March 21, 2018 (Calgary, AB) – Bike Store Day in Canada will be held March 24 in cycle shops across the country. Pedal spoke with founder Sean Carter of Calgary’s BikeBike Inc. about what inspired Bike Store Day and what he hopes it will accomplish.
Sean Carter: The idea of a retailer-focused event similar to Record Store Day had been rattling around in my head for three or four years. Record Store Day was started about 10 years ago as a response to records stores closing due to the rise of pirating and streaming music services and declining sales of physical records and CDs. After reading about the success of RSD, the similarities between record stores and bike stores in their value to their communities became obvious to me. Last in 2017 I saw that a small bike shop in NYC decided to host BSD and I decided right then and there to buy the www.bikestoreday.ca domain and get this project going.
What are you hoping to accomplish with the inaugural event?
SC: Quite simply, get the ball rolling and build momentum towards the future. We were hoping we could get maybe a dozen of retailers onboard the first year but it looks like we’ll be way past that for the first year.
What are the longer term goals?
SC: The longer term goals are to support the efforts of local bike shops to not only survive in a challenging business environment but thrive into the future; tell the story of why local bike stores matter and how they are positive contributors to their communities; and bring a national voice forward to support the bicycle industry in growing participation in cycling.
Have you been satisfied with the response and participation so far?
SC: Absolutely! There was a small group of retailers engaged in the original conversation who all thought it was a great idea and thankfully we are realizing that more each day with retailers signing up across the country.
What similarities do bike stores have to record stores?
SC: Both are often community hubs, so to speak — bringing together like minds and people who share the same interests. Record stores promote their local music scenes much like bike stores to promote their local cycling scenes whether it is through hosting events, engaging in political/advocacy work, or trail building. And record shops and bike stores also face increased competition from internet sales and big box retailers.
There are many bike events – did you consider aligning yourself with any to increase visibility?
SC: We did but felt that this needed to be hyper-focused on the stories of individual bike retailers. Calgary, where we’re based, has a big bike festival, Cyclepalooza, going into its sixth year in 2018. While these events are very important for general participation in cycling they do not focus on the individual bike store’s contributions and efforts.
What are some of the challenges to organizing a national day such as this?
SC: The biggest challenge was and still is reaching out to the individual stores. Our shop, for example, has no relationships with any of the big bike brands, and with no solid national retailer organization to speak of, you can imagine how hard it is to connect with all the retailers across the country. The only other challenge was getting a companion French site rolling but it looks like we might have solved that with some more volunteer efforts.
What are some of the fun events cyclists can look forward to this weekend?
SC: By the looks of it so far, lots of coffee, pastries, great deals on bikes and gear, and clinics of various sorts. Every retailer gets to decide how they best want to promote themselves and support their communities.
For the complete rundown of Bike Store Day events and further information visit here.