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Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
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Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

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Best Small Shops names Rides on Air as a COVID-19 Innovator

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

In the second of our ‘Meet the InRides on Airnovators' series, exploring independent retailers that have excelled during the Covid crisis, we spoke with Paul Lynn, Director of cycle shop, Rides on Air.

"We had to completely review our stock levels and ordering model, knowing that three to four months down the road we may experience big delays with bikes and general stock. Because we took a proactive approach, throughout lockdown we have had a steady amount of orders from a number of regions across the UK, thanks to a healthy stock of bikes and accessories.

"This move required a significant financial commitment at a time of great uncertainty. We recognised an early spike in eBikes so took the decision to invest in a large variety of stock which has seen our sales on eBikes increase four-fold in six months on the total volume for last year."

The Rides on Air team has collaborated with other independent cycle shops to fulfil orders, Paul adds: "We have relationships with a small group of other stores who we worked closely together with, in moving stock overnight to meet customer demand and have directed customers to each others' stores which had the model/size they were after in stock.

"The announcement of lockdown was a shock, something I never considered would happen in my lifetime. Combine this with the initial difficulty of closing our business when we were looking forward to a summer of growth - and we found ourselves in a daunting situation. But, we picked ourselves up and started our plans to cater for change!

"Keeping employees and customers safe has been an integral part of this, from changing the shop's layout and providing staff with their own phones to delivering bikes to customers who are isolating, there a number of practices that we will be maintaining for the rest of 2020 at the very least."

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