Pharmacies have their own brands of medicine, home improvement stores carry their own brands of paint, and bars and restaurants offer their own house wine and craft beer. Usually these house brands are merchandised right beside the more recognizable "name" brands that customers are seeking out.  Why do businesses do this?

1. Value - By offering a house brand along with name brands, a business is giving their customers a choice. Some customers will want the name brand no matter what, but others will not want to pay the name-brand price. A private label brand gives you a value option for your price-conscious consumers without having to discount. Private label can also be really effective in an industry like ours where customers are looking for expert advice. Many people will order the house wine or craft beer if it's priced $2 less per glass and the server recommends it. That is no different than when a customer asks your staff, “What kind of pump, multi-tool or light do I need?"

2. Price Protection & Better Margins - A house brand that can't be found elsewhere is a great way to combat "showrooming" customers, particularly with parts and accessories that are widely available online. Adding a private label brand with similar specs and stable price points to your P&A mix will give you opportunities to make more margin than if you rely solely on brand name items that are constantly being price shopped.

Make Top Margin On The Accessory Brand
That You Own!

If you are looking for additional ways to increase profitability in your store, having your own brand of bicycle parts and accessories made in the same factories as the “Big 3” is a good place to start.  The Bike Co-op has a private label program that sources factory-direct, high-quality products, removing the middle man and enabling Co-op members to keep the additional profit. These are core P&A items from bottle cages to floor pumps that are shipped from a central warehouse in Texas, with minimum orders of $250 receiving free ground freight.

Low minimums (inner case quantity avg. 6-10 units) combined with the ease of online ordering and healthy average profit margins of 65-75% or more make this is an excellent opportunity to increase your bottom line!

On average I earn an additional $5 more on every private label product I sell compared to the other brands that I stock.  With big box stores and multiple bike shops on every block I can sell and be highly profitable without being asked to match prices while offering my customers a quality, unique product selection." 

New York, NY