the opposite of what we wanted to be,” Klauck says. So they handpicked bikes and products from individual companies that made sense for Angry Catfish and its customers. “All too often, companies want you to invest in everything they have, but I never had any need or intention to bring in entire lines of bikes.”

Additional inventory meant more bike business, of course, but it posed a fresh problem for Klauck and company. When they’d built out Angry Catfish, they didn’t include much storage space “because we simply didn’t anticipate needing it.” Soon Klauck had a handshake deal with a barbershop around the corner to use its basement for storage. “They basically threw me a set of keys, and let us go through their back door and into their basement to store boxed bikes.” While the barbershop didn’t ask for anything in return, Klauck dropped off a bottle of Scotch once a month or so. It was a convenient deal, and workable for a while, but it was clear they needed to start looking for more space.

Just around the corner from Angry Catfish, Mend Provisions is a fly fishing and outdoor shop with 1,400sf of bike storage at the ready. (courtesy)

Building the Brand(s)

Meanwhile, around the corner and connected by a back alley, another retail space was wide-open. Mike Fisher, one of Klauck’s friends who’d begun working at Angry Catfish, between corporate jobs, proposed opening a fly fishing shop together. “I thought that sounded like a good idea,” Klauck says, “since there were literally no fly shops in the Twin Cities at the time.” In the summer of 2013, shortly after Angry Catfish was named one of the “10 Best Bike Shops in America” by Outside magazine, Mend Provisions fly fishing shop and outdoor store opened with 1,400 square feet of retail space, and 1,400 square feet of storage that’s crammed with the Catfish’s overstock bikes and bikes in boxes. The two shops share some DNA and a block in the Standish-Ericsson neighborhood, but they operate as separate businesses. “I think Mend and Angry Catfish do help each other,” Klauck says. “A lot of folks that ride bikes are into fly fishing; plus, it transcends fly fishing because we have quite a bit of men’s clothing in there, outdoor goods, other unique American-made goods, other unique Minneapolis and Minnesota brands.”

At the same time, Angry Catfish’s authentic brand of bike culture—top-notch bikes and coffee, served up with approachable Midwestern geniality—was helping spread its reputation beyond the Twin Cities. In the fall of 2013, national website The Active Times named it among the nation’s 50 best bike shops, and again the following year. Bicycling called it one of “29 Bike Shops You Must Visit” in the spring of 2015. In 2016, Gear Patrol called it one of the “Best Coffee Shops in America.” “We got a lot of good press in the beginning,” Klauck says, “and the internet is a magical thing.”

All of that hype helped turn Angry Catfish into a true destination shop. “We’re a very enthusiast-oriented shop, and we have a large reach,” Klauck says. “We have far-flung customers—from Wisconsin, Iowa, Canada and all across the country—that are regular customers, to some extent. We’re first a cycling enthusiast shop, but we’re also a badass café. We’re a destination. We serve close to 300 people a coffee per day on the weekends, with lines out the door and people stacked up everywhere. It’s kind of a zoo, with people dragging bikes through coffee customers. But that’s also part of what makes us unique, and I think people really enjoy that.” Still, Klauck has trouble putting his finger on what’s made Angry Catfish a destination shop. Maybe the unique name, and fairly unique concept? His large Salsa inventory? His investments in rare products, like Salsa’s titanium frames? Minneapolis’s geographic isolation, where customers have to travel long distances for the kinds of distinctive products and services they offer? ACF’s close relationship with QBP?

Perhaps, he concedes, it just comes down to having a culture of authenticity. “A lot of our culture comes from having employees who ride bikes—that’s their form of transportation, that’s what they do for fun, it’s what they plan their vacations around—and can talk bikes in every capacity. It’s about living that lifestyle, more than anything, and your customers are going to be attracted to that. It’s not just a picture on Instagram, and they can see that. We try to ride together as much as possible, and then we invite our customers to join us. Plus, we’re authentic in what we sell, and how we sell it.”

Coming Full Cycle

Whatever the case, Angry Catfish continues its successful run, while adapting to the marketplace and sprouting related offshoot businesses.

