[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” type=”legacy”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”true” border_position=”all” first=”true”][fusion_imageframe image_id=”24873|full” max_width=”700px” sticky_max_width=”” skip_lazy_load=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align_medium=”none” align_small=”none” align=”center” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”BRR – Larry Black” link=”” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]https://nbda.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BRR-Fred-Clements.png[/fusion_imageframe][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

Bringing Joy into the Bicycle Industry

[/fusion_text][fusion_code]PGRpdiBpZD0iYnV6enNwcm91dC1wbGF5ZXItODkyNjczOSI+PC9kaXY+CjxzY3JpcHQgc3JjPSJodHRwczovL3d3dy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS80OTYwOTMvODkyNjczOS1icmluZ2luZy1qb3ktaW50by10aGUtYmljeWNsZS1pbmR1c3RyeS5qcz9jb250YWluZXJfaWQ9YnV6enNwcm91dC1wbGF5ZXItODkyNjczOSZwbGF5ZXI9c21hbGwiIHR5cGU9InRleHQvamF2YXNjcmlwdCIgY2hhcnNldD0idXRmLTgiPjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==[/fusion_code][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” min_height=”” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” align_content=”stretch” flex_align_items=”flex-start” flex_justify_content=”flex-start” flex_column_spacing=”” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” container_tag=”div” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_sizes=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_right=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing_medium=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” spacing_small=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_dimensions_medium=”” padding_top_medium=”” padding_right_medium=”” padding_bottom_medium=”” padding_left_medium=”” padding_dimensions_small=”” padding_top_small=”” padding_right_small=”” padding_bottom_small=”” padding_left_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_vertical=”” box_shadow_horizontal=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” z_index=”” overflow=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” absolute=”off” absolute_devices=”small,medium,large” sticky=”off” sticky_devices=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_background_color=”” sticky_height=”” sticky_offset=”” sticky_transition_offset=”0″ scroll_offset=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”true” border_position=”all” first=”true”][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

This episode’s guest is Fred Clements. Holding the office of Executive Director for the National Bicycle Dealers Association from 1989 to 2017, an unprecedented 27 years, Fred has a background that spans journalism to retail relationships. Past contributing to an NBDA Executive director blog in the industry trade publication, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Fred brings to the conversation a rich history, future predictions, and lots of cycling industry love.

Support the show

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” min_height=”” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” align_content=”stretch” flex_align_items=”flex-start” flex_justify_content=”flex-start” flex_column_spacing=”” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” container_tag=”div” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_sizes=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_right=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing_medium=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” spacing_small=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_dimensions_medium=”” padding_top_medium=”” padding_right_medium=”” padding_bottom_medium=”” padding_left_medium=”” padding_dimensions_small=”” padding_top_small=”” padding_right_small=”” padding_bottom_small=”” padding_left_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_vertical=”” box_shadow_horizontal=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” z_index=”” overflow=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” absolute=”off” absolute_devices=”small,medium,large” sticky=”off” sticky_devices=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_background_color=”” sticky_height=”” sticky_offset=”” sticky_transition_offset=”0″ scroll_offset=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”true” border_position=”all” first=”true”][fusion_accordion type=”” boxed_mode=”” border_size=”1″ border_color=”” background_color=”” hover_color=”” divider_line=”” title_font_size=”20px” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_boxed_mode=”” icon_box_color=”” icon_alignment=”” toggle_hover_accent_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=””][fusion_toggle title=”Episode Transcript” open=”no” class=”” id=””]

Bringing Joy into the Bicycle Industry

Tue, 7/27

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

retailers, bicycle, people, bike, industry, fred, business, store, bike shop, margins, retail, thinking, years, talking, sales, tradeshow, seminars, board members, pay, meeting

SPEAKERS

Heather Mason, Fred Clements, NBDA

NBDA   00:10

You are listening to bicycle retail radio brought to you by the National bicycle Dealers Association.

Heather Mason  00:16

Welcome to another episode of bicycle retail radio brought to you by the MBA. This is Heather Mason. If you’re a first time listener, be sure to check out our previous episodes, do us a favor and leave a review. Today’s guest is Fred Clements holding the Office of executive director for the National bicycle Dealers Association, from 1989 to 2017. And unprecedented 27 years Fred has a background that spans journalism to retail relationships has contributing to the MBA executive director blog in the industry, trade publication, bicycle retailer and industry news. Fred brings to the conversation a rich history, future predictions and lots of cycling industry love. Welcome, Fred. Thank you for joining.

Fred Clements  00:56

Well, thanks for the welcome. Thanks for having me. This will be fun.

Heather Mason  01:00

It has been amazing getting to know you, you’ve continued to support the MBA, and I reached out to you just after stepping into the role in February because I just thought okay, Fred has to know, so much that’s happened, and he’s going to be a great mentor. And you amazingly, I think we’ve been meeting like bi weekly since March. So I just want to thank you for that. And you really helped, you know, kind of guide some things I’ve been thinking about and a little bit unsure of. So I just wanted to thank you for that.

Fred Clements  01:28

You’re welcome. I think it’s always good to have a sounding board. And I you know, when they’re there no stakes for Fred Clements anymore. So I can just say what I think and it’s up to you to take relief as you see fit.

Heather Mason  01:39

It’s true. Sometimes like, well, we have a conversation and you just drop it and you’re like, oh, like okay. Alright, so let’s catch everyone up with what you’ve been doing for the last few years.

Fred Clements  01:50

Yeah. So when I left the NBDA, I, after my unprecedented long run that I am extremely grateful for I went into a retail relations role at interbike work for Pat and the staff there at interbike. For a time that was the next to last interbike in a retail relations role. That ended and I did a little consulting, especially with Brett Fleming, my friend, Brett efficient fellow tools. We did some strategic planning, and I helped him at the tradeshow booth a few times. And since then, I’ve been sort of monitoring the industry, you know, talking to you from time to time, and others who I consider friends within the industry just sort of stay up to date, reading the trade magazine and the online forums and things just I can’t get it out of my system, I guess. But again, no stakes. I mean, it’s easy to do without going nothing’s at risk.

Heather Mason  02:38

I know you’ve been riding a little bit too, right on the bike.

