NEWBURY PARK, CA (BRAIN)—Hundreds of Bostonians turned up for the grand opening of Giant Cycling World Boston this past weekend. This is the company's first ever Giant owned store.
Guests included Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who officiated at a ribbon-cutting for the new business. “Boston is progressing towards being one of the friendliest bike cities in the country,” Mayor Menino said. “And Giant is a great partner in that goal.” Giant recently joined forces with the Mayor’s office to help create the City of Boston Bike Pool program, which allows city employees to use Giant bikes for work-related trips, according to a press release.
Giant Cycling World Boston is the second store of its kind in the U.S. This specialty retail store offers the community access to not only the latest products from Giant, but also a friendly and knowledgeable staff. Just a few weeks ago, Giant Cycling World Denver opened to an enthusiastic cycling community in Colorado; the two new businesses are part of the company’s focus to better serve riders of all levels, increase brand awareness, and create retail locations that serve as cycling hubs in their respective regions.
Giant Cycling World Boston is situated in an area of the city known as Fenway Triangle. The business features more than 2800 square feet of actual retail space and another 600 square feet for storage. The store—designed by the Giant merchandising team—is modern, welcoming, and inspiring with signage and fixtures to make it easy for consumers to navigate and shop. Giant-branded gear is prominent throughout the location as are the products from these key vendor partners: Shimano, Pearl Izumi, Fox, Giro, CamelBak, Oakley, Clif Bar, Park Tool, Thule, Michelin, Maxxis, Kenda, Cateye, and Kryptonite.
“Our guests love the look of the new store,” said Lance Ummel, retail operations manager of Giant Cycling World Boston. “They’re excited to have Giant in this neighborhood, and we’re excited to be part of the cycling scene here
. We’ll be a community resource. Our enthusiasm for cycling will show in our advocacy, our knowledge, and our products.”
Two Giant bicycles—including the brand new Giant Via city bike—along with cycling gear were raffled off to lucky winners attending the grand opening. Guests were also treated to free food provided by Boloco, a local Boston restaurant chain, along with coffee provided by Starbucks.
“Giant Cycling World Boston reaffirms our goal of becoming a better retail support organization,” said Giant general manager Elysa Walk, who attended the grand opening. “We raise our brand awareness for all Giant retailers throughout the region with this store, and will learn first-hand how to better support our retail partners.”
PHOTO by Jake Orness