Skip to main content

Original text


Powered by Google TranslateTranslate
Powered by Google TranslateTranslate
As Essential Business Stadium Bike Navigates New Normal

Published April 07, 2020

Randy Bailey, the owner of five Stadium Bike shops, knows all about adversity. The Green Bay resident opened his second bike shop in 2008, right at the height of the recession. He persevered then and is doing all he can to weather the current storm.

He says his priority is to ensure the safety of his employees and customers while serving a vital need in the community. "This is still very new," Bailey said. "Last Tuesday, when we were trying to figure out if we were going to be an essential business or not, those were very stressful days."

As a transportation business (many people use bikes to get to work and to the store), he was relieved to find out he could stay open, unlike other small, nonessential businesses that are struggling right now.

"Once we learned our classification, which was excellent, we had to figure out how we would keep our staff and customers healthy," Bailey said. "We set it up where employees had the option to work or not, and shortened our hours."

Other procedures put in place include curbside pickup, delivery, an open showroom by appointment only, and a limit of two people in the store at any time. Surfaces are cleaned after each customer, every hour, and test rides are limited.

"I've never washed my hands so much in my life," Bailey added.

As a firm believer in hospitality, something he has built his businesses on, it is a challenge to practice social distancing and limited interaction. Bailey loves working with customers and hires those with the same passion.

"The hospitality portion is key," he said. "You can buy our products in many distribution channels, and we are not the highest priced or lowest. But anyone who walks into our store will be treated like a friend. You will know right away that you are welcome."

With a college major in the hospitality industry, Bailey finds it interesting how it molded him as an entrepreneur. After graduating, he didn't follow the career path he trained for. He had worked at bike shops in Madison while in college and was a successful, competitive mountain bike racer. His love of biking made him an ideal candidate for Trek, a bicycle manufacturer, where he was recruited.

He spent three years in marketing and seven in product development and was impressed with the owner of Trek and the quality of the product. That knowledge stayed with him even as he moved on to a new position with Jan-Sport, an athletic clothing and accessories manufacturer based in Appleton.

The big change came when Jan-Sport wanted him to transfer to San Francisco. It was a move that neither he nor Tracie, his wife and business partner who had family in Appleton, wanted to make. He was determined to find a more local position; which led him to a discussion with the owner of Stadium Bike in Green Bay.

He was told, "I don't want to hire a manager. I want to sell the store."

And that was the beginning of Bailey's entrepreneurial journey. He took over in 2005, opened a store in Wausau in 2008, East Green Bay in 2016, Stevens Point in 2017, and Sheboygan this year.

With Tracie handling financial matters and inventory, Randy serves as general manager over all of the shops with local managers in Wausau, Stevens Point, and Sheboygan. He provides a roadmap for all of the stores with daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals. Trek has a dashboard so that numbers can be reviewed and compared at any time during the day.

Although a big season had been anticipated, Bailey has revised goals and is hoping to control inventory costs.

"We know we want to hit our numbers," he said. "Our budget has been reduced by 20%, but the most major challenge is getting inventory in line so we can pay the bills as they come up with reduced income."

So far, things are going well. Bikes are selling and the service department has been busy. These are key months in his industry, and he knows that all businesses will be making hard choices.

"We're looking at April right now and hoping to bring back staff by mid-May. But it is a day-by-day thing. From our perspective, it is making sure we can be open, and participating in loan programs, learning about what's available," he added.

These are trying times, and Bailey says that biking can have an incredible mental benefit for people trapped inside.

"The mental health of our nation has never been more important than now, and for that, biking is huge," he said.

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

SHARE THIS HEADLINE

Source

Green Bay Press-Gazette

key topics

CONNECT
2701 Larsen Road
}
Green Bay, WI 54303
1-800-634-0245

Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org

Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

Chat generously provided by:LiveChat

In partnership with
Jump back to top