Fred Clements  02:42

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s, you know, when I my plans for retirement were a little vague, except for riding the bike. And so I’ve been able to now that I’m back out on the road, COVID protocols have loosened, I’m 67. Now, so it was surprising to me how long it took to get back into road condition. Even though I was writing in the garage on a trainer for a half hour a day. It’s just a different animal. And it’s been wonderful.

Heather Mason  03:11

I love that. Yeah, there’s nothing like getting outside after being like, on the zwift all winter, whatever. Like, I’m not as in shape as I thought. Okay, so such a long time. But how did you get into the bike industry? This is a question. I always love to ask people because you never know what their path was. So how did you end up as the executive director of the MBA?

Fred Clements  03:29

Right? Well, it was set of circumstances, I guess a lot of people have that in common as to their career story. So I’m a journalism graduate. I spent years in newspapers, trade magazines, and the consumer magazine I worked for was called cyclist magazine, the editor john Francis. And that was 1988. That was my first direct employment related to bicycles. Prior to that I was the motorcycle magazine guy as a company. History, communications now advanced are so bicycles started for me there that unfortunately, magazine went belly up, along with a few other in that era, a few others in that era bicycle guide, and a few others went belly up winning shortly thereafter. But one of the fellows that wrote a column, a very well read column for cyclists magazine was a guy by the name of Steve ready, and he wrote these wonderful columns, a very literate guy, call himself the marketing man. And, you know, he was the founder of interbike. And he knew that I was looking for work. And we had three kids in diapers at the time. And so he had been the NBDA, Executive Director on a volunteer basis. But you know, his, you know, good for him. His trade show started to grow quite a bit. And he really couldn’t do the NVDA on a volunteer basis, as well as build his tradeshow company. So that’s when he brought me on.

Heather Mason  04:51

I’m just thinking, starting out with the NBA. So when I started in February, it was like, all these things are coming at you. It’s such a dynamic organization, and look at The mission and the vision and supporting a specialty bicycle retailer. So can you think back on those first days of coming, you know, into the office of MBDA? And what you know, that meant, like, what were you thinking? And did you have like, were you going to launch a whole new strategy? Or what was the MVP, like back then I guess,

Fred Clements  05:17

if it weren’t for the relationship with interbike, and Steve’s caretaking of the organization bit probably would have gone away, it was extremely small membership dues, and then some tradeshow revenue, kept it going. But after the last management company that, you know, allowed Steve just step in with the backing of some very prominent dealers and take over the NVDA. And it was kind of dead in the water. So he had a newsletter, he had had an office, but it hadn’t been tended to, you know, so the membership database and all that stuff, the billing, it just, it all needed to be kind of reinvented. And so slowly, I was able to do that I was concerned taking the job. I’m a newspaper reporter, basically at heart And who am I to take on or nonprofit but you know, I have covered City Council’s and trade associations. When I was in the motorcycle industry, I kind of had an inkling as to what it was about. But there is much to my surprise, a whole industry of association professionals, it’s a career choice for some people. And there’s training, there’s specialty stuff you can do to run a nonprofit associations. And that was all new to me. So I did my best to learn it and keep building for me. And as with many people in the bike industry, a real driver was bicycles, and the bicycle industry specifically, I don’t think I could have done it or would have done it for the refrigerator industry or something.

Heather Mason  06:42

You have to be involved in something you’re passionate about and you love right. So you know, how was that first, like you’re so getting to know retailers and the needs of retailers? Like they kind of submitted to you some reasons why retailers should join the NBA. What were some of the conversations you were having, or anything that stands out from those early years?

Fred Clements  07:01

Yes. So when I joined, the Board of Directors was mostly small dealers. And it was before the concept store notion, really, I mean, the Schwinn had their concept, but it was a much different industry and the small dealers and I got along great because I’m a small business kind of guy. And so we’re not talking 10 location chains at the time. And so I got along great with them. And to this day have friendships that I made in 1989, from that original board of directors, and to try to, you know, what I tried to do, I tried to be a sort of a logical versus passionate in how I do things. So with by planning, by setting things up by making sure that just basic things like meetings and meeting minutes and budgets, and we’re done and done with the board’s input, that was I think we’re early on, I was able to add some value and kind of become, I guess it to use a basketball terminology, you know, the point guard, you know, you’re not there to score all the points, you’re there to pass it off to others. And, you know, so it’s very much in some degrees still is a board positions where I mean, they’re all volunteers, I don’t think the industry really gets that, that these are not paid positions, these are your peers, volunteering their time, to better the industry. And that I think remains to this day. And I think they deserve a lot of credit over the years for the work they put in, especially recently, you know, brand new leap back as a volunteer unpaid, save the NBA from cratering into the ditch, you know, and so good for her and good for the NBA. I’m really glad that it worked, you know, during a really the perfect storm with trade magazines suffering interbike in weathering and finally dying, those were two of the three main revenue streams for the association. And it was just really tough times right there.

Heather Mason  08:52

Yeah, I have to tell you the board, you know, the board that I’m working with, they’re just super humans. You know, they definitely it’s all volunteer. And even today, like right before our podcast, I had one reach out, can I help you? You know, they’re always like, Can I help you? Do you need anything, which is, you know, I had never experienced that, you know, people that just volunteering their time, they want to make a difference there retailers who want to help other retailers. It seems like we’re really coming. The industry is really coming together as what I’m feeling, you know, especially over the past 15 months and to work with some amazing board members, how many different people, you know, over 27 years, I mean, you must have had multiple board assemblies right now.

Fred Clements  09:30

I’m not sure how the bylaws are now, I think they’ve been edited a couple times. But we generally had a 15 member board and you know, people would rotate off some people would go multiple terms, who always had elections and the members would approve of the board. So yeah, I’ve been privileged to meet and work with a number of really high quality people. I still remember one of the tradeshow booths, you know, we brought in an outside vendor, I think it was computer software or something and he hung out in the booth. Did he talk to the dealers? He finally at the end of the show, he looked at me said, all the industries I’ve been involved with your is the most colorful, passionate group I’ve ever seen. And that’s kind of how I felt, too. I mean, it’s diverse. It’s from large to small retailer, it’s not diverse, really gender wise, or race wise, obviously. But hopefully some of that’s coming. Yeah, it’s a wonderful industry. And that way, you know, that the people in it, I think, are in it because they want to be, and as to quote Bob, Marja Vegas, you know, it’s not a mercenary industry. So if you don’t look at it, as you know, to squeeze every dime from your consumer, don’t be mercenary about it, be passionate, be exciting, and the money will come better than if you just pinched every penny. And I take that to heart. I think I see quite a bit of that, too.

