Lockdown has been tough for many local businesses, especially for those in the hospitality industry that have been under pressure to cease trading due to national Covid-19 restrictions. However, this isn’t the case for The Green Jersey bike shop who only closed their doors for a total of 2 weeks in the shadow of Covid-19 and have gone from strength to strength ever since.
"Lockdown pretty much saved us"
The Green Jersey operates out of a shop on Taylor Street, Clitheroe and has been a valued part of the local community for nearly 10 years. They were able to operate safely and effectively through offering bike servicing and maintenance coupled with online sales during a time when the cycle industry boomed. People all over the country went mad for new bikes of all shapes and sizes in order to exercise safely and take up a new hobby while adhering to Covid-19 restrictions. John from Green Jersey states that “lockdown pretty much saved us” because of the increased demand and their ability to continue to operate without face-to-face footfall through the shop.
"A fully customisable and customer focused experience"
Although the business itself is called The Green Jersey, they have a separate brand for their bikes and cycling merchandise called ‘Bowland Bikes’. Through this brand they have designed and created their very own bike frame called the Bowland Salter, which cleverly links back to their local roots of Salter Fell, a popular cycle route located in the Forest of Bowland. The Green Jersey responded to a shift in market demand as customers requested more budget friendly options which they didn’t currently offer. They now offer a customer centric, bespoke bike building service tailored to suit their customers budget. Their flagship frame, the Bowland Salter, can be built to any specification to suit the rider depending on their budget, allowing for a fully customisable and customer focused experience. As such, the Bowland Salter is extremely popular amongst the local community and at the time of speaking to them, they only had one left!
Try before you buy!
Along with their own brand and customisable bike frame, The Green Jersey has their own line of high-quality cycling apparel, which again is fully customisable for individual cycling clubs to create with their own colours, logo and design upon request. They even provide a ‘try before you buy’ service whereby all members of the cycling team can come in and be fitted for the correct size of clothing before ordering their bespoke club kit, ensuring everyone receives well-fitting attire without the need for returns. Everything about The Green Jersey revolves around customer service and providing the best customer experience possible, which we definitely witnessed first hand after being offered a coffee as soon as we walked into the shop!
Putting their brand in the hands of their customers!
In support of providing value for their customers above and beyond a usual bike shop, The Green Jersey have their own in-shop café, currently providing hot drinks and alcohol (yes they are licenced bar as well!) with the goal of serving light food and snacks on the near horizon. Although this part of the business has been closed in recent months due to the restrictions placed on the hospitality sector, it has enabled them to refurbish the café and re-open in the wake of national restrictions with a fresh new look. Included in this new look are their very own branded paper cups, courtesy of us, the Printed Cup Company, to create synergy with the rest of their branded merchandise. Their aim is to grow The Green Jersey/Bowland Bikes brand and continue expand in order to satisfy growing demand. What better way to do this than to put their brand in the hands of every customer!
"It's our 10 year anniversary... keep your eyes peeled!"
In order to keep up with growing demand, The Green Jersey employs four full time staff along with a young apprentice that works evenings and weekends while training to be a qualified bike mechanic. We asked what The Green Jersey had planned for the future, but John kept his cards close to his chest with a smile on his face and stated “We have some exciting new things in the pipeline that we can’t disclose at this time, however, it’s our 10 year anniversary on 21st January 2022 so keep your eyes peeled”.
The Green Jersey bike shop are an incredible example of what can be achieved with unified branding across all aspects of the business, from bikes, to clothing to branded paper cups in their in-store coffee shop. With ten years in the business coupled with the ever-growing strength of their brand, we can only say that we are excited to see what the future holds for The Green Jersey and we are proud to be able to support them on their journey.
