Etailer Ribble Cycles has dipped its tyres into a bricks-and-mortar presence by opening its first pop-up showroom. 

The 3,000 sq ft showroom, is next to an Apple store in Cardiff’s St David’s shopping centre and stocks 35 Ribble bikes, including models from its 2017 range.

A majority stake in Preston-based Ribble was acquired by private equity group True Capital a year ago. Retail big hitters Sir Ian Cheshire and Terry Duddy sit on True Capital’s advisory panel.

First pop-up

Ribble’s BikeBuilder service is also being offered in-store at Cardiff, which allows shoppers to build a bike to their exact requirements.

The company already has a showroom at its headquarters in Lancashire, but this is first pop-up venture.

Ribble chief executive Jon Owen, who joined the retailer from Shop Direct in February, said: ”With this exciting pop up showroom initiative in Cardiff, we’re trialling ways of bringing that range to life, so customers who want to touch and feel our bikes can do just that. We’re really excited about the potential.”

Customers at the showroom can use in-store service points to access Ribble’s catalogue and order via click-and-collect to the showroom or choose direct delivery to an address.

The showroom is due to stay open until “early 2017”, Ribble said.

Topics