A version of this feature ran in the September issue of BRAIN.
BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — For our September magazine edition, we asked our State of Retail panel members: How much of your square footage is dedicated to apparel, and how strong of a category is it? What are your key challenges and best practices with apparel sales?
MONTCLAIR, N.J.: Dave Adornato, owner Montclair Bikery
Currently, about 7%-10% of our floorspace is dedicated to apparel, and it accounts for about 5% of our gross revenue. We stick with the basics: black shorts and bibs, socks, warmers, and shoes. We only carry custom shop kits, and we no longer stock apparel from clothing brands. Apparel sales have been shrinking, and we are planning to reallocate about half our apparel space to better accommodate children's bikes. This space is off the main sales floor, and it’s a great place to put kids’ bikes. Selling bikes to children can be a bit chaotic and loud, so moving this sale off the main floor will help us maintain a professional environment. We have noted a trend of customers’ lack of interest in apparel. They are purchasing apparel online, even from the brands we carry. Of course, black shorts and basic jerseys never go out of style, so we always have those, as well as footwear. Shoes are still a big seller, and people want to try them on. But high-end kits and expensive outerwear tend to sit and get discounted.
HARDWICK, Vt.: Jason Bahner, co-owner Riverside Cycles
We don’t have an actual square-footage marker for apparel sales in our store. So far, we’ve had success displaying apparel items in different locations throughout the store and moving them around. We’ve been open less than a year, so it’s difficult to say what percentage of total revenue we’ll land on, but it’s tracking at 10% to 20% of our total revenue so far. As for best practices, it’s working well to use our point-of-sale system to track sales, restock, and re-order. We carry a selection of shop-branded tees and hoodies, and our plans for apparel are staying the same for the short- to mid-term.
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo.: Enric Die-Girbau, operations manager Rhythm Cycles
Our apparel section occupies about 16 square feet and generates roughly $10,000 in gross revenue. We have been decreasing the total offerings and focusing on just stocking store-branded and basic-colored stock apparel. We’ve seen that our apparel sales have grown slightly since we refined the offering and focused on having full size runs but of fewer individual pieces. In short, our best practice has been to focus on a few SKUs at entry-level price points. We keep one of each size in stock at all times and only stock black- or white-colored items. Before this approach, we had a tough relationship with apparel due to a few factors. One is our lack of available floor space, and another is the lack of walk-in customer traffic. Finally, the nature of seasonal apparel releases has made it tough to support stocking a larger number of SKUs. These days, a tight focus on the must-have items at the lowest price points for riders who need to fill an immediate need is the best solution for us.
COSTA MESA, Calif.: Lisa Fleischaker, owner The Unlikely Cyclist
We allocate about 30% of our square footage to apparel sales, and these days apparel is about 20% of our total revenue. It used to be much higher. Our apparel sales have decreased pretty dramatically over the last few years. As a result of this, we plan on slightly decreasing the amount of space that we allocate to apparel in the future. We’ve also stopped placing large booking orders like we used to in the past. Unfortunately, it has become too hard to compete with direct-to-consumer sales from most apparel manufacturers. As a result, we have decreased our offerings. Our best practice in the current climate is to order in "the basic black" selection of bibs and shorts and to stock small quantities of selected hard-to-get international boutique brands. Despite this focus, we have always sold ourselves as a place to try on clothing and get fitted properly, and that won't change.
BOULDER, Colo.: Diana Freeman, owner/founder Cassiopeia
Our shop is a destination for women's cycling apparel, gifts, advice, and community. Currently, 80% of the floor space is for apparel and accessories, and we have an adjoining cafe as well. We carry Pas Normal, Giordana, Ostroy, Velocio, Wild Rye, and other brands. We’re a cycling apparel boutique, so apparel sales are our focus; although, we’re shifting that as we’ve opened our service department and wheel demo center. It’s year one for us, so we don’t have any major changes planned. Because a majority of cycling apparel comes from overseas, 2025 has been challenging with unpredictable lead times and duty charges for replenishment ordering. Looking to next year, we will prioritize going deeper with fewer brands and SKUs.
GREENWICH, Conn.: Rob Koshar, owner Greenwich Bicycles
Bicycles take up most of our square footage overall, but most of the space that’s not dedicated to bikes or service is dedicated to apparel, which I define as anything that’s worn while riding: clothing, helmets, eyewear and shoes. (Our clothing-only offerings occupy about half of the available non-bike, non-service display.) Year-to-date, total apparel sales inclusive of helmets, shoes, and eyewear is 4.5% of gross sales. Interestingly, if I take out bikes, labor and services, apparel represents 19% of our combined sales of apparel, parts, and accessories.
Our display space dedicated to apparel has not changed in the last couple years and there are no plans to increase or decrease it in the future. Apparel sales are off about 20% compared to last year, but our percentage of non-bike and service revenue has increased from about 22% to 24%. My apparel best practice is to narrow down the selection to one or two companies in each category. For example, in eyewear, carry one price-point brand like Tifosi and one aspirational brand like Oakley. It's less risky to go with brands that have name recognition or that customers are familiar with. The higher the price point, the more important brand names will be as these buyers may be enthusiasts who know what they want.
BELLINGHAM, Wash.: Staci May, co-owner Earl’s Bike Shop
We’ve made a deliberate decision not to stock apparel due to a combination of practical and strategic reasons. First, clothing requires a substantial amount of floor space to properly display a variety of sizes and styles, and with our current layout, allocating that space would limit the range of other products we’re able to offer. Additionally, we don’t have designated dressing rooms, which are typically essential for a comfortable and convenient apparel shopping experience. Retrofitting our space to accommodate fitting rooms isn’t feasible at this time. Lastly, we’ve seen a strong shift toward online shopping for clothing, where customers can browse extensive collections, use virtual fitting tools, and take advantage of flexible return policies. Given these factors, we’ve chosen to focus our in-store offerings on categories that better suit our space and customer expectations.
MIAMISBURG, Ohio: Sandy Whitman Talley, owner Whitman’s Bike Way Bike Shop
Our apparel square footage is less than 2%, and comprises about 6 square feet. There are too many sizes and colors to stock for success in this category, and it’s too difficult to compete with direct-to-consumer online sales. The need has shifted. Activewear in general is readily available in many channels compared to years ago. Unsurprisingly, our apparel-driven sales revenue is also very low. We mainly carry apparel for impulse purchases, along with promoting comfort. Our sales have decreased and we have no plan currently to change footage. Our best practice is displaying apparel in a high-traffic area, keeping a size run of padded shorts and gloves, and offering a selection of shop-branded logo shirts.
SAN FRANCISCO: Brett Thurber & Karen Wiener, owners The New Wheel
We have decided to not focus on apparel at The New Wheel. We have small stores, and our customer base is much more urban-oriented, so traditional cycling apparel is not top of mind for these customers. We sell gloves and helmets, but that is pretty much the extent of our apparel sales. It is very very low. We carried jackets in the past, but stocking these was challenging due to availability issues and an inability to be able to maintain full size runs. I would be able to offer apparel sales if companies offered more bespoke, made-to-order options. My dream is selling made-to-order, head-to-toe rainwear via a compact display in-store that would allow us to measure customers for gear, get it made for them, and deliver it directly to their door. If anyone has a product like this, please reach out.
