jeremyridesbikes

QBP wages Web war at Frostbike

An interesting concept, but in a way it is kind of late to the market in my opinion. QBP should have been helping the LBS ramp up to this years ago. That is the reason they are “losing the war”, Amazon has had years of lead time on this.

I do like it that they are moving in that direction. I hope it goes well. More competition in the market creates a better environment for the customer right?

Quality Bicycle Products founder and president Steve Flagg minced no words in drawing the battle lines: “I believe that our industry is losing the war against the Chain Reactions, the Wiggles, the Amazons,” he told the crowd assembled for Friday’s VIP retailer dinner to kick off Frostbike 2012.

“We think that together with all of you we can address this problem.”

Launching QBP’s “Buy Local Buy Now!” campaign, Flagg sketched out the potential strategy:

Via mobile device, a customer in a shop could log on to a QBP service with access to its stores’ inventory and search for a specific product. A map would pop up indicating the nearest shops that have the product in stock or that will have it in a predetermined number of days.

If a retailer is selected for same-day pickup, the customer would pay for it online and then be asked if they want the product installed at the shop. Flagg noted this would play to local dealers’ key strength and offer what online competitors can’t: service, warranty information and deep product knowledge.

“I believe we have the capacity in 2012 to do this,” he noted.