Shop name: People’s Store
Location: Cologne, Germany
Years in business: Since 2006 > 14 years
Best year yet: 2008
Worst year yet: 2017-2018
2020 has been, well, different. When did Covid-19 turn up and start influencing your business?
Harry Schmid: COVID really started effecting things when it arrived in mainland Europe around March of 2020. That’s when we first started seeing it effect things.
Running a BMX Shop during the pandemic: 360 Grad Sportshop (GER)
Shop name: 360 Grad Sportshop
Location: Lohhof/Munich/Germany
Years in business: This year is our 30th year in business. Funny thing is, that it feels like yesterday when I started this venture. The shops keeps me young, kinda….
Best year yet: 2014, but 2020 was a really good year too.
Worst year yet: Not considering the first years where you hardly earn any money at all, 2018 was a tough one.
2020 has been, well, different. When did Covid-19 turn up and start influencing your business?
Thomas Stellwag: First Lockdown in Germany went down in March 2020. This lasted till May 2020. It was definitely a hard time, but a lot of our customers showed their loyality and support by ordering online. In June and July we opened again and sold more BMX bikes than ever.
Did you take any action from the start or were you thinking this would be over in a few weeks?
Thomas Stellwag: For some reaosons I never believed this would be over soon. So we tried to make our shop as safe as possible. We bought masks, sanitizer and a sneeze guard for our counter. We only let in three customers at once so there was enough disctance for everyone.
Running a BMX Shop during the pandemic: The Spoked Society (NED)
Shop name: The Spoked Society
Location: C.Missetstraat, Doetinchem, Netherlands
Years in business: I took over the shop after bankruptcy in 2017
Best year yet: 2020
Worst year yet: 2017
Since March we are dealing with the Covid situation in The Netherlands. What were your first thoughts when you heard about the virus?
Spoked: At first I was worried because the shop is my primary source of income and I didn't know what to expect.
Did you take any action from the start with your shop or were you thinking this would be over in a
Shop name: Strictly BMX
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Years in business: 25
Best year yet: 2020
Worst year yet: 2020 for different reasons
What were your first thoughts on Covid-19 when it hit?
Tim Williams: Obviously, no one knew what the year would bring, how long it would last, or which industries would be worst impacted. There was just a lot of uncertainty around staffing, sales and of course supply.
Did you take any action from the start or were you thinking this would be over in a few weeks?
Tim Williams: We managed to get a few large orders through to various suppliers in time to keep stock
Shop name: Groundedbmx
Location: Ninove and online at Groundedbmx.com
Years in business: Almost 11 year now
Best year yet: 2014
Worst year yet: 2018
2020 has been, well, different. When did Covid-19 turn up and start influencing your business?
Brecht Baeyens: March 2020 we had to close the shop due to lockdown regulations. We had to close for almost 3 months and missed out on a ton of sales during our best months April and May. During summer season we had a lot of demand for bikes but we had lot’s of trouble getting our hands on stock. After summer season we had to close the shop again due to lockdown. We got to open up again mid December but there are lots of regulations ...
Did you take any action from the start or were you thinking this would be over in a few weeks?
Brecht Baeyens: I knew shit hit the fan big time and this would take a long as time to blow over, so we started cutting costs quick and made sure we filled in all the paperwork correctly to receive financial support from the government. We have always had a multi channel business due to our combination of
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Full Job Description
Blackout Distribution is now hiring for an in-house Territory Account Manager position, to service our existing, new, and potential wholesale customers while growing the sales of all our brands. Blackout is looking for someone passionate about BMX, customer satisfaction, and knowledgeable in sales, to add to the Blackout family of brands!
Shop name: Local BMX
My name: Local Mike
Location: Fremantle (Perth), Western Australia
Years in business: 7
Best year yet: They have all been good
Worst year yet: Stress wise 2020 for sure.
What were your first thoughts on Covid-19 when it hit?
Local Mike: Uncertainty, a small amount of media produced fear, definitely a scary time.
Shop name: Dan’s Comp
Location: 2070 East 20th Street, Chico CA 95926 (Shop address)
Years in business: 34
What were your first thoughts on Covid-19 when it hit?
Michael Barrow: I don’t think anyone really knew what to expect. This was a brand new experience so it was very much a waiting game at first while we waited to hear what needed to be done.
Did you take any action from the start or were you thinking this would be over in a few weeks?
Michael Barrow: We anticipated shut downs and stricter guidelines so we began letting employees work from home, only having warehouse employees to ensure orders were getting out the door in a timely, but safe manner.
Now, being in this situation for many months, how did you manage to keep your business rolling?
Michael Barrow: The majority of our business is done online so we were able to keep it rolling with extra precautions in place for our employees such as masks, social distancing and working from home where possible. We cater specifically to BMX, but our local shop handles anything and everything bicycle
Running a BMX Shop during the pandemic: Kegel's Bicycle Store (USA)
Shop name: Kegel's Bicycle Store
Location: Rockford, IL. USA
Years in business: I have records that start in 1927 so that is what I go by, but we are also related to the world's oldest Harley Davidson dealership and they are over 100 years old. I have owned it since 1997.
What were your first thoughts on Covid-19 when it hit?
Robb Sinks: The first three weeks of C19 we were very slow, then the weather warmed up and it was unbelievably busy.
Did you take any action from the start or were you thinking this would be over in a few weeks?
Robb Sinks: I watched the news and and it was a moving target, so we just rolled with the punches.
Now, being in this situation for many months, how did you manage to keep your business rolling?
Robb Sinks: I am constantly on the phone and computer checking back orders, looking for parts/bikes securing as much product as possible for this season. It is going to be a hard year product wise, so I am being as proactive now as possible.
The supply chain has also suffered. Has it been a challenge getting the bikes/product in stock
Shop name: Waller BMX
Location: Sheffield, United Kingdom
Years in business: 8-9 Years
Best year yet: 2020
Worst year yet: Well, we setup in 2012 and it's grown every year since.
What were your first thoughts on Covid-19 when it hit?
Jack Waller: I think my thought process went a little like this: Holy s**t, we're fu***d... oh bike shops are essential... nice! Seriously though, when we saw businesses had to shut we were guttered. We felt ridiculously lucky but a lot of our friends who run their own local businesses were seeing the impact which wasn't nice.
Did you take any action from the start or were you thinking this would be over in a few weeks?
Jack Waller: I don't think long term we were giving it much thought. Just taking it day by day and trying to inform our customers that we're operating like normal with a few measures in place.
Now, being in this situation for many months, how did you manage to keep your business rolling?
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.