For the specialty fitness industry, the good news has been that there weren’t as many large implosions among retailers in the last year with fewer turning off the lights for good. A few, in fact, have found ways to add a few doors and are looking at ways to work not only with their communities better but also work with each other.

That could be considered an unofficial theme of this year’s Health+Fitness Business Expo: working together. Working together and expanding visions will float all boats a little higher.

The recently released participation report by the Physical Activity Council (a partnership of six major trade organizations representing fitness, leisure and outdoor) had good news and bad news for the fitness industry in its quest to regain strength. In summary:

• The number of inactive Americans overall remains high, climbing again in 2011 to more than 68 million. That means there are still millions of people for the industry to reach – indeed plenty for everybody, underscoring the need to work together.
• The number of children (ages 6-12) who participated in regular activity rose, although the number of adolescents (ages 13-17) remained flat. This speaks to millions of youth who will need now to learn a love of physical activity they can carry with them for life. The youth market is not to be ignored.

Everybody is interested in dollars so where was that, per the report? Spending was flat in 2011 vs. 2010, from equipment to club dues. A glimmer of hope showed that some plan to spend more in 2012. Even if that spending is on something other than large pieces of equipment, the door has been opened a crack.

• As a retailer, your job is to get them in the door for a yoga mat or stability ball, and then show them how good you are at customer service and how on top of the trends you are. Make yourself a place they want to go to see what’s new and chat with somebody who can recommend ways to put a spark in their program no matter what level.
• As a manufacturer, it’s your turn to talk to retailers about what they can do to work with the community, other types of retailers and businesses, yoga studios or health clubs to increase awareness.

And, not to spur competition or anything, but this is opportunity knocking at the door. Per this report, the top 10 inactive states are, in order: Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, New Mexico, Tennessee, New York, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. And, the top 10 active states, again in order, are: Utah, Idaho, New Hampshire, Colorado, Minnesota, Virginia, Wisconsin, Nevada, Oregon and Illinois.

Working with the HFB show as an ambassador to the industry, I’d like to hear from you in the industry at any time. Ideas? Suggestions? Frustrations? Curiosity? Just want to chat? Drop a note or give a ring. I’m here.

Reach me at hiendeavors.t@gmail.com

Last year was a milestone for Interbike beyond just being a 30-year anniversary celebration. The 2011 show brought more energy and more momentum than we’d seen at Interbike in many years. Dealers and exhibitors universally agreed that Interbike once again lived up to its role as the industry’s premier event. Our goal for 2012 is to take all of that positivity and build on it. Many of the favorite initiatives from last year’s show will be back and will be even stronger, but look for some fresh additions for this year.

More Education
Every year dealers tell us they want more education on relevant topics to help them improve their businesses. Working together with the NBDA, we will be investing heavily in growing the educational content. Look for higher-level topics from engaging speakers. Also plan on being stopped in your tracks by dynamic on-floor seminars happening throughout the day on our street-level stage.

Industry Breakfast
For the first time, we will be hosting an industry breakfast for attendees and exhibitors on Wednesday morning before the show opens. Not only will we satisfy your morning hunger for great food and coffee, but we’ll also deliver an important message from a keynote speaker that will set the tone for an exciting week of activities.

The Lab
This new destination at Interbike is where new ideas and technologies are born and the next superstar companies are discovered. The Lab is the incubator for the next big innovations in cycling and a showcase for you to unearth exciting new products that will add to your bottom line and engage your customers. Celebrate the startups and find your next profit maker in this new product section. This is a big part of why you come to the show.

Enhanced lounges, new pavilions, more fashion, bigger celebrations
The on-floor lounges were an overwhelming success in 2011. Look for bigger and better areas in 2012: an expanded Urban Yard by Chrome Industries and Raleigh Bicycles; the new Triathlon Pavilion presented by the Triathlon America association; the pumped up BMX Zone guided by some of the sport’s leading brands; and an enhanced women’s lounge thanks to the OIWC. You can also expect better food options, a new beer Pub hosted by Raleigh Bicycles, and more fashion shows for all styles of apparel.

Viva Bike Vegas Gran Fondo
Stick around for one of the most unique Gran Fondos in the nation on Saturday morning. Take in the sights of Las Vegas and surrounding areas such as the Strip, Red Rocks Canyon and ride over Hoover Dam on beautiful 100 or 65 mile routes. Who says Las Vegas isn’t bike friendly?

This is just a taste of what we’re delivering to you at Interbike 2012. Show favorites such as CrossVegas, the Sinclair Party, Interbike’s industry party, the Tour de Lake Mead industry ride, and much, much more are all returning and round out an action-packed week.

So save the date, make your plans, and come celebrate all things cycling!

So that’s cool. You’ll be able to print yourself a new bike at home in the future. But what I really want an answer to is whether these bikes would be considered “handmade.” Seems like an awful lot of care, thought and skill were poured in to not consider it, at least. It also would, arguably, allow for the possibility of the most custom of custom bikes. Maybe that would make the argument moot: the end result justifies the means of production.