Heather Mason  10:48

Yeah. And you touched on the diversity thing there. We’re definitely trying to even what the definition of a bicycle shop is, or what the definition of a cyclist is, we’re trying to broaden that and open that up. And yeah, we currently have 10 board members, but we’re looking for more. So if anyone listening, you know, wants to is interested in the MTA board, please reach out, Fred, I’m thinking of 27 years, anything looking back, some of the projects that you enjoyed most during your term are some things that are maybe most noticeable, and I’ll get off the 27 year thing, but I just think it’s so

Fred Clements  11:19

that’s all right, I’m not gonna deny it. I was there a long time. And it’s because of the people really, because of the friendships because of Steve ready at first, you know, he became a close personal friend and board members. So I think, you know, maybe the one that I like the most, that really isn’t huge in terms of size, but the profitability project, the P two group that NBDA still done, you know, we develop that with Dan, man of the man group, and the board members, where you have retailers who are non competing, which I’ve learned over the years is really important. You don’t want to share your ideas and secrets with a competitor, obviously, but sometimes I tend to overlook that, you know, within a marketplace, but why don’t you just work together with that guy. So the P to being non competing, and they can share numbers, they can swap stories, they can plan together, they function as each other’s boards of directors, to me, that was the step that took it from, which is also valuable, but we’re going to do a bunch of seminars, we’re going to teach you how to do this, that and that to a step deeper, where it’s personal relationship with your peers, many of whom have been through the same issues you’re struggling with, to share ideas to share numbers to challenge each other. And that’s probably one of the brightest sort of idea, focus things that we did when I was there.

Heather Mason  12:33

Yeah, the pay to program. You know, we just spoke about this the other day, because I asked, Hey, can you know, Dan man’s contacted me, I wanted to reach out to him, because I’m so thankful to, you know, you and him and the board members at the time, we put the program into place, because I’ve seen retailers helping retailers, and it makes a difference. Every single call we have each month, they come out with a new little something that they give to each other. It’s amazing. So interview because, you know, we’re talking right before this call about the big gear show. And you know, I’d say a smaller show than interbike. And you were involved in leading MBDA through interbike. I mean, how was that I’m, like, you know, into my ears are here for big gear. So I came in I mean, did you like that project?

Fred Clements  13:12

Well, yeah, extremely challenging, because you’re still a small staff. And within a three or four day period, you have a lot going on. In our case, you know, we had our booth at the show, we had seminars running all four days, usually all day long, that we were responsible for a board of directors meeting dead to be prepared for and people coached up and you know, brought up to date with the agenda and all of that, and the special events at the show, you had to show up and be there and represent the dealer, it just was and I’m sure is a lot to do a lot to organize and figure out. And I’ve ended up concluding over the years, you know, you can do all the planning that you want, you can read those notes and strategic this and tactical that and the fact that you just can’t predict how it’s going to go. You can control a few things and set things up in motion. But you got to also remain flexible and be able to dance to the right or to the left, depending on the circumstance. And there were danceable circumstances, that’s for sure over the years,

Heather Mason  14:18

it seems to me like you know, not having shows for the past year, and we just are really looking forward to seeing our retailers again, and I want to just make sure everything’s perfect, but of course, right? Who knows? Fred, I’m interested because I feel like if I recall correctly, you transferred from executive director of MBA to take more of a leading role with interbike or a relationship role. What was the move that you made when you decided to transfer over? Right? Well,

Fred Clements  14:41

when I left iturbide, or when I left NBDA, I was no longer affiliated with NBDA. So Pat, who’s hired me in a retail relations role, something that was well established in the outdoor industry they had at the time three, I think it might be two now but retail relations, people focused on their tradeshow to reach out To get dealers in forum to get them committed to help them if they have any problems. And so that’s the other than when I first started with NBDA and 89. I was an interbank employee, technically, because that’s where my paycheck came from. Because NBDA didn’t have separate accounts quite yet. You know, and to the end, where I had this last six months with interbike, on there next to last show on the retail relations front, try to get it happening for interbike.

Heather Mason  15:25

That was probably a fun thing. I mean, I can’t you were like a perfect person to reach out because you probably knew most of the retailers anyhow. Right. So

Fred Clements  15:32

Well, I do a lot of them. And I think that was helpful. The show was in tough in the beginning, or maybe not in the in the middle of tough times, though. And you know it to some degree, what some of the big brands have done to support their retailers had begun to challenge what interbike used to offer pretty much exclusively in terms of training and seminars and interaction between retailers. And so, you know, companies are doing more of that, which I think contributed to the fact that interbike was just not as relevant to the average retailer, you know, when you take the cost of attending and then the time away from your business, and you’ve got to have a return on investment to justify it unless you just want a vacation. And some people do that, too. But the show was, I think, you know, honestly could have and probably should have continued, there was no reason to pull the plug except ownership needed a certain return and it wasn’t there for them. So I stayed ready. We’re still running it, they’ve probably would have continued and more often than still existing. But and that’s not to diminish what the you know, big ears. Joe is, you know, that may become powerful force. Certainly what Jim and Kaptur are doing with the regional show concept seems to be working quite well, the brands themselves, I still remember talking to the retailers on the road trips. And so are you going to enter like, oh, maybe not? Well, what do you think? Well, I’ve already talked to my reps, I know what is available, and I don’t need to spend the time or money to go to interbike and see stuff I’m not going to carry anyway. So those tighter relationships between brands and retail, I think, have given some comfort to a lot of retailers where maybe they don’t need as much as they used to an independent platform for networking and the like.

Heather Mason  17:18

Yeah, I mean, I’m a huge fan of interbike. I used You know, I’ve been many times and even the last year in Reno, you know, I wasn’t a fan of Reno. But you know, it’s still nice to see everyone. And there was a lot of Ed sessions there. And, you know, we’re talking about the big year show, and Cabo, which MBDA will be at this year. And we’re having the same conversations with retailers, you know, you should come there’s lots, you know, peer to peer learning, there’s value to be had there, right, like, Fred, can you share anything for retailers on the fence right now, because we still have somewhere on the fence about going to shows?

