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About Us |
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The Bicycle Superstore Story - Built On Passion And Experience |
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Are you one of those people that loved to take your bike apart to find how the gears worked, or why the cranks creaked, the wheels wobbled or maybe just to see what was inside that footbrake hub. Or maybe you were one of those other kids that just loved to ride. Your bike was "Your wheels". It gave you the independence that maybe your car gives you today and others may have just loved the adrenaline rush of the BMX track or mountain bike down hill. In 50 years of life I have ridden a bike for 46½ of them, raced BMX in the early 80’s, competed in the first two Australian Mountain Bike championships, Raced as an A grader with Blackburn Cycling Club, competed in the Look short course Triathlon series and still today train 300-400kms a week to race with Southern Vets. To say that I live, sleep and breathe bikes is an understatement and even after 28 years in the industry I still love the vibrancy and innovation that the Cycling World entails. |
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It’s important to me that people who deal with Bicycle Superstore know a little about our history. With $2,200 I started Bicycle Workshop in 1978 as a qualified Mechanical Engineer that had found it hard to work in the government department of the Board of Works. I thought I new everything there was to know about bikes and I was in for a rude awakening. In my mind (being an engineer) you couldn’t call yourself a bicycle mechanic if you couldn’t build and paint a frame, build wheels, repair singles, somehow serve customers, do all your book keeping and find some family time! I then employed staff, threw them in the deep end (along with me) got them to the point where they really knew what they were doing and then told them they should go and open their own shop! Hmmm, now to find another good staff member! In 1986 I sold the store in pursuit of a Motor Racing career and purchased a Motorsport shop which became Melbourne Motorsport. Two years later I had opened the second store with my first taste of trying to duplicate systems and the difficulty of trying to be in 2 places at once. In 1989 I got a phone call to say that Bicycle Superstore Dandenong was on the market and I surprised myself with the speed that I jumped to get back into the industry that I was really comfortable with.
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For the next 5 years the Dandenong Superstore went from strength to strength and became an icon within the industry but as each year passed the competition lifted their game more and more. People were less interested in traveling and keener on the convenience of buying locally. We needed to change and keep with the times. My manager at the time Sean Wisneske had come through the school of hard knocks himself. From early days of learning the structure of venture stores to managing a Goldcross store, then to managing the Dandenong Superstore he felt ready to take on the world and in 1996 we opened the Nunawading store as a partnership, a month before Christmas (We still talk about our painting the front fascia on busy Maroondah Highway at 2am the morning before opening).
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The success kept rolling with us opening Mentone in 1998, Ferntree Gully in 2000 and Warrnambool in 2003. At this point the lack of systems was showing the cracks in our armor. It was time to seek professional help. With the aid of the Deacon’s Franchise Lawyers we overhauled our structure, made a huge investment in policy and procedure manuals, franchise agreements, disclosure documents and so much more. In the past to open one store was a milestone, last October we opened three in the last month, a testimony to how much our systems have progressed! We now have a full time IT Manager and Product Manager to further fine tune the operation and to bring the whole experience of Bicycle Superstore one step better. Every person, from the people that we grant franchises too, the wholesalers that we partner ourselves with to the athletes we sponsor, the sales people and mechanics, they are all reflections of the ethics and morals that build our business culture. From all the above selection you end up with a group of enthusiasts who make their livelihood from sharing their passion for cycling. Unfortunately passion can not be the only ingredient for successful business; Add knowledge through training and experience coupled with enquiring minds and this will add up to Customer Satisfaction, part way to achieving my true desire for “screaming fans” of Bicycle Superstore.
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Nigel Letty - Managing Director |
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Dandenong
Warragul
