Jan 13, 2010
Xtracycle Looks Forward to 2010
As we embark on 2010, we are excited to see Xtracycle products continue to do what they’ve always done – change lives and empower people to engage their communities through creativity and joy.
We here at Xtracycle have experienced a year of tremendous growth as well as a year of many humble learning moments. We are stronger than ever, but also more clear than ever that staying focused on the health of our organization allows us to most fully achieve on the above – empowering Xtracycle customers to heal the world. Our new year’s resolutions for 2010 are about healthy growth and prosperity that will fuel the engine of new ideas and passion for the bicycle lifestyle.
We have made some strategic business choices going into 2010 that will impact how we show up to you, our customers. Read on, if you’re curious.
First, we have chosen to engage ASAP Distribution, a local fulfillment center to inventory, store, and ship out our products. We are pleased to partner with this small, dedicated company that has been doing e-commerce fulfillment for several years. We hope that in working with fulfillment professionals we can achieve on quicker turnaround of products and higher quality packing resulting in fewer returned products. We all know that returned products are both time consuming and consume more fossil fuels. But we won’t stop there, we want to further minimize the environmental impact of packing and shipping our products. The folks at ASAP use packing tape made partly from post-consumer recycled plastic, compostable bubble wrap, and recycled paper mailers. We continue to ship with FedEx, a company committed to lowering their own environmental impact. Lastly, we continue to strive to be leaders and innovators on a modular bicycle platform, and we will let fulfillment professionals be great at packing and shipping our products.
Second, in 2010 we are eager to buy enough product to meet demand, no more, and no less. In 2009 we experienced periods of severe overstock due to ambitious ordering in 2008. The effect of overstocked product is that it ties up cash needed to operate the business forcing discounts that hurt our partners within the industry. In the next few months, some of our best selling products will be going out of stock. Instead of simply guessing at quantities, we will be allowing customers to pre-order goods that will be going out of stock early this year, to be restocked in late spring/early summer. By pre-ordering, customers will effectively lock-in their purchase ahead of time, enable us to minimize interest payments on loans for inventory, and avoid being both out-of-stock or overstocked in the future. All of these efficiencies we hope to pass along to the customer in the form of maintaining our current prices, or in some cases, dropping the price of our products. Additionally, this also means that your Xtracycle products will be manufactured in smaller batches, with more attention to quality than ever before.
Third, we are aiming to streamline customer service by empowering you, our customers, to participate in the process of helping other folks learn about the product. We will be using services like GetSatisfaction, as well as our forums and RootsRadicals user group to help customers get their questions answered about how the product works, what bikes can be adapted to work with Xtracycle, and what you can do with your longtail bicycle. This will allow us to point our creative energy towards further refinement and accessorization of the platform we have created. We will still be responding to emails and phone calls as before, but our turnaround time on replies may stretch to as much as 48 hours in some cases. We appreciate your patience, and of course, if you need immediate assistance, please call your local Xtracycle dealer; they are customer service professionals in the business of meeting the needs of customers like you. We always encourage you to buy from a dealer and have them service your bicycle whenever possible. Dealers will be key in helping Xtracycle to grow into new neighborhoods and communities in 2010.
In the last two years, Xtracycle has launched 15 new products – an impressive number for a company as small as Xtracycle. Our focus now is less on new product development (though we will continue to refine what we currently offer – we just can’t help ourselves!) and instead focus our energy towards getting more Xtracycles on the streets than ever before! We know that Xtracycle riders are community leaders and models of a transportation future we can all get behind. I got the following note in my inbox yesterday – I think it pretty much sums up my point:
“I jumped out of my aunt’s car to speak to a 70 year old man on his Xtracycle. He was marketing Xtracycles to me (already an Xtracycle owner)…it was very refreshing and sweet. You bring joy to people…”
Lets bring more joy in 2010! Thanks for your continued support, encouragement and patronage!
-Nate
Those sounds like smart changes. I’m a very happy owner of an xtracycle, and I tell all my friends to get one.