Fred Clements  17:48

Well, I think and it’s something everybody tried to morph into, I mean, really smart people at interbike. I don’t mean to, you know, there’s nothing they could have done, I think, to to save interbike. But, you know, the actual exhibit floor handy sales opportunity that presents, I think, in a lot of trade shows has begun to become secondary to the networking and education. So it becomes more of a conference with a trade show attached than a trade show, just offering seminars on the side. And I think that’s the model that and not that you don’t want to discount the exhibitors and their need to see retailers and retailers to stay informed. But I think that’s you can morph a tradeshow into something else that is dynamic and useful to people. I think something bigger, I mean, you’re going to do a bunch of seminars, it looks like and certainly, you know, the brands that you see are, I think important, you’ll discover things that you didn’t know, were there. hopefully there’ll be enough attendance to where you’ll see old friends in my I think you and I’ve talked about this before, you know, what is an association? Well, it’s a sort of an umbrella for bringing people together. And that happens in a lot of different ways. And so events is one of them. And yes, you know, another challenge has been and certainly the COVID thing, we’re doing this call by zoom, a lot of people are more comfortable with zoom. Those who proclaim things proclaim that the younger generation is less inclined to meet face to face, and I’m very comfortable with zoom. And I would urge some caution there, you know, that zoom and other technologies are a great enhancement. But I don’t think it can ever replace the relationships that are face to face, person to person, you really get to know someone and it can make a difference in your business. It can make a difference in terms of your level of trust, whether you when you call them up, you know, you actually know them. You know, I think and we’ll get to the America’s best bike shop or Bria probably as we get to talking. But what makes a retailer successful I think includes this kind of outreach because all it takes is a couple ideas that can transform you. Otherwise you’re in your local market, dealing with your customer base, the reps that come in and technology and I would argue that’s not enough. If you really want to grow your business, or be more professional to learn from your peers who have done it and done it. Well, it’s invaluable.

Heather Mason  20:10

Yeah. So I’m like so with you, because I’m thinking of some of the best ideas I’ve had. And they’ve been in conversations with other people, you know, in the industry. And I’m not even like they’re searching, but they just come out of it. It’s because I put myself just there, and you’re writing Association brings people together, I am so committed to that, Fred, I’ve got us registered for Philly bike Expo cabinet, like we’re gonna be I want to be everywhere. I want to just really get people together and listen to retailers and learn what they need and see how we can be most impactful. I think it’s so important. All right, I was doing some research for our talk today. And I googled you. I don’t know if you’ve googled yourself before, but I totally googled you. And all this stuff came up. But something that really stood out to me that brought me right in was the column that you wrote for bicycle retailer. And I mean, for years, there’s so many great articles in there. I was most impressed that I told you right before we even started our conversation about the one in 2015. There was like six trends for people for retailers to watch. And you listed mobile and E bikes, private label, like thought on predictions. You say you’re still keeping up with everything going on in the industry, anything in your mind that retailers should keep a watch on or any predictions or you know, anything that you’re seeing that maybe you’d want to share with our listeners?

Fred Clements  21:26

I think you inherited the box of NBDA old timer stuff. Yeah, right it old newsletters from the 1950s, black and white photos of people wearing bow ties, all of that stuff. Interesting. But some of those newsletters that I recall, the dealers were talking about some of the same key issues that they talk about today. profitability, bicycle margins, competition, in those days, it was straight mail order. These days, it’s mail order with an Internet interface, as opposed to a hard catalog interface. But it’s still mail order, and how to compete and how to be a local brick and mortar store in a world that was challenging then and is challenging now. So I don’t know, we’ll probably get more into some of that. But I think the you know, I’ve been in a lot of stores a lot of bike stores. And I don’t want to sound too Pollyanna. But it’s most of them are pretty good. You know, there’s not a lot of bike shops that can be really bad at what they do, and survive in a challenging marketplace. So and the thing, I used to think that we would go to these p to dealer as part of the P two groups, and you could feel the vibe of a store. And you know if that makes any sense. Again, I don’t want to sound Pollyanna, but I concluded some stores have joy. And some stores don’t have joy, you can have all the beautiful displays and merchandising and product selection and all that you want. But if there’s not a sort of underlying evangelical passion for the bicycle, the store doesn’t have quite the same vibe. And that can be a large store, a small store, a medium store, I know you think you did a podcast with a great Larry black a week or two ago. And he is the perfect example of a guy who is outside of the mainstream of what business consultants would think a bike shop should be. But he’s extremely successful. In fact, when we started the P to profitability project, you know, we put out a prospect list, we would invite retailers, and Larry called me one time and said, You never asked me? Why didn’t you ask me? I was thinking, Well, let me explain what it is, you know, we’re going to use our computer programs to come up with key performance indicators, we’re going to share our numbers, we’re going to work to improve each number individually. And that’s really the foundation of it. And he paused and said, I guess you know me better than I thought you did. That would never work for me. And that’s one of the thing I appreciate it. It’s difficult, as you know, to come up with a trade association that’s going to meet the needs of such a wide variety of retailers. How do you make Larry black, feel that he’s getting value, and then also a huge multi store chain, I won’t need to name names, it’s kind of two different worlds. It’s the same I mean, they’re all bikes and you all do service and repair and yet you know, the owner manager model of a small to medium store is pretty good one. And I think that’s to me the fundamentals of retail haven’t really changed as long as you’re going to pay for as part of your cost of doing business a brick and mortar location and all the infrastructure inside the store it jolly well better pay off for you. You better have a way of being able to justify that order. Just don’t be a brick and mortar store be something else. So you know when it comes to basic sales, training and staff training and setting your strategic plan for the year. Those are the kinds of things I like to think you know, NBDA can provide Support for those kinds of things, but the answer is yours. There’s not one answer. For any retailer, you know, if you and your has to match up with the owners goal, if your goal is profit, well, you there’s way to manage that if your goal is, yeah, I want to make a living, but I also want to enjoy my life. That’s a different scenario. And so where do you and NBDA are even a brand that’s trying to help their retailers? What are they in their efforts, when it’s so diverse? So I don’t think there’s any one answer. So how’s that for a Dodge?

