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Get ready to celebrate independent Record Store Day

18 Apr 2024

Independent record stores around the country are preparing to celebrate all things vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day on Saturday April 20th. 
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Indies encouraged to put themselves forward for Retail Business of the Year award.

18 Apr 2024

BIRA, the British Independent Retailers Association, has announced its partnership with this year’s SME National Business Awards., joining the 2024 awards as a leading sponsor, backing... Read more…

Family-run Polesworth fish and chip shop celebrates 40 years in business with half-price chips.

18 Apr 2024

A Midlands fish and chip shop is celebrating 40 years in business and offering half-price chips to mark the milestone.
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Assault of shop workers to be made specific criminal offence

18 Apr 2024

Assaulting a shop worker is to be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime. 
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New stores helping Cardiff arcades buck retail trends.

18 Apr 2024

Eleven new businesses that have opened in the last year in the historic arcades of Cardiff city centre’s Morgan Quarter, made up of the Morgan and Royal arcades, have helped the arcades... Read more…

Study highlights impact of rising staff costs for convenience retailers.

3 Apr 2024

Research by the University of Stirling and the Scottish Grocers’ Federation has shed light on the impact of rising staff costs on the convenience retail sector in Scotland.
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Independent department stores hitting a sweet spot on local high streets.

3 Apr 2024

With large national chains increasingly disappearing from the high street, Drapers magazine has been looking at how independent department stores are stepping up their offerings to... Read more…

Entries open for 2024 Baking Industry Awards

2 Apr 2024

The Baking Industry Awards return for their 37th year and are once again ready to recognise and reward the very best people, products, and businesses in the sector. The awards showcase the... Read more…

Family-owned cycle shop celebrates 90 years trading in Walsall.

2 Apr 2024

Walsall's cycling community has been celebrating a family-owned business which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
 
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Payment-processing outages at UK retailers raise reliability issues for cashless transactions.

2 Apr 2024

Recent payment disruptions at supermarkets and fast-food outlets have raised questions on the need for improved reliability.
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Local Bike Shop Day Stories: Rides on Air

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

Rides on Air, Local Bike Shop DayIn celebration of Local Bike Shop Day's return for 2020, the ACT are launching Local Bike Shop Day Stories, an initiative that helps to spread the word of the positive impact that local bike shops have on their local communities.

Rides on Air

Rides on Air has been in Wallingford town centre for almost 100 years although the name changed to Rides on Air in 1998 and has recently relocated within the centre of the town to a complete new store in April 2019.

The business changed ownership in April 2017, we had a big change in brands and product selection within the store which proved to be very popular with our customers.

Since then we have re-established the family values within the business. We believe that we have the right mix of products, delivered with valuable customer service provided by a very strong team of employees whose passion for cycling is evident.

The town of Wallingford is very events orientated, ranging from music festivals to classic car events- not forgetting the annual 3 day cycling event which we ensure we are actively involved every year!

Why people should shop local

The high street is still an integral part of people's lives in terms of working, shopping, and visiting cafe's or restaurants. While there has always been competition from adverts in magazines and newspapers, recently this has converted to the internet.

However, we are seeing many online businesses struggle as marketing and discounts tend to reduce any margins, this has led to prices going up enabling us to match prices in many cases and become equally as competitive.

The upside of the internet has been stock availability. Managing customer requirements against stock levels is vital to ensure stock churn which a business needs and enables us to capture that sale on the day.

Plans for Local Bike Shop Day 2020

We start our new Saturday morning cycle rides for beginners in April which also helps guide people through various local cycle routes safely away from the traffic. This also helps to encourage people that don't like cycling on their own to get the bike out of the garage and invariably draws repair work into the store!

We also provide support to local schools and events locally to promote the health and benefits of cycling. As well as this, we also began carrying out ladies cycle maintenance evenings in 2019!

Find out more about Rides on Air and other shops that have registered for Local Bike Shop Day here.

Want to share your local bike shop story?

If you would like to get involved with Local Bike Shop Day Stories please email info@theact.org.uk with the following information:

  • Background information on your shop, such as when it opened and why
  • Ways in which you believe your shop helps the community
  • Any plans you may have for Local Bike Shop Day
  • Any photos/ logos to include

Local Bike Shop Day Stories hopes to capture the essence of local bike shops and all that they contribute to the community.

Need some ideas to get you started? Visit out Local Bike Shop Day ideas piece that lists just a few ways in which you can get involved with Local Bike Shop Day and celebrate all that your shop has to offer.

Sign up for Local Bike Shop Day now

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