Not that I have a horse in this race that’s been getting some press lately (well, in full disclosure mode, maybe I do given Interbike’s customer list), but I do enjoy following the debate intellectually and–as an owner of both types of bike–admire the fruits of both sides of the aisle.

Now the really important question: will the cost of new bike printer ink be just as expensive as my current paper printer’s ink?

http://youtu.be/hmxjLpu2BvY

Attending retailers will have the option of taking one of three tours of their facility on Tuesday, April 17. Easton-Bell is also sponsoring airport shuttles from San Jose Airport that will stop in Scotts Valley for the tour on its way to the Summit’s host hotel in nearby Monterey, California.

EBS sent us a video this morning giving us a quick preview of what retailers can expect to experience on the tour. After watching this, I can’t wait to see it myself.

On a similar note, we’re working with our friends at Fox Racing Shox who will be offering attending retailers a tour of their suspension factory in Watsonville on Friday of that week.

For more info on the inaugural IBD Summit, visit www.theibdsummit.com

In the early days of the internet we experienced a brief panic from the explosion of new online retailers like Pets.com, Amazon.com and Bike.com (remember them?), all threatening to revolutionize the way we shop and make traditional brick-and-mortar stores obsolete. Heck, did the term brick-and-mortar even exist before the new ecommerce threatened to eliminate it?

The initial threat to traditional retailers subsided a bit as a result of the dot-com bust, but online retail has continued to grow as a percentage of total retail sales. In 2011, online sales grew 16.1% to about 4.6% of total retail spending, according to the commerce department.

More importantly, we’re seeing that consumers who shop in more than one channel – say online and in-store – spend more over their lifetime. And not by an insignificant amount.

National chain Golfsmith stated last year that customers that bought from them in more than one channel outspent one-channel customers by a factor of four. Golfsmith’s CEO additionally commented that customers who shopped across all their channels had probably 10 times the lifetime value and they were working to cultivate that in every way possible.

Numbers like that are hard to ignore. And the point of it, I believe, is not about price and discounting. It’s about convenience and being where your customer wants to be, and being available to them on their terms. Consider that the younger age groups where we struggle as an industry, consumers in their 20s and 30s do about a quarter of their shopping online. It’s where they expect to find you.

The independent bicycle retailer has remained vibrant and, well, independent, to a large degree, because of the unique service-oriented nature of bicycles. Along with the mechanical requirements of selling and servicing bikes, stores can also add value as sources of knowledge, inspiration and camaraderie. But can stores truly expect customers to continue buying most of their gear in physical stores going forward? Are you adjusting to a future with more ecommerce?

Retailers will need to continue to adapt to remain relevant. Even national mass-merchants like Target are suffering from being showrooms for purchases that are ultimately made online at ecommerce powerhouses like Amazon. Target is working to evolve their online strategy while working with suppliers to devise a solution. Are you?

Companies like SmartEtailing, Trek and, most recently, QBP have announced new programs and platforms for retailers to integrate ecommerce into their operations. Many retailers have already added online shopping components to their sites. Physical retailers can no longer think of ecommerce as the enemy or even as a side venture. It’s time to put down the hammer and reach into our tool boxes for some creative new solutions and be aware of how your customers are behaving to reap the rewards of serving customers where they are shopping – and stay relevant.

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The most important and impactful innovation to come down the lane, recently, for retailers has been the phenomenal growth of mobile. Smartphones and other connected devices that consumers can carry in their pocket have changed the shopping experience. For those of you keeping score at home, 38% of all Americans now own smartphones, according to current Nielsen stats, while a full 62% of those in the 25-34 age range do.

I’m sure most of you retailers have experienced customers in your store holding a product in one hand and an iPhone in the other. Perhaps you’ve even seen them scan the bar code on a product with the Red Laser app and effortlessly pull up a wealth of online information. While it’s tempting to get riled up over the thought of your customers  comparing prices online, I hope you can come to terms with the fact that there are few mysteries in shopping anymore – and that you can influence what they find online.

As a consumer, I’m an information hound. I want to know anything and everything about a product before I drop my hard earned bike industry dollars on something. Price is important, but as a recent Nielsen survey of digitally connected consumers found, “good value for the money” (61%) beat out “low price” (58%) as the top reason for their choosing a particular place to shop. While you can’t discount (excuse the pun) the role of deals and other financial incentives as a driver of new business, it’s not the only thing consumers are interested in.

(What influences your decision to shop at a particular retailer? – Click to enlarge)

For IBDs this is good news since the experience at your store is about so much more than just price and you have the ability to affect the value proposition with service, education, and your passion for cycling. Just make sure that you communicate this value to your customers where they expect to find it: online. Look at your own – or better yet, your kids’ – shopping habits for examples of where you need to be with your message.

There are new ways to influence your local customers with “hyperlocal” advertising:  Google recently announced that the distance between a person and an advertiser’s business location is now a factor in mobile search ads ranking. Think about it. That’s a really powerful new tool for your business to be able to direct your customers to your store.

