A bike shop for women

okay that I do agree with Kris, but Nhatt isn't that kind of penis savageries to do such thing.

Even for you Ed, what were you trying to communicate mate?

Brilliant Nhatt. I'm all for this, whichever way you decide to go about it I am willing to help! Have been pushing the Ladies thing in Birmingham for a while but it's all gone about the wrong way and would love to be involved in doing something like this when I move to London - hoping to get some training to get better at fitting advice and mechanics and stuff so I can be of more use. I only have experience of setting up a not-for-profit bicycle cooperative so it's a pretty different angle but yeah I'm in!

I could see it was a revelation to some of the women there, some of whom turned out to be riding bikes that were the wrong size.

curious - how did they know?

Nhatt - not much experience myself but setting yourself up as the expert/consultant/roaming/inhouse whatsit sounds like you avoid the overheads and major business costs of setting up shop. maybe good idea to start with.

I'm generalising hugely but those are two groups you'd be appealing to for sure.

that's fine if they want a step-thru and a rain cape but some women want a racing bike to fit and the clothing to go with it.
some women are put off by lycra and some put off by baskets with lipstick holders and fuschia helmets that don't mess with your hair.the womens market is a small one so i guess you have to cater for both.

curious - how did they know?

When the lady from Trek was talking about bike posture and pains in various parts of the body and possible reasons for them, I could see a few of the women say a mental 'oh!'.

Fortunately the remedies started from no money required (saddle forward or backward) up to 'buy a bike in your size'.

Which reminds me, I must email CS to commend them for putting on the event.

It needs someone with grit and guts to do it. I've been cycling in London for 10 years and racing since 2006. I've had to beef up my knowledge, learn how to talk the talk and cope with the frustration of having to visit 4 or 5 different stores before finding the right bit of women's specific kit. How many bike shops stock sportsbras, do you reckon? Clothing is the biggest issue at the moment. Totally and utterly frustrating and I'm a size 8 ... can you imagine how my size 18 buddy gets on?

It might be a long path to success and will need to be perfectly pitched, but London needs this.

Do it!!!

the womens market is a small one

Not sure how true that is, one thing for sure is that it's growing and fast.

London is a tough place to setup a retail business with ridiculously high rents compared to nearly every other city in the UK, however it has benefits, the largest market by far in the UK for a start.

This could be "the moment" to start a female only bike shop and if done well with a broad range of products I could see women travelling from all over London if not the UK to get decent advice and be able to compare products for real rather than making guesses on internet shops.

There could also be huge potential for free publicity here as if realised (I'm sure many have thought of it) it would be new and original.

I've always admired Nhatt's liberal approach to femininsm / femininity and a team including her and like-minded colleagues could be a great environment for women cyclists (I'm guessin'....as I'm not a woman)

Why not have some kind of focus group with like-minded women already in the industry? either shop-workers, mechanics, managers, suppliers and designers to guage interest / feasibility? people with marketing and financial expertise would be good too.

Then just look for an angel.

Then just look for an angel.

Found God winston?

**6. ** Informal A financial backer of an enterprise

A likely story.

I suppose "dragon" is not described as a mythical beast in that particular lexicon...

I've always admired Nhatt's liberal approach to femininsm / femininity and a team including her and like-minded colleagues could be a great environment for women cyclists (I'm guessin'....as I'm not a woman)

Agreed - Nhatt I think one of your advantages is that you appeal to & are open to all female cyclists and all types of cycling. You've done everything in cycling as far as I can tell and I admire that. I would worry about the size of your audience, and the wisdom in excluding the majority of cyclists (ie the male ones) from your potential customers. But at the same time maybe someone needs to promote women's cycling in this way.

Perhaps if you started off as a kind of consultancy you could promote 'women's week' or whatever at different bike shops then you can utilise their existing stock & supply chain to get in women's specific bikes/clothing & combine that with your presence & advice. You can tour the 'women's week' to shop after shop, chain after chain, raising your profile (and collecting personal data so that you can email all your happy advice-takers about your new venture) until you have the customer base/security/viability to have a permanent physical base/shop/whatever.

Maybe something that Winston touches on could be good - get together a 'team' of riders who represent different aspect of women's cycling, get them to wear your kit out and about (maybe it's not all neccessarily lycra) & blog occasionally about what they're doing and then you have a squad of riders who all represent both your brand and what you stand for, who are prepped and prepared to talk about & promote what you're doing and spread the word.

excluding the majority of cyclists (ie the male ones) from your potential customers.

What about the Xmas / Birthday present market, a women's bike shop would be a dream for men looking to by their female friends / partners goodies for special occasions...non? that could be in marketing too...

I'm sure that plenty of women specific shops have reasonable amounts of male customers for this reason....I'm thinking underwear here!...... but I'm sure there are other examples.

What about linking up with SweatyBetty, who's cycling stuff is nonexistent? They have plenty of stores that could host ladies only cycling events, and the disposable income of their customers should ensure a solid revenue from sales.

http://www.sweatybetty.com/our-boutiques-artlboutiques/

Sweaty Betty too much of a brand, imo. like a fashion brand with a particular look and style. too exclusive (not necessarily in financial terms, I don't know what their stuff costs, but it is hardly 'friendly' branding... )

I didn't have a proper look around their website, just walked past their Fenchurch St branch this morning. It looks like it may all be their own branded stuff, which would be a problem for distributors, I'd guess.

Just caught up with this thread - Nhatt its great that our little chat set you off thinking (I'd said that I'd fund such a project if I won the lottery).

there is is definite need for something at all ends of the spectrum - beginners to advanced - and a shop that stocks all the small frame sizes all the time, so that you can make a really informed decision.

I am also completely fed up of going into Evans and Cycle Surgery and having a guy walk in after me and having staff pay him attention and me ignored.

I think the suggestions below that you start as a concession within an established shop are good, but you must make it clear who has ownership of the name, intellectual property and that you are a concession etc, so you can leave and or expand as necessary.

Good luck!

@ Tricity, yep, Ninon (who's name I probably just murdered).

I think it's a great idea, it's the fundraising and the small business planning that worries me.

Nhatt, talk to Snowy, he's got lots of info about fundraising, including grants, the direction of which he can point you in.

I'd say that there's a definite need for this sort of thing. Someone in my work building stopped me int he corridor yesterday and started asking me for bike advice. She's a shorty, like me, so I guess she felt there was some common ground. She's a little anxious about going into 'normal' bike shops where she feels intimidated. She took lessons for the first time 2 years ago and since then hasn't cycled, so is tking more lessons next month and has to get a bike before the lessons.

Thanks to everyone who has given me feedback and ideas. I can't really say what exactly I'm going to do with all of this just at the moment, but I am looking at options.

Nhatt, talk to Snowy, he's got lots of info about fundraising, including grants, the direction of which he can point you in.

I used to be a grant manager so I've got a fairly good idea about what a good grant application/bid looks like and would be more than happy to help out on this side if this idea (which is a sweet one and much needed) gets off the ground.