Heather Mason  25:30

No. I think you’ve heard me in some of our meetings, I’m like, Fred, there’s just so many different shops, and you can’t please everyone. So you just go as confidently forward as you can, knowing that your intentions are good, and you’re trying to help as many people as you can. But what I loved about your columns, anyone who’s listening, go to bicycle retailer, or just google Fred Clements bicycle retailer, you’ll get all of his old articles. They’re all in there was a diversity of topics that you brought up, and it could be staff training, or one was titled the black hole of IBD profitability that bikes bikes or the black hole. And this is a topic that just came up in one of our member meetings on a Monday, you know, e bike margins are down regular margins, we just saw specialized took away a couple points not to call a brand out, but it’s a conversation that came up, and now shipping prices are increasing. You know, I’m trying to provide tips for retailers to keep their shops more profitable. And you know, I’m like focus on bike fitting Focus On Service, focus on the items that are most profitable, like your winners. Any other tips that you can think of from your experience?

NBDA   26:33

Have you signed up for Ryder daily extended service yet? What are you waiting for? It’s the extended service plan for your customers that pays you your shop rate for extended service and warranty claims. rides is only available to NVDA members. And it’s only available at NBDA calm.

Fred Clements  26:56

The legendary Deke pal once said to me, I have to be really careful not to sell too many bicycles. And I was new to the job relatively new. What are you talking about? said Well, I devote, you know, half a million dollars, or bicycles, bicycle sales. And if it goes to 50 to 53%, those are low margin sales, I can’t make that work. And so I think that’s something if you really are into the analysis of it all, are some stores too big in terms of their bicycle offerings, and not big enough on some of the higher margin items, you know, so I’ve known stores that have decreased their footprint on bicycles, because you just can’t on a 35% margin. And if their breakeven is 40%, even if you trim back and make your breakeven 38%, you’re still not making money on a bicycle sales. And if half of your floor is devoted to that you’re starting with one hand tied behind your back. So margins, you know, back in the 1950s, like I told about the newsletter, that was an issue that it’s an issue now, in terms of margins. So I guess that’s just to be and then there are stores that do really well with bicycles, either because their cost of doing business is low enough, where a 35 or 36% margin could be profitable, or they just blow through it, they sell bikes for higher than suggested retail price. And they do that in a variety of ways. You know, offer packages, you know, that might doesn’t normally come with pedals, but we’ll give you a pedal water bottle cage and whatever, and will charge more than the MSRP. And so I think that’s, you know, there’s so many creative ways to make a bike shop profitable. You know, I think, you know, in terms of how my mind works, it’s sort of a straightforward look, you can analyze the square footage that you devote to a certain product category and try to rough guess as to whether that amount of square footage is really paying off for you. Your investment, your pricing mean, you have to sell bicycles, obviously, but are there are other things you can do that are a higher margin to supplant, especially in a year where you can’t get bikes answered better. But yes, you better find some other ways to generate money at margins that are sustainable for you.

Heather Mason  29:06

Yeah, you know, talking about margins. And earlier you said we were talking about issues that have affected our industry for many years and you brought up mail order and I remember the bike nashbar catalogs so we’re always dealing with kind of like the same issues of I think it’s how we get creative and get analytical and really focus on our business as much as we can and get excited about it. You said shops have joy and some don’t and I totally get you when you’re saying that because I’ve walked in the shop and you can tell right away what that feeling is and you want to shop in a place that has joy right like that

Fred Clements  29:38

concept, a very simple one. Obviously they first occurred in the I was meeting with a big supplier of products in our industry. That was when you know chain reaction UK was a real problem for the retailer because they were selling Consumer Direct from Europe because of distribution for less than an IBD can pay wholesale for some products and has a real problem. So I was meeting On behalf of the NVDA, but to try to discuss, you know, the distribution, all of this stuff, you know, within the letter of the law, you don’t want to get it down I trust, we’re just talking here. And it’s a very intense company, you know, and not a lot of joy. I mean, until I looked out this second story window, and there were two people on bikes in lycra. And then it was four. And then it was eight. And they were going on a lunch ride, they were taking their time in this very competitive environment, to go on a bike ride together. And I thought, you know, if that’s not joy, what is? And I think it’s one of the advantages that we have, as an industry. No Damn man has done seminars, and how do you attract employees, when you can’t pay on 30 bucks an hour typically? Well, one of the ways is to make it a lifestyle choice for them, you know, that you may be able to make 30 bucks an hour as a UPS driver, but you’re not going to love it. And so maybe you can come work for me for a little bit less. And maybe I can even build in some incentive based on sales, where you can approach that you’re going to enjoy a lot more. And I think it’s one of the sort of lifestyle choices that makes this all possible for the retailer.

Heather Mason  31:12

Yeah, I was gonna ask you about, you know, employees. And, you know, I think, you know, not to pick on the articles, but you wrote on, like, you know, like, retail salaries are too low. And so this is a conversation that we’re having with retailers a lot as of late, how do we keep our employees happy? How do we pay him more? And then we need more employees? Where do we find them? Where do we find more staff? Anything that you can recollect from your time working with so many retailers? that were some good ideas of, you know, bring more people into our industry? or? Yeah, I mean, you just gave us one, but how to keep your staff happy or rewarded.

Fred Clements  31:45

I think this is another Dan man ism, but hire for personality, not expertise, you know, so it’s not, you know, Dan, he came from the clothing industry, I think, and he managed, I don’t know, some 100, not clothing, specialty retailers during his time in retail. And it just became the employee problem was a real issue for them and for bike shops at what he finally concluded. But I’m at Starbucks, and there’s a great barista, or I’m at a grocery store, and one of the helpers is just dynamic. I want to hand him my card and say, Hey, have you ever considered bicycles? Do you know anything about bicycles? Because hire for personality, you can train them on the technical stuff. You can’t train them to love bikes, but if they’re an outgoing, dynamic person, that’s the kind of person you want. And I think that poaching from other other industries, the kind of people that can share that passion with your customer base. I think that’s a pretty good one.

