FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (BRAIN) — Sam Nehme might own Broward Motorsports, but he's a mountain biker at heart.
"I've always been on a Specialized, and I really wanted to have the full line (of bikes) and be a full-on store," Nehme said.
While Specialized Bicycles has powersports dealers as e-bike retail outlets, it didn't have any as an authorized dealer with a full product line that includes traditional pedal bikes.
That is, until Nehme approached Specialized a few months ago and made a compelling case.
"They wanted us to be electric-only," he said. "That was their approach. So I've got five dealerships, and I chose two of my stores that I thought could house the products and properly display them and make a showroom within a showroom."
And now it's becoming a reality at his Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida, locations. Broward Motorsports will carry all segments of Specialized bikes and e-bikes: road, mountain and kids, plus accessories. Both locations also will have a full bicycle service department.
Like other dealers, Nehme said he's had bicycle inventory shortages but does have a couple hundred currently in stock.
"We already have quite a few deposits on bikes that we can't get our hands on yet that customers are waiting for, so I think we're going to go through another year of this both from a powersports business and also in the bicycle business," Nehme said.
A Specialized spokesman said while it hasn't actively solicited powersport dealers to carry its full line of bikes, Broward Motorsports was an exception. Specialized began attracting some powersports dealers to sell e-bikes early last year. The brand first got involved with the dealers through its sponsorship of the Grand Nationals Cross Country (GNCC) off-road vehicle race series.
"For a great retailer that can make a great experience for the riders and community while working well with our IBR partners, this is the only instance we have," said Sam Benedict, Specialized USA leader for marketing.
Broward Motorsports does $100 million a year in sales, and Nehme said he anticipates selling 1,000 bicycle units yearly at each store.
"We found a lot of customers are also enthusiasts, whether it's street or mountain," he said. "And it just made a lot of sense. There is a lot of synergy between the two brands/segments, and that's why I approached them to get the full line, and we decided to go that route."
With the showroom displays in both stores complete, an extensive marketing campaign is beginning. Nehme said Broward Motorsports is aggressive with social media and uses e-blasts and newsletters to reach its customers. It utilizes in-house marketing and a California marketing company to develop the Specialized strategy. Nehme said it is soliciting its 60,000 email subscribers to get the word out about being a Specialized dealer and creating a separate bicycle email group.
"We're basically just turning that on now," Nehme said. "The word will get out pretty fast. A lot of it is word of mouth, but I think when the marketing kicks in, it will really increase our presence."
