Retailer invests to launch biggest cycling store in north
ONE of Yorkshire’s oldest cycling businesses has announced a £1m investment in a second store, which it says will be the largest cycle retailer in the North of England.
Originally established in 1907, the £3m turnover retailer, All Terrain Cycles, already has a successful retail outlet at Salts Mill, Saltaire in Shipley, as well as an online business. The company now plans to open a new 9,000sq ft unit at Audby Lane on the outskirts of Wetherby creating four new jobs.
“With a heritage of over a hundred years, this is our biggest ever expansion and a really exciting development for the business. It is particularly fitting that we are opening our second store just a month before the greatest cycle race in the world descends on Yorkshire,” said All Terrain Cycles managing director Tony Booth.
“The region has an active and growing cycling fraternity which will get another boost from the Grand Depart and many enthusiasts will be delighted to find they now have one of the UK’s largest and best equipped bike stores within easy reach,” he added.
The store will stock more than 1,000 mountain, road and BMX bikes as well as clothing and accessories. It will also feature a workshop staffed by trained technicians able to carry out repairs and servicing.
Work is underway on the extensive refurbishment of the unit with the first phase due for completion in May when the ground floor of the showroom and workshop will open.
Booth said: “Enthusiasts want to be able to see the widest range of quality bikes before they buy, and our strategy is to invest in bricks and mortar retail units that can offer the widest choice and buying advice from expert staff as well as attractive finance options.
“Our new Wetherby store will increase our geographic reach North and South, and will be the largest bike store within a hundred mile radius.”
All Terrain Cycles is a family business employing 20 staff. Originally trading as Riley Brothers Cycles, the firm traded from premises in Crosshills until the move to Salts Mill in 2007. The business was acquired from the Riley family by Mr Booth in 1996 and has grown from a turnover of £45,000 in 1995 to more than £3m in 2013.
The firm is one of the UK’s largest independent cycle retailer, and as well as the Saltaire showroom, also has a 12,000 sq ft warehouse at Salts Mill that is the base for the firm’s thriving e-commerce business.