Heather Mason  32:43

All right. I agree. And I’m thinking, you know, I know that you did a bicycle retail podcast with Damien and you did one with Mark Sahni. And then also some bicycle shop owners 718 cyclery. And cycle Alaska has a p two member going into those podcasts like today, I sent you like a little script of some questions I was gonna ask you, is there anything that you could pull out or anything from those podcasts that left with you that you could share with our listeners that maybe were tips of excellence? I know you’ve already you know, spoke about Dan man a couple times. But anything from other bicycle retailers, or people that you’ve interviewed on the podcast before,

Fred Clements  33:16

there are so many, I’m repeating myself so many different styles of business. So I think the one thing that successful retailers that I’ve come across have in common is that they carve out when I say let’s say 50% of their time, though, not to be doing the day to day tasks, but to be planning for your business. So that you know, every wouldn’t be unreasonable. And a lot of these people, that’s why they belong to the P two groups is because it forces them to look at their numbers on a regular basis to interact with people that really know a lot, and to become more on purpose in sort of managing the business as opposed to just doing the day to day. So I think that’s one thing that they would have in common is that they are doing things on purpose doesn’t mean they’re all going to do the same thing. Likely they won’t. But what is your thing? What is your goal in business? And what are you going to do to identify where your strengths are, where your weaknesses are and what it is that you feel capable of addressing and improving, which is one of the Bria America’s best bike shops concept here, you’re going to evaluate a store based on certain criteria that you think and the marketplace shows that makes a difference to consumers and try to measure where is this store? Given the industry averages, where can they improve? And then I think the most important part of the two is what to do about it. The numbers may tell you something, oh, my margins are low in such and such a category. What do I do? What do I do is the whole story. That’s where the idea sharing and once you identify what it is you want to improve, you can attack it. And I think that’s the thing that I see in common is that willing As to step back and invest real time and not think you’re just goofing off, because you’re not waiting on customers, some people feel I’m not burning my paycheck here, because I’m not generating cash, but someone needs to guide the business, someone needs to look for growth opportunities, decide on what kind of community engagement you’re going to have. Is the store getting old? Does it need new fixtures, you know, whatever it is, I think the best ones, try to identify a few things, don’t do everything at once, identify a few things and try to address those and then put something in place to be able to measure whether it worked or not, you know that I love the idea of a door count or something as simple as a door counter. What is the number of people entering your store? versus how many bought something? So you’ve got your cash register receipt, you’ve got your door counter number, and obviously you got delivery people and whatever, that’s going to change that number. But there’s a percentage there, your closing rate is x, do you want to make that better? What are some strategies, you got the number to drive your actions? You know what the door counter says, you know, what your transactions say? Let’s say you have a 40% closing rate, what would it take to get to 50%? What kind of employee training what you know, is it as simple as asking for the add on sale at the point of purchase? Well, yes, it might be it hear that all the time in seminars? Well, be sure to ask for the add on sale. That’s not really one of your targeted goals in the world is telling you every aspect of your business has to be completely remade, because everybody sucks, you know, it’s like, no, sorry, you need to make it manageable, you prove your worth by being in business, the marketplace will determine whether you succeed and how and to do it as on purpose as possible to identify a weakness to try to improve it for a strength and try to even make it better. That’s time we’re spending on a job worth doing.

Heather Mason  36:51

But I’m thinking, you know, as you’re speaking, I’m listening. And I’m thinking and I, a lot of times, I’ll reflect back to my past and you said something that was super powerful, right there, in my opinion, it was you’re not on the floor. So you’re not you know, working in the shop, you know, you feel like you’re not working, right, because you’re looking up an article online, or you’re looking into your numbers. Or maybe you’re even watching a YouTube video about another shop or whatever. So you feel like you’re cheating. But that’s like the most valuable time where you’re actually able to learn something that could improve your business. And we need to give ourselves that in our networking meetings, we do a lot of peer to peer. Since I’ve started at MBDA, I’ve been organizing a lot of opportunities for retailers to come together. I think there’s so much value there, as you have said, and I’ll ask them, How often are you looking at your financials? How often are you doing staff training? And the answers vary? And I don’t know if there is a correct answer. But I think we always need to have our pulse on our business and be open to little changes that we can make. So I love your answer that you just gave because it’s so true, right?

Fred Clements  37:50

As a rookie in the association management game, you know, I did a lot of training early on. And one of the things that stuck in my mind. I didn’t wasn’t able to do it. But and this may apply to you, Heather 50% of your time, should be on sharpening the saw to use a Stephen Covey phrase, don’t allow yourself to be sucked into 100% of your time just doing tasks, you’ve got to find a way to read, stay informed, educate yourself involved in the community that pays off. It’s not a direct measurement of dollars into the cash register. But it matters and leadership requires it.

Heather Mason  38:25

So I don’t know if I told you this, but the running Industry Association, they have an executive director and outdoor sports and myself and so and firearms, like camping. So we’ve all been coming together and meeting as executive directors to what’s going on in your industry. What are you doing to interact with your members where things are, and it’s been really insightful? So something that I am just trying to continue to learn myself, you know,

Fred Clements  38:50

you know, that’s the for the bike shop. That’s the profitability project for us. You know, when I was doing it, you know, we I had a group of associations I worked with on a couple of issues, the American booksellers and the toy specialty toy retailers, and yeah, we were working on sales, tax reform and things like that. But the fact is, I was getting tutored by more experienced executive directors that I you know, it became kind of what you’re talking about and what so I’m not just suggesting retailers do this, just because I think it

Heather Mason  39:19

works. Can I so far? Do you mind if I just get some background on you know, I already heard you that you know that we changed America’s best bike shop to the bicycle retailer excellence awards. Are you involved with America’s best bike shop starting? Or was that program already in existence when you were there?