At Interbike, we understand the power of face-to-face interaction, but the continuing growth and influence of online and mobile can’t be ignored. Social media and peer reviews online have influenced consumer behavior for years, but mobile puts that influence onto your showroom floor. You’re not done influencing your customer before he leaves his house anymore, and mobile can become an ally if you take steps to make it work for you.

Here’s a great recent infographic, also from our colleagues in the Nielsen family, on the mobile digital consumer to illustrate the current reach and influence of mobile.

(Click to enlarge)

I’d love hear how retailers are using these tools to grow their businesses.

Now, just as you can navigate up and down streets and pan around to see store fronts and unsuspecting pedestrians and sunbathers, you can wander through the insides of stores. You get the whole 360 degree, up-down and all around treatment. I just happened to be Googling one of my favorite local shops yesterday when some photos popped up in the Google Places area of the results. Upon clicking them, I noticed that I could wander through Pacific Coast Cycles’ crowded, but neat, showroom.

I spoke with PCC’s owner Chuck about this, and he said a Google person came by and took pictures not too long ago. I actually remember a few years back being in the store when a Google staffer came by to collect info about his business for Google Places. Here’s Google’s FAQ about the program.

I did a few quick searches for other shops that might have interior views with no luck. I’d love to feature some shops in this way – have any of your local shops had their insides filmed by Google? Any of you shops out there been invited to participate? Let me know.  And keep your showrooms neat!

Update: Palo Alto Bicycles has been shot for Street View interiors.

]]> http://www.interbiketimes.com/2011/11/18/google-streetview-heads-indoors/feed/ 3 http://www.interbiketimes.com/2011/11/17/nielsen-discounts-drive-brand-love-on-social-media/ http://www.interbiketimes.com/2011/11/17/nielsen-discounts-drive-brand-love-on-social-media/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:47:24 +0000 Rich Kelly http://www.interbiketimes.com/?p=1544 From our colleagues in the NM Incite division of Nielsen, who work with companies to measure and optimize their online brands (officially: “helps businesses harness the full potential of social media intelligence to drive superior business performance across their organizations.”), comes this report about the most important driver of brand loyalty in the social media world.

There’s been much discussion in the marketing world recently about what motivates consumers to “friend” or “like” brands on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Typically used as a way to stay in touch with, share and communicate with friends, what are we looking for in return for friending a brand? We don’t usually opt-in to receive advertising and branding messages in other media – unless there is an incentive. Think free weekend at the resort in return for sitting in on a presentation about purchasing a time share at the property.

And while it’s all good that we – as brand managers – have been able to use SM  to personalize our companies and interact with fans and customers in a more direct, human way, this study shows that, at the end of the day, discounts and deals are still a powerful driver. Other reasons, such as “showing support for the brand” and “be among the first to get news and information” are still significant, but are overshadowed by the almighty discount. Just look at the success of deal/coupon sites like Groupon and Living Social. In the bike and outdoor specific industry, we’ve seen the emergence of companies like The Clymb.

It’s interesting that in North America, this economic incentive is noticeably more powerful than in the rest of the world.

Do you offer deals or discounts to people who like or follow your brand online? 

Here’s the chart from the report:

We’ve heard from many retailers over the past few weeks that the show was more productive this year because they were able to finalize their 2012 product purchasing plans. They told us they began seeing product before Interbike, reviewed that information with their staff back home, considered options, and then finalized orders at the show after seeing the whole marketplace. This model makes sense to me. It allows the smart retailer to digest the various presentations, get support from staff, compare products to the competition, and then present orders at Interbike after a final review. It takes away the pressurized guessing game of pre-season and on-the-spot ordering and puts control back in their hands. In theory, as dealers see product earlier in the sales cycle they are better able to manage their inventories, provide smoother transitions for model year changeovers, increase margins, and further enhance vendor relations with key suppliers.

On the supply side, we received tremendous feedback that their sales teams had written more orders or collected more business than at any show over the past 10 years. Why? I believe that it goes back to the way retailers are thinking and acting. Independent bicycle retailers need to have time to absorb product information, compare it to what else is out there, and prepare their own analysis before submitting the order. Placing orders at private dealer events forces dealers to commit to orders with that supplier in a vacuum, without having seen the entire competitive landscape and any new trends. Allowing this slightly longer, but more-informed process to happen will net suppliers better, more well-thought-out orders that better reflect what will happen at retail. Ultimately, isn’t that what everybody wants? As time goes on and retailers learn about product prior to the show, it will actually reinforce Interbike’s vital role as the right place to finalize product decisions and place more intelligent orders.

The industry has evolved. Now armed with some early product knowledge, dealers are exposed to the full marketplace, competitive offerings and trends in one place: Interbike. They can make educated final decisions, meet with suppliers and place orders on their own terms. Orders and commitments become real at Interbike.

Thanks for supporting this year’s show and we look forward to seeing you at an even bigger event next year!