Electrifying Growth Ribble Valley E-Bikes, Dunsop Bridge Roger Wolstenholme
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e were due to open the e-bike rental shop in Dunsop Bridge in early April, so we were already committed when the lockdown was announced. We had invested in bikes which then didn’t arrive, but we didn’t have any visitors anyway, because the whole country was in lockdown. “Once we did get some bikes, we could have opened, but we didn’t want to upset the community. At that point, it would have been easy to give up, but actually we decided to really commit to it and spend the downtime scaling up the operation. “As the lockdown continued, the season was getting shorter and shorter, but by June, we were getting ready to open and took on our first employee and started getting the shop ready. “We opened the doors in July and it took off straight away. We made sure the signage and the forecourt would attract interest from
the visitors and we also got a lot of online bookings via the website and social media. “Initially, we planned to operate as a seasonal bike rental business during the summer, but the relationships we established with British bike manufacturers like Volt and Raleigh during lockdown gave us the opportunity to start doing bike sales as well, so after a really busy summer, we decided to stay open into the autumn and winter. “We’re doing children’s bikes now and tow-along trailers for smaller kids – so the whole family can enjoy a ride on very quiet roads and trafficfree tracks straight from the shop. “Lockdown forced us to really commit and expand the business faster than we would otherwise have done. It means we are going to start this season with a bigger fleet of hire bikes, more bikes in stock, better choice for customers and a greater determination to succeed.” 47
