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The business has added Brompton and Gocycle
Focusing on strengths When the market moves, businesses move with it. As the industry has seen in recent times, consumer spending is declining. Many IBDs have needed to take a step back, consider their offering, and approach trade with a different approach. For Mamachari, this is no different. “We’ve decided just to really focus on our strength, which is mostly family cycling and commuting,” said Fenton. “The market has changed a bit. You can’t give hybrids away, high end road bikes have fallen through the floor. “The only thing that seems to be working right now – in London anyway – is cargo bikes. There seems to be a lot of demand for the [Tern] GSDs, the Quick Hauls and the HSDs.” Mamachari has also built a reputation as a go-to workshop for many cyclists in northeast London and beyond. “We’ve got a name for doing things properly and doing things honestly and that’s paid off,” said Fenton. “It’s really important to build that reputation. “We don’t just shove a sticker on a bike and send it out the
door.”
As well as seeing a wealth of repeat business for routine servicing and maintenance, the business has developed a name for tackling more niche jobs. “We go in-depth on dynamos, so we get people asking us to do dynamo builds,” said Fenton. “And then we’re quite nerdy on hub gears as well, so we get people sending us Sturmeys and Alfines from all over the country to get serviced.” Despite being a successful business that is seeing growth year-on-year, Mamachari is not immune from some of the challenges that IBDs face up and down the country.
14 | April 2024
The Tern accessory range has proved popular
“Obviously the internet’s a challenge and everyone wants something for nothing,” added Fenton. “We get a lot of internet ‘showrooming’ with people coming in and trying stuff on so we don’t do clothes anymore because of that.
“We still get people coming in to try on helmets and get demo rides.”
Supporting the local IBD With 25 years experience in the industry, Fenton has seen many trends come and go. However, he remains passionate about the UK’s IBD heritage and believes people should do more to protect it. “I’d love to see a more strident voice shouting about the benefits and the advantages of the local bike shop network,” he explained.
“Buy local, support your local economy. If you don’t come and support us we’ll fail, then you won’t be able to get your bike fixed.
The store is also a Shimano service Centre
“It’s as simple as that.” Fenton would also like to see more cooperation between local bike shops
“In Europe, they have buying groups where loads of shops get together and form a cooperative, go to suppliers and say, ‘give us a better price’,” he said. “They get a better price and then that is passed on. I’ve been in the trade 25 years and still can’t understand why there isn’t something like that in the UK.
“You could run it on a corporate basis and employ some staff to do it. They’d make enough money that it would be profitable. They could pass that profit on to the shops involved. “Everyone’s happy, everyone makes
money.”
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