DENVER, CO (BRAIN) — Panda Bicycles has opened a new boutique shop in Denver dedicated to the bamboo bike brand that could be the first step in establishing a network of concept stores.
"It’s a kind of an exploratory exercise for both of us,” Panda co-founder Jacob Castillo said in reference to both his company and Panda Concept Store proprietor Angel Cruz.
Up until now, Panda’s handmade steel-lugged bamboo bikes have been sold predominantly consumer direct on the company’s website and through its own boutique shop at its headquarters in Fort Collins. Early this year, however, framebuilder Castillo brought on two new staff members so he could focus more of his attention on sales and growth initiatives.
“The idea behind the new store is to get our bikes exposed to more people interested out there” and then develop a growth strategy, he said.
Denver was a natural choice since Panda already had a strong customer base there for its stock and custom bikes. Completes start at $2,500 for single-speed model The One; The Legacy, Panda’s geared road model, starts at $3,500.
Cruz is flooring six to eight bikes at any time, and has demos available for Panda’s full four-bike lineup. New kids’ bikes are expected to arrive in the next couple weeks. Turnaround on custom orders is about four weeks.
For more about Panda Bicycles and its growth plans, check out the Nov. 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News.