Fred Clements  39:35

No, we created that time flies when you’re having fun 1015 years ago, I don’t know there’s a way I tried to get it worked for a few years. The way I tried to help add value to the board is every year we would have a formal strategic planning, reaffirm our mission and our vision and then try to break it down into what tasks can we assign Fred or staff in the coming year to address those and we break it down into different categories and prioritize them, it was really good way of making sure every board member was heard. And that Fred got clear marching orders as to what was expected for the coming year. And so that came out of that process. And but and it was painful, because as you have learned in trying to revise the program to identify a good bike shop is very subjective. And, you know, we can’t, and couldn’t and still can’t go and visit every store, unless, you know, we do mystery shopping. But that’s a third party, you know. And so what does each one deliver to the consumer? How good are they at x, y, and z, it’s really hard to come up with a program that actually can differentiate between a store that just talks a good game, and one that really delivers for their consumer. And that’s the challenge. So you know, one of the key players was Barry Brenner, one of the co founder of smart detailing, he was on our board, ever since he was a retailer, a very interesting guy, I really, you know, one of my friends in the industry, but a very logical thinker, he would not let us make mistakes, that didn’t meet the goal of setting a bar, allowing the retailer to see the areas that the industry has over the NBDA. And the dealers involved, believe are priorities and ways to measure your performance in those areas. And if you fall down in a given area, at least you know where you were, we’re down. I think I told you this, I still remember going to one of the conferences, and I sat next to Brad Hill, I think, who has retired now. And he really wanted to talk and he was angry, because it’s America’s best bike shops score just didn’t suit him at all. So I sat down next to him ready to be berated and it’s very outgoing fellow, a very enjoyable back. And I looked at his score sheet, he got a 98 out of 100. And he was angry because he should have had that extra two points. And I thought, you know, this is that’s taken it seriously. That was the goal of it was to set a bar that, at least on paper would equal excellence. You can’t measure joy, for instance, but you can measure certain things. And I think this year, you’ve even brought in a consumer element, which to me, that’s the ultimate judge is the consumer, and whether they’re satisfied and whether their needs are met, and whether they’re really listened to, in a non judgmental way. That’s retailing. That’s a customer service industry. And the better you serve, the better you’re going to be.

Heather Mason  42:30

There’s so many variables this program, Fred has been like I say the hardest part because I want to make sure we get it right, right. And you know, we have this application, but there’s so many variables to take into account. And some of the feedback I’ve heard from retailers just going through the application process allows them to take a hard look at their business. And I honestly feel like we’re using a form of the same application that you started. And maybe it’s just had some tweaks over the years. And then the other thing is to just take into consideration here we have a retailer giving up I mean, that form, it’s a pretty big application hours of their time to take part in this program. It’s humbling. And I can’t wait to award this year’s winners. And it’s not an easy process. But I do think it’s important. I mean, do you feel like retailers get something out of taking part in the program?

Fred Clements  43:17

Well, yeah, I think if it’s not actually strategic planning, it’s a good stand in for it. Because it does direct your thinking into areas that other really good business people have decided are priorities and you don’t have to agree and force a lot of people won’t agree that’s part of the nature of our business. There’s going to be diversity of opinion. But I think it allows people without calling it strategic planning where people start to go asleep. I don’t want to do strategic planning. That sounds like a textbook and I didn’t like that class. No, it’s a way to do the same thing. But don’t call it that. And at the end, there’s a reward, you’re going to be rewarded for your excellence and for your hard work. And I think that’s one of the reasons the NBDA needs to continue to exist is despite the fact that some people want to thank bicycle, it’s not really even an industry retailing. It’s not really a specialty it is it’s a profession, and a profession deserves I think and can benefit from the professional business association to support their interests. It’s not just self interest. I mean, it really, I think the retailer is the key to building the marketplace to getting consumers because only the retailer is physically in a town in a location and can engage in a way a national company. Can’t I still remember back when Gary snug was owner of performance in an industry conference again, he said I envy all of you and so here are all the ibds in the audience, oh, performance mail order company, you know, not good. I envy you all because of what you can do as individuals in local markets that we cannot do either as a national mail order or as a national chain of retailers that cross states. We don’t have the buy in that an owner operator has from our store managers and you can do so many Things that we can. I’m envious of, you know, I thought that was, yeah, interesting.

Heather Mason  45:05

Yeah, I was gonna use so much death, and I’m so thankful for you for meeting with me and you know, giving me a piece of your time, you know, every other week or so. But we talked about engaging the community and keeping these new cyclists, you know, so many new cyclists who entered our sport this past year, is there any standout tips that you could share that you saw that retailers did to engage their community that maybe you could share? Anything that retailers did that maybe was like, Oh, that’s interesting. You know,

Fred Clements  45:31

I think because, to some degree, a large degree, maybe the brick and mortar store competition is those without brick and mortar stores, the bicycle itself, and riding the bicycle is a very tactile in person, personal kind of thing to do. And so I think, you know, and it’s rides, rides for specific groups, underserved groups, children, people needing to lose weight, whatever it is, through the store, is a way of doing something that in those days performance bike couldn’t really do or couldn’t do, effectively bicycle rodeos, that kind of community engagement in terms of getting people on bikes under your umbrella, and in an environment where you can give them some of your expertise, and some of your passion. That’s the one on one nature of face to face, brick and mortar retailer and living, breathing customer, without a computer in between. I think that’s powerful. And then certainly, because you have expertise on staff, clinics, consumers really want I think, to be able to do a certain level of repair and work on their own bikes, at least change flats, and you know, whatever it is, but classes, again, bring people engage them with your business in a way that others have a hard time duplicating. To me, that’s the key. There are other things you can do in any business that others can’t or can’t do, as well. And if you love it, then you’ve got something

Heather Mason  46:59

follows, right like joy,

Fred Clements  47:02

I think so I remember, you know, I left the MBTA before I could say this, but if I was to address the indiscipline that I was going to use joy as my clock and suggest that if you have joy, good, nurture it, keep it going, if you don’t find it, find joy, or hire it if you have to, but it has to be there. And if it can’t be if you’re just really burnt out sick of it, you’ve taken vacations, that doesn’t help get out if there’s no harm in deciding. This really isn’t for me, again, years ago, a great seminar presenter, he did the most wonderful sales training ever. People were jumping up and down. It was sales trainings, customer service, he was really good at it. And then he bought his own bike shop. They lasted about a year and a half. And I asked another guy in the market. Well, whatever happened to that guy said, Well, he really was a good salesman, but he couldn’t handle the negativity. He couldn’t be told no, he would get angry at your customer. So that to me, that just wasn’t the right personality to be a customer service focused retailer, great guy, a great trainer, but not for customer service. You just got to angry.

