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retail design

Portland’s Western Bikeworks reopens after extensive remodel

Portland’s Western Bikeworks reopens after extensive remodel

Published April 17, 2017

by BRAIN Staff

PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — After six years in its Pearl District location here, Western Bikeworks COO Mike Urness decided it was time to modernize the 10,000-square-foot store in order to up its retail game and deliver the upscale shopping experience Portland shoppers have come to expect. 

Urness worked with retail design firm 3 Dots Design to update the shop's interior.  

“We are just finishing the redesign and build-out of our downtown Portland store and 3 Dots was a huge help — from pulling the store design and layout together to helping us select materials, fixtures and mannequins and then connecting us with excellent suppliers and helping with negotiations, pricing and logistics,” Urness said. 

The remodel included carving out a triathlon-specific zone to house tri apparel, accessories, wetsuits and a complete offering of tri bikes. The tri section is located right near the bike fit area, so that high-end triathletes can easily dial in their perfect bike fit. Western Bikeworks recently acquired rights to triathlon retailer The Athlete's Lounge's name and customer base after it closed in 2016.

“This was an exciting project for us to work on, as Portland has some of the best retail stores in the country. This shop suffered from many of the same challenges that typical shops deal with; confusing sightlines, overwhelming bike presentation, uninspiring apparel sections and lack of signage or graphics,” said 3 Dots Design owner Holly Wiese

“I think customers will be very pleasantly surprised with the new vibe and layout of the store, and I’m confident that Western Bikeworks will start selling more product as well,” Wiese added.

3 Dots Design also reorganized the nutrition category and segmented the store's bike selection to make it easier for customers to shop. 

“To the average customer, a bike is a bike. I have a feeling Western Bikeworks was missing a lot of bike sales due to the average customer feeling overwhelmed and intimidated by the process of selecting a bike,” said 3 Dots Design’s Andy Davis. “We further segmented their collections and called attention to each category by featuring a bike in front of a graphic that clearly defines the end use. We also made a huge improvement in their nutrition category by reorganizing, re-fixturing and bringing in a sampling area for customers to try new products.”

Western Bikeworks also operates a second location in the Portland suburb of Tigard, which it opened in 2015. Urness said he plans to integrate some of the same principles of merchandising, graphics and signage from their main location remodel into the Tigard store.

Mobile Repair Shop Opens Brick-and-Mortar Store

Mobile Repair Shop Opens Brick-and-Mortar Store

Cycle Surgeon Store

Published February 24, 2017

by Val Vanderpool

CARY, N.C. (BRAIN) — Retailer Matt Lodder operated a small home-based shop offering mobile repair services for eight years, and as his business grew he realized he needed a larger space. Lodder recently moved his repair and bike fit operation into a 1,400-square-foot space here.

The Cycle Surgeon stocks bikes from Yeti and Argon18 and continues to offer mobile repair services.

“The customer’s needs are important to me, so I will always do my best to meet them. If they are too busy or unable to come to the shop, I can bring my services to them,” Lodder said. “I offer on-site repairs as well as a pickup and delivery service. If someone needs emergency service, I can offer expedited turnaround.”

Lodder also said his shop’s small size lets him be nimble. “Being small allows me the flexibility to personalize your repair or fitting experience,” he said.

Lodder also stocks clothing, components and accessories. He worked with Holly Wiese and Andy Davis of 3 Dots Design on the store design. 

Cycle Surgeon Store

Rocky Mountain Retail Camp - Recap

Rocky Mountain Retail Camp - Recap

Staff & Attendees - February 2017 session at Pearl Izumi Headquarters

Staff & Attendees - February 2017 session at Pearl Izumi Headquarters

Rocky Mountain Retail Camp Brings a Great Group of Retailers Together

I’ve been doing a fair bit of reflecting on our first retail training session that launched last month in our hometown of Boulder, CO.  We were lucky enough to have a great assortment of some of the top retailers in the US and Canada under one roof at the same time to share ideas, learn a lot and inspire each other.

It’s always interesting bringing a group of strangers together, from very different sized businesses with different philosophies and personalities.  For about 3 minutes, people are shy around each other and then, as people open up, the fun begins.  By the end of the workshop, it’s like we all went to college together!

There’s something that happens in this sort of a setting…when people are taken out of their normal routines, with different people, away from their regular daily responsibilities and are focused on one thing…how to improve the retail experience they’re providing and to realize that everybody there shares these same challenges.  It pushes everybody out of their comfort zone, to step back and look at the habits that have formed over the years and to be open minded to new feedback and ideas. 

Our training session focused primarily on visual merchandising and store layout best practices, with just the right amount of general good retail training.   We shared about a million photos throughout the session, including an opportunity for the whole group to assess each other’s challenge areas from photos that were sent in ahead of time.   The whole crew did some hands on exercise in a local retailer based on all we had learned along the way.

Everybody left inspired to make their store a better place and to share what they had learned with the rest of the staff.   We all made some new friends, ate great food, shared loads of ideas and opened our minds a bit more than we had in a long time.   We didn’t sing Kumbaya together, but we did form a great bond with each other and created a resource that will be helpful for years to come as retail needs and consumer expectations continue to evolve.  

Great merchandising always sells more product and by the end of our workshop, this message had become loud and clear to all who attended.   I have clients tell me all the time that they know they should be merchandising better but they just don’t know how or where to start.   Our next session of Rocky Mountain Retail Camp in October is the perfect starting point…come ready to get inspired (and have some great snacks along the way!)   We hope to see you there!