Local business owner, Ben Thompson, says sales in his bike shop surged in lockdown as people took up cycling for exercise and key workers needed to get to work safely.
Thompson opened SW Bicycle Company in 2007, in Southfields, when he decided he no longer wanted to work for anyone else and decide to pursue his dream of opening his own bike shop. He chose to open it in Wandsworth as he knew there was a large South African cycling community close by. Being near to Richmond Park and its bike trails were an added bonus.
During the pandemic his business “massively improved” as people had more time on their hands and were looking to take up exercise. Many businesses and shops were temporally closed or even shut down. Luckily for Thompson bike shops were seen as essential retail and therefore he was able to stay open throughout the lockdowns.
Thompson, originally from New Zealand, stated that the increase in business at this time was “Crazy. We had to hire more staff and we were buying as much stock as we possibly could. There were boxes and boxes of supplies in the shop, we couldn’t move." Whilst many people were either furloughed or working from home, Thompson was going into work albeit on reduced hours, “The first thing we did, because of the sheer amount of people coming to the shop was to change our opening hours. Customers were only allowed in the shop between 9 am and 11am in the morning.” The rest of the time they were working on fixing the bikes.
With customers queuing outside, Thompson said that they also had to make adjustments to the opening times because it became impossible to work.
Thompson acknowledges his fortune during this difficult time and offers this advice to others “You have to be very adaptable and keep your mind open to changing the ways you do things and don’t get to carried away by making money.”
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