A handmade steel Northern Frameworks bike gets after it in a local cyclocross race. (courtesy)

In 2016, Klauck added another business to the ACF family, when he brought Alex Cook on board as a full-time framebuilder under the Northern Frameworks name. Cook was previously building under the name A-Train Cycles, and working part-time at the shop. “It was a long time convincing him to give up on A-Train, and become our shop’s in-house frame fabrication company, but I was super happy when that finally happened. That’s something we’re really passionate about, is taking someone from the concept of a bike, and being able to deliver that bike tailor-fitted, without having multiple points of communication and contact where things could get lost.” Cook typically shows up for the initial consultation and fit, so customers get the rare experience of meeting their framebuilder straight out of the gate, and then he delivers them the completed bike. Northern Frameworks is about a mile from Angry Catfish and is sold exclusively by the shop. “Even if someone finds out about Northern Frameworks and knows nothing about Angry Catfish, that sale will go through Angry Catfish,” Klauck says. “Ideally, we’ll convert them to a complete bike build through the shop, as well.”

In 2017, Klauck opened a full-service café, Northern Coffeeworks, in downtown Minneapolis. “It’s a full-service café with from-scratch food made from locally sourced ingredients, beer, and wine. That’s stuff we don’t have here at Catfish.” Soon, he’ll be adding a coffee roaster to the space, which will bring the coffee story full-circle for both Northern Coffeeworks and Angry Catfish. “I think that authenticates our passion for great coffee. We want to stay fresh, we want to be inspired by other coffee and inspire with our coffee, and this introduces another level of control, so we can ensure the highest quality.

“And it’s just another part of fabricating. Now we can create bicycles from steel tubes (hopefully titanium in the near future, too), and soon we’ll be able to create a finished, drinkable cup of coffee from green coffee beans. It plays well, and it’s a good story.” It also opens up possibilities for coffee wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales. Suffice it to say that Klauck’s a busy guy (not to mention a pretty shrewd businessman). If that doesn’t prove enough to keep his hands full, Northern Coffeeworks was designed to be scalable, and possibly have multiple locations. But that’s still somewhere down the line. “Roasting is a big thing, and that’s a whole other business that will take time and effort,” he says. “I don’t anticipate doing anything else new. This should keep me busy for a while.”

SPECS

Angry Catfish
Minnesota, Minneapolis
Locations: One
Square Feet: 4,400, plus 1,400 offsite storage
Years in Business: 9
Employees: 10 coffee (6 F/T, 4 P/T); 9 F/T bike
Average Bike Sale: $1,700
Annual Gross Revenue:$2.5+M
Bike Brands: All-City, Civia, Cleary, Northern Frameworks, Ritchey, Salsa, Surly, WeThePeople
Website: angrycatfishbicycle.com
Get Social: Facebook | Instagram

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Shop Profile: This Catfish is Most Definitely NOT Angry appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.

Words by Peter Koch

At first glance, Ron Kiefel, the president of Colorado’s Wheat Ridge Cyclery, is practically a walking, talking cliché. The former pro is one of America’s most legendary cyclists—with national titles, an Olympic medal, and years of European racing under his belt—who now sits at the head of one of the nation’s largest, most successful single-store bicycle retailers.

It’s obvious, right? Former pro hangs up his bibs and looks to his one love—cycling—for a second act as a shop owner, where he translates his passion (and celebrity) into a successful business. Except that, this time, it’s the opposite way around.

It was Kiefel’s dad, Eugene, a restless industrial-bearing salesman and complete industry outside, who first opened the shop in 1973, inadvertently setting his son on the path to cycling glory. And it was his keen entrepreneurial sense—always looking for opportunities to grow the shop—his outsider’s hard-nosed decision-making, and immigrant’s grit that set Wheat Ridge on a course to grow from a modest, 750-square-foot locals shop to the sprawling, 30,000-square-foot destination superstore that it is today. All Ron had to do was follow in his dad’s slipstream.

Leading Off

Looking back, Kiefel could just as easily be renting tools to local construction contractors or even slinging soft-serve at his very own Dairy Queen. Forty-five years ago, Eugene was considering a career change—a couple of near-accidents on his sales rounds had spooked him—when he happened upon a classified ad in The Denver Post: Bike Shop For Sale. He quickly set aside thoughts of becoming a tool rental impresario or Dairy Queen king and bought the shop in the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge for $4,800. “He chose the bike shop because he’d apprenticed in bicycles and motorcycles as a kid in Germany,” Kiefel says. Another $6,000 stocked the shop with bikes from a local distributor, and Wheat Ridge Cyclery (WRC) was open for business.

Opening Day, 1973

From the beginning, Kiefel says, Eugene “ran the bike shop as a business, not as a fan of the sport.” That meant unusually clear-eyed decision-making, negotiating with suppliers, seeking out deals, and making money on the back end, so he could offer better value to his customers. “That’s how the bike shop became known in the community, as a place where you got great value.”