Heather Mason  48:14

God, Fred. Okay, I’m gonna hit you with this question. I’ve been asking many of our guests on the podcast, if you could sum it up, in your words, our industry to guide retailers tell us what the term excellence in bicycle retail means to you.

Fred Clements  48:28

Again, it comes in many forms. I think the customer is the ultimate judge as to what excellence really looks like, I think you have an opportunity. Another one of our seminars presented his topic was moments of magic, you know, the notion that your store you’re paying for it. There it is, can you create magic in those walls in some way that a customer will remember, whatever that looks like. And I still remember, you know, when I was growing up, I was like, my guess is 14 years old. And I bought a bike from my local bike shop. And this was old days, you know, and petards was the guy’s name a legend, in his time, and I still remember, I went to pick up the bike after it was assembled. And I was talking to Ted about Oh, yeah, me and my buddies. Were going to ride from Pele, down to Mexico and back on our bikes. Then he looked at me said you’re going to ride to Mexico on this bike? And I said, Yeah, yeah. He said, Okay, good bike, but those pedals won’t last. They’re nylon bushings. No bearings. He reached down off of the pegboard in those days pulled off a set of pedals. Yeah, I’ll be right back. He took the bike in the back. He swapped out the pedals. I’m sure he could had another use for those nylon bushing pedals, brought it back and said, Here you go.

49:41

I thought,

Fred Clements  49:42

I’m 15 years old. And 50 years later, I’m recounting this moment of magic with my local retailer and I’ve told this story before. It’s absolutely true. He didn’t care about squeezing every nickel from the sale. He wanted me to have a good experience and he was willing to sacrifice a short term. paying for that experience to make the customer really heard and served, and it stuck with me. And that’s I think those whatever that is, I’m not saying give pedals away as a way. But if you can surprise and delight people when they don’t expect it, especially these days, when half of them are angry about something, if you can find a way to deliver, quote, moments of magic, unquote, but something that is surprising something that justifies in their mind, why they want to come to you and not someone else think that that’s part of your, the answer to your question. I think,

Heather Mason  50:34

I love how he didn’t dissuade you either. Okay, here we go. You don’t get that’s part of it, too. You know, like, people are excited to try new things and big journeys, and they have big goals. And it’s not for us to think, oh, you can’t do that. Or Oh, that’s the right like, Okay, let me help you on your way, you know, and make sure you have the right equipment.

Fred Clements  50:55

Yeah, industry is accused of many things. One of them is being elitist. And maybe some of that’s true in some shops, but it doesn’t really pay with the general public. We want everyone to feel welcome. I think the best stores do that. You can still have your high end section, you can still be high end yourself, but don’t talk down to people and most stores don’t anymore. I mean, I think that’s kind of a thing that’s gone by the wayside. But it consider yourself a service and sales professional means understanding what the customer wants, and finding a way to help them.

Heather Mason  51:26

I love that there’s some really great information that we’ve covered. I can’t believe it’s been an hour. It always goes by so quickly. Fred, I’m thankful for you because of your hard work. You’re leading the MBA, I have the opportunity to be in this role myself, you continue to just be a great mentor to me and a friend and I feel empowered because of that, you know, I’m always like, Oh, I know, Fred. You’ve helped so many retailers. And you know, just sharing today on this in this conversation will definitely help retailers. I’m sure that sometimes our listeners want to ask some additional questions or follow up. Can you share an email address? I didn’t ask you are you okay? doing that? Or? Sure.

Fred Clements  52:03

My personal email is f. p. Clements for Fred Pressman, FP claimants with a team@gmail.com. And I have answered a few viewers who wonder what I’m up to. And I have a couple of questions. And I’m happy to answer it after all the years that I spent, I mean, that’s why I’m kind of humbled by the volunteerism shown by board members because I wasn’t a volunteer. I was paid until now, you know, until the last couple years, I’m not paid and it kind of feels good to be able to volunteer some time to help out.

Heather Mason  52:34

Are you going to any shows I didn’t ask you are you going to try to make any of the shows? not

Fred Clements  52:39

currently, you know, I think when Kavita was in San Diego, I attended and helped Brett with EDT this year there shows up in the San Fernando Valley right through the gutter of LA to get there. I don’t I don’t know. I don’t really know. He determined.

Heather Mason  52:53

Well, thank you, Fred. I really appreciate you and our listeners If you have any additional questions, he said he’s more than happy to take an email. So that is it. I invite you to connect with me. Come on bicycle, retail radio. Share your story with our listeners. There’s lots of great webinars and resources on the MBTA website. Take a look. Look at the whole event list. Share your favorite episode of bicycle retailer radio, with your friends and on social media. We appreciate your support. Thank you for listening and with this suiko

NBDA   53:17

Thanks. This has been bicycle retail radio by the National bicycle Dealers Association. For more information on membership, and member benefits, join us@nbda.com

[/fusion_toggle][/fusion_accordion][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” min_height=”” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” align_content=”stretch” flex_align_items=”flex-start” flex_justify_content=”flex-start” flex_column_spacing=”” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” container_tag=”div” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_sizes=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_right=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing_medium=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” spacing_small=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_dimensions_medium=”” padding_top_medium=”” padding_right_medium=”” padding_bottom_medium=”” padding_left_medium=”” padding_dimensions_small=”” padding_top_small=”” padding_right_small=”” padding_bottom_small=”” padding_left_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_vertical=”” box_shadow_horizontal=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” z_index=”” overflow=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” absolute=”off” absolute_devices=”small,medium,large” sticky=”off” sticky_devices=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_background_color=”” sticky_height=”” sticky_offset=”” sticky_transition_offset=”0″ scroll_offset=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”true” border_position=”all” first=”true”][fusion_separator style_type=”single solid” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

The NBDA has been here since 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in the United States through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. As shops are facing never-before-seen circumstances, these resources offer a lifeline. Together, we will weather this. We at the NBDA will not waver in our commitment to serving our members even during this challenging time—but we need your support.

Now is the time to become a member as we join together to make one another stronger. Whether you’re a retailer or an industry partner, your membership in the NBDA is one of the best investments you’ll make this year. 

Learn more about the benefits of being a member and join now.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]