Channel Mastery

The purpose of this “Shifting Channels” series is to provide a line of sight on where things are going with channel evolution in the specialty bike community and industry. We’ve covered e-commerce options, case studies in product launches, and adoption in practice by shop owners trying, adapting and thriving.

Today, we’re covering software as a service (SaaS) for bike. Before my technophobe friends shutdown, I encourage you to evaluate this type of technology through the service lens. The SaaS we explore today is leading the charge with a user-friendly, online option to create friction-free experiences for your customers, and a headache-free experience for bike shops.

This episode is the third in a special Channel Mastery podcast series, co-produced by Bicycle Retailer and Verde Brand Communications, titled: Shifting Channels in the Specialty Bicycle Market.

What happens when the world’s largest sporting goods retailer, Decathlon, enters the U.S. market, armed with capital, smart leadership and an entire assortment of house branded bike, and other gear?

The story of Decathlon USA is one that’s still unfolding, but there’s SO much to learn about the why, how and when behind this major retail expansion centered in Northern California’s Bay Area.

Today, we get to hear from Erik Saltvold, founder and owner of Erik’s Bike, Board and Ski, a very successful specialty retailer, and leader in the active outdoor lifestyle markets. Erik is a friend of the Channel Mastery podcast and this is his second interview.

Today’s show is the first in a special Channel Mastery podcast series, Shifting Channels in the Specialty Bicycle Market. 

Even if you’re not in the bike business, this podcast is for you. The evolution of the specialty bike market is happening fast. It has to. The learning available to all of us lies in the evolution itself. In bike, we’ve got a front-row seat to discover what’s working, and what isn’t, as an entire established industry works to evolve to meet the needs of today’s connected consumers.

You’re about to meet Kate Powlison, SRAM’s road brand manager. Kate’s on today to talk about the very successful recent launch of the SRAM Red eTap AXS component group. It was an integrated launch like none that I’d seen in my almost 20 years serving the bike industry with Verde.

In full transparency: I love cycling. I also believe that the bike industry provides a unique purview into a specialty industry that’s mid-gap jump in terms of channel evolution. 

In today’s show with Ryan, you’ll learn that many independent bike dealers and bike manufacturers are still timid about committing to ecommerce as a channel – for lots of reasons. As we’ve reported in on before on Channel Mastery, you’ll hear once again from this expert that specialty businesses NEED to expand into this realm to continue to serve your connected consumer today.

People come to Nick Sargent with a lot of problems. While he would love it if more people also brought solutions (hint), it’s his job to find solutions. While this industry is all about fun from a consumer standpoint, it’s pretty amazing the level of complexity in the problems facing the industry. Just to name a few: climate change, changes in distribution, production cycles, and baby boomers aging out of skiing and riding. Let’s not forget rapid business consolidation and the fact that resorts are now the biggest players in retail.

The technology we talk about in today’s episode seems super futuristic. But in reality, it’s happening NOW. With my guest, Greg Carter, Channel Mastery this week is devoted to bringing online data capture technology into the physical space of brick and mortar retail. We cover connected buildings, beacon technology and indoor digital GPS. 

Greg Carter is the Senior Vice President, Connected Buildings Software at Acuity Brands, Inc. He responsible for developing, productizing, selling and deploying IoT Solutions that leverage Acuity’s IoT platform and IoT-enabled lighting and building systems infrastructure. These solutions harness operational and consumer data and transform them into business insights that fuel improvements in worker efficiency, business processes, customer experience and market penetration for Acuity Brands customers.

In today’s episode, I speak with my wonderful, repeat guest, Teddy Schiavoni, about the 2019 SIA/Outdoor Retailer Snow Show, the latest news from Locally.com, and a bucket list of mission critical topics from building emotional connections with our customers to providing a mobile-first shopping journey.

Teddy Schiavoni is a multi-hyphenate in the snowsports world. He’s a co-owner of Summit Ski and Snowboard Shop, and the president and founder of Slope Style Life, a consulting firm. He is currently chairman of the Retail Advisory Board for the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA); chairman-elect for the National Ski and Snowboard Retailers Association (NSSRA); on the product council for SMC; and contributes to product development and marketing councils across the industry. He is also VP of business development for Locally.com.

In today’s show, I host one of the founders of SBT GRVL, Amy Charity. She’s a former road racer and author, but also a key driver to the parity message behind the SBT GRVL event. Listen in to learn how SBT GRVL built and leveraged a community to launch an event and to catalyze more women to toe the line on Aug. 18 at the inaugural event.

Today’s episode is for brands and manufacturers seeking solutions around channel management. It’s one of the biggest challenges facing the specialty markets today, so big that it can be hard to know where to begin. So if you’re looking for a “plug and play” solution, sorry: not gonna happen.