Frostbike!
Several of the shop staff just returned from our yearly trip to the "Frostbike" trade show event at Quality Bicycle Products in Minneapolis, MN. QBP is one of our largest distributors, and the parent company of two of our bike brands, Salsa and Surly (more about Surly later).
David, Manny, Chad and Brian spent 3 days checking out new bikes, frames, clothing and accessories from over 150 brands that QBP carries. We also attended several seminars on subjects like service quality, ordering and inventory management (to ensure we have everything you need in stock) and Customer Service.
The show also allows us to spend time with people from hundreds of other shops from around the country, sharing ideas and best practices. On Friday night QBP hosted a top dealers dinner in downtown Minneapolis, and afterwards we went to the coolest shop I've been to (besides ours of course) called One on One. It's a bike shop, antique bike gallery, art gallery and coffee shop all in one.
Some other highlights and notable info from the trip:
Salsa - Manny and I spent some time with our friends at Salsa Cycles, talking about our plans to to bring in more of their great bikes, as well as plans for some events like bike demos and such.
Surly - During the next few weeks, we will become a "stocking" dealer, meaning that we will have several Surly bikes in stock. Surly is a very cool bike brand, making some of the most innovative and yet simple and purposeful bikes and parts out there. For more info on Surly and their products, go to http://www.surlybikes.com/ . I'll post more info in the next few days about which bikes we'll be stocking and when.
Environmental practices - QBP is a big advocate for environmentally friendly practices, and we brought home many ideas for what we can do at the local shop level. We are partnering with some of their friends to recycle and/or better dispose of chains, freewheels, tubes and old bike parts. We'll also be doing more locally to promote more earth-friendly habits within our cycling community.
It was a fun trip for all of us, one that gives us the opportunity to learn new and better ways to serve our Customers and friends at CBE.
See you at the shop!
- Brian
David, Manny, Chad and Brian spent 3 days checking out new bikes, frames, clothing and accessories from over 150 brands that QBP carries. We also attended several seminars on subjects like service quality, ordering and inventory management (to ensure we have everything you need in stock) and Customer Service.
The show also allows us to spend time with people from hundreds of other shops from around the country, sharing ideas and best practices. On Friday night QBP hosted a top dealers dinner in downtown Minneapolis, and afterwards we went to the coolest shop I've been to (besides ours of course) called One on One. It's a bike shop, antique bike gallery, art gallery and coffee shop all in one.
Some other highlights and notable info from the trip:
Salsa - Manny and I spent some time with our friends at Salsa Cycles, talking about our plans to to bring in more of their great bikes, as well as plans for some events like bike demos and such.
Surly - During the next few weeks, we will become a "stocking" dealer, meaning that we will have several Surly bikes in stock. Surly is a very cool bike brand, making some of the most innovative and yet simple and purposeful bikes and parts out there. For more info on Surly and their products, go to http://www.surlybikes.com/ . I'll post more info in the next few days about which bikes we'll be stocking and when.
Environmental practices - QBP is a big advocate for environmentally friendly practices, and we brought home many ideas for what we can do at the local shop level. We are partnering with some of their friends to recycle and/or better dispose of chains, freewheels, tubes and old bike parts. We'll also be doing more locally to promote more earth-friendly habits within our cycling community.
It was a fun trip for all of us, one that gives us the opportunity to learn new and better ways to serve our Customers and friends at CBE.
See you at the shop!
- Brian
posted by CBE Staff at 9:34 AM
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