On the front end, it meant putting customer service first and foremost. “The business is built on the foundation of my father’s hard work,” he says. “He’s a great salesman who always knew how to talk to people,” even if it meant following them to the parking lot now and again to generate a sale.

And it worked. Business grew steadily, despite the wider industry’s post-bike boom slump. Ron and his younger sisters, Erlinda and Leona, learned the business firsthand, working alongside their dad answering the phone, and sweeping the floors through the busy summer months.

After a year, Eugene expanded WRC into the neighboring storefront, doubling the shop’s square footage. And he continued in that way, expanding the shop slowly but deliberately, buying up neighboring businesses—a restaurant, a cleaner’s, a woodshop, an analytics lab—and even an old house, whenever they became available.

As the shop matured, so did the product it carried. From Motobecane and Peugeot, WRC evolved to carry Japanese brands like Nishiki and Fuji. When the modern juggernauts of Trek and Specialized started picking up steam, WRC added them to the line-up.

“My dad used to go to breakfast with [current Trek President] John Burke, who was then just the regional rep for Trek, and fill out monthly terms,” Kiefel recalls. “So we grew along with those brands, and enjoyed great working relationships with them.”

Throughout years of growth and change, Eugene kept his shop laser-focused on the customer. “The customer, and serving his needs, has always been the top priority for the business.”

Another from Opening Day, with the three Kiefel kids (Erlinda, Leona, and Ron, from L to R) at R.

A Family Affair

While Eugene wasn’t himself a cyclist, it wasn’t long after buying WRC that his kids latched onto the sport. “The personal impact of the sport of cycling on our family has been huge,” Ron says, though it’s most obvious in his own story.

As a 13-year-old, Ron got a Nishiki International road bike that he used to explore the Front Range and beyond, eventually riding over some of the high mountain passes of the Rockies. He took up racing in 1976, was hooked after his first taste of competition (despite crashing 300 meters from the line), and, within two years, had won a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships. That led him to the U.S. national team, which led to three concurrent national championships—road, time trial and team time trial—in 1983, which led to an Olympic bronze in 1984.

“I don’t think I would’ve found cycling if it wasn’t for our family owning the shop.”

The next year, he joined the pro ranks on the legendary Team 7-11, the first American team to become a powerhouse on the European racing scene. Over a decade-long career, Kiefel became the first American to win a Grand Tour stage at the 1985 Giro, and competed in seven Tours de France, before returning to the shop as a continental racer with Coors Light in 1992.

Ron Kiefel climbs Alpe d’Huez during the 1986 Tour de France.

“I don’t think I would’ve found cycling if it wasn’t for our family owning the shop,” he says. “Cycling wasn’t that common back then, and finding the racing circuit wasn’t easy to do.”

Meanwhile, Ron’s middle sibling, Erlinda, left the business to earn a chemical engineering degree. Even as she became a propulsion engineer at Lockheed-Martin, she pursued mountain biking to its highest levels, eventually competing in the 1990 and 1991 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

And Ron’s youngest sister, Leona, worked in the shop alongside Eugene for years before eventually becoming a Trek sales rep. Later, she and her husband Gil McCormick—who would take over managerial responsibilities of WRC from 1993 to 2007, bridging the gap between Eugene and Ron Kiefel—bike toured extensively, including a two- week honeymoon trip through the Canadian Rockies. Today, all three of Eugene’s kids are involved in cycling and are shareholders in the business.

Breaking Away

In the early 2000s, Wheat Ridge Cyclery was hitting a critical stage in its development. It was a hodgepodge of buildings—a salesroom, a separate service center, a separate warehouse, and an old house they were using for additional storage—with an alley running down the middle, that added up to an impressive 20,000 square feet.

Still, the shop was bursting at the seams, and it was a nuisance to run bikes back and forth through the alley to and from the salesroom. They briefly considered moving the shop out of Wheat Ridge, and building elsewhere, until the City of Wheat Ridge “helped open our eyes to the possibility of blocking the alley, knocking down a couple of the existing structures and expanding right where we were.” So they tore up the alley, unified the front sales section to the service center, tore down the old house and warehouse in the back, and built a two-story warehouse to replace them.

The result is an incredible 30,000-square-foot, bi-level superstore that’s uniquely positioned to attract customers from across the Denver metro area. “Eighty percent of our business comes from outside the community of Wheat Ridge,” Kiefel says. Customers come to WRC for its selection—it carries more than 1,000 bikes in its inventory—its top-notch repair service, its experienced staff, its custom fitting program, and, above all, for its customer service.

