BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — As this unforgettable year comes to end, retailers are eager for a little off-season rest, but anxious about the prospects for 2021. Will they have enough supply? Enough workers? Will a soft economy or COVID-19 lockdowns curb demand, or has everyone who ever wanted a bike already got one?
For a feature in our December magazine, we touched base with 16 retailers to get their take on the 2020 season and their predictions for 2021. We'll be sharing snapshots from those interviews online over the next two weeks.
Larry Black, Mt. Airy Bicycles, Mt. Airy, Md.
We are about 25% up for 2020 while maintaining margins similar to 2019. Supply levels should start to catch up with demand, which should stay about the same from 2020. When other shops got backlogged on service up to seven weeks, we continued to offer same-day repairs as we have for 41 years.
When most shops started running out of bikes, we kept digging deeper into the thousands of pre-loved machines in our warehouses. Those bikes are the result of my hoarding disorder that turned out to be prudent planning for the pandemic.
Things will certainly slow down for the winter — the cold weather is already weeding out the fair-weather riders. If gyms stay on reduced admission, indoor bikes/trainers might have a spike.