“Mountain bikers come to us because we have four incredible brands—Yeti, Santa Cruz, Trek, and Specialized—that they can look at and test. We have an incredible depth of inventory and a big demo fleet, so you can try out different things on the trail,” Kiefel says.

On the road side, they sell Trek, Specialized, Cervélo, and Seven. “We also have a great sales team that really understands the product, including several employees who’ve been here for 10 or 15 years. So we’ve got a great depth of knowledge, and our people have a lot of passion.” All of those high-end brands bring in high-end sales, and the average unit price today is $1,800 or more.

In the service department, they’ve just opened a “Suspension Lab”—stocked with nitrogen chargers, seal kits, and other sundry parts—so they can overhaul and service just about any suspension there is, rather than shipping complicated jobs off to DirtLabs in Boulder. “It’s not all that complicated,” Kiefel says, “but it’s a focus that you have to learn how to do it and do it well.”

It’s just the latest expansion to the massive service area, which includes a four-stand service writer area in the showroom, a custom wheel building area, an indoor bike wash, and 14 work stands with benches and tool boards in back where each mechanic has his own environment.

“We’re not the cheapest service,” Kiefel admits, “We charge for our service, but the guys really know their stuff. We also make sure the work is done right with a final check process, where every service job is quality checked by a second mechanic, and it’s test ridden before being delivered to the customer.”

That points out a key asset: all of the high-tech systems and technologies in the world won’t help you if you don’t have quality employees. At WRC, there are 35 full-time, year-round staff. To attract and retain good people, Kiefel says they offer good benefits—like 401Ks and health insurance—and try to be competitive on payroll, offering modest additional commissions to the sales team.

“But even more important,” he says, “people want to know that their work is being recognized.” To that end, they’ve defined the core values of the business, and let everyone on staff know that they’re being measured against those core values. When you start doing that, he says, you can find the right people, and you tend to hire the right people for the right positions.

“We’re not great at it yet, but we’re getting better and better. We have great morale in our sales team, and our service department works really well together, too.”

It helps to have so many long-serving employees, from Ron to Gil McCormick to Service Manager Doug Bittle, who’s a 30-year vet of WRC. Even Eugene still comes around from time to time to offer a helping hand and a word of advice. “He has a lot of good insights,” Kiefel says. “He keeps things pretty simple, and likes to be sure the focus stays on the customer.”

SPECS:

Wheat Ridge Cyclery
Wheat Ridge, Colorado
Locations: 1
Square Feet: 30,000
Years in Business: 45
Employees: 35 F/T; 30 P/T (seasonal)
Average Bike Sale: $2,000
Major Brands: Specialized, Trek, Yeti, Santa Cruz, Salsa, Cervélo, Seven Cycles
Annual Gross Revenue: $6M-plus
On the Web: wheatridgecyclery.com
Get Social: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Private Fitting:
Custom bike fits are conducted in mezzanine-level bays for peace and quiet and—yes—privacy.

One of WRC’s biggest value propositions is and has been for a long time, custom bike fitting. “We were really at the forefront of bike fitting, and we had a dedicated fit space as far back as the early 1990s,” Kiefel says.

“We’ve been through a progression of bike fitting—from Andy Pruitt to Ben Serotta [WRC was the nation’s top Serotta dealer in the early 2000s] and on up to Retül—and we understand its value.” As such, they have three private fit bays located up in the mezzanine, away from the sales floor, where they offer a menu of fittings, ranging from a simple saddle pressure analysis on up to a 3-hour Retül fit, with 3D motion capture, for a custom Seven Cycles dream bike or a Trek Project One.

“We’ve consistently grown our expertise, and we bring that to our customers to make them more comfortable and confident in their riding.”

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This profile was first published in the Nov/Dec 2016 issue of Outspokin’. We touched base with Kiefel, who provided us with this update: “I’m stepping out of the GM role after 11 years of managing our day-to-day operations, and our longtime Director of Operations Steve Heal will be stepping into that role.” Additionally, Wheat Ridge purchased a Beeline franchise that took to the streets of Denver/Boulder back in August. Beginning in the Spring of 2019, they’ll be adding bicycle pick-up and delivery, plus the option to purchase online and take mobile delivery. “Denver has grown quite a bit,” Kiefel offers by way of explanation, “and it’s harder for customers to get to our store. Now we’re taking our business directly to them.”

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

The post Shop Profile: Wheat Ridge Cyclery – Growing Up appeared first on National Bicycle Dealers Association.