I am very excited to see that you are moving to be the most sustainable company you can be. You guys are truly riding the front of the curve. But one thing concerns me about this is that you may be cutting back on the creative side of Xtracycle. All the little extras that you carried were what I though made this company great! I was always looking at the web sight to see what my new favorite item was. Now I see things like no cooler, no fenders, no brake guards(& all other little things)? I am sure these things are not as profitable, but it is what give your company the human touch. This is what separates you from other companies and shows the public that you people are more concerned about having fun and being good to our mother, not the bottom line. I would have not bought this kick stand that i just bought unless you would have had it as overstock on sale. same thing for your free rad sale in October… i got several people to buy one just because it was soo much cheaper… all that said, i love you guys!! and my Xtracycle!
I continue to get positive feedback and hand out propaganda at every turn. The little brown cards are kind of hard for people to read though and connect with the bike. Do a trade with a graphic artist.
Here in Chico I frequently go to events with three Xtracycles racked out front and some really happening jams we get up to six. There’s nothing better than gliding by a traffic jam with my cooler and lawn chairs though. Sweet.
For gods sake find a better varnish for the snapdeck. The new plastic deck is a great idea; on my wish list.
Long live Xtracycle!! Thanks for sharing the plans for 2010…exciting and inspiring to see such dedication.
I read this with a bit of sadness, but also comfort: Looking at the Roots Radicals YAHOO! group, where post count is tracked by month, you can see a clear dip in online activity that generally corresponds with the declining economy. But if it is a true indication, January’s RR activity is way, way up — so perhaps business is on the mend.
But logic would suggest that Xtracycles should gain popularity in down times as people find way to cut transportation expenses and have more leisure time to bike to the store or the park, versus expensive and time-consuming trips to the ski slopes, movie theaters and amusement parks. Hmmm…
Xtracycle, I hope you don’t fall into the trap of maintaining a “recession” inventory in a time of economic recovery. I understand you did (are doing) what needs to be done, but as George commented, it’s your niche products that keep me coming back to browse the website.
Well, that, and the fabulous job you do with your social marketing. I love the blogs. I love the Facebook updates. I love the design aesthteic, depth and detail of your website (now that I know my way around — I think you need a dumbed-down, bare bones “Xtracycle for noobies” website for the unindoctrinated, as there are SOOOOO many options that it was a bit overwhelming on my first couple of visits.)
I also appreciate Rick Pickett’s presence on the Roots site, as well as comments to some of the blogs I’ve stumbled across. On MTBR, I’ve seen this kind of personality-driven company involvement work wonders for smaller brands like Ultimate Support, Iron Horse, Niner Bikes and Haro, and I’ve seen two of those brands take massive hits to their army of vocal (forum) supporters when that friendly, approachable company presence disappeared.
All in all, even though I’m just getting started as an Xtracycle owner, I see a lot to like here and wish to see you stick it out and make the best of it. And I’ll do my part to spread the word.
Thanks for your kind words, Nate. Love seeing your enthusiasm for all things cycling, rekindles my bi-pedal spirit every time. :D We’ll do our best to keep up our efforts, we’re not sitting idly by, that’s for sure. Looking forward to an exciting 2010!
Yeah, Jacob! Would like to do a recap post on our blog of your epic ride, let me know if you’ve already got some good content write up that you’d like me to include here. Hope to see you and the boyz soon!
Love my new free radical and can understand the rationale for the stock strategy BUT…
the lead time on these pre-order items is just too long! 3 months before I can have a wide loader or a Pea-Pod? Not cool.
I am all ready to be a great fan and advocate but this makes it hard.
Chris,
Thanks for the feedback. We too are not terribly happy with the situation. PeaPods sold out within one month of landing (we anticipated it would take about three months), and lead times on this product are longer than we would like. Needless to say we’re working with our suppliers to improve availability. As far as WideLoaders, I have seen them available at various internet bicycle retail outlets – for much less than we sell them for. I don’t understand exactly how these shops can justify what they do – both ethically – they are definitely corrupting the values of retaining price equality and competing on service, and financially – taking very low margins. My only guess is that they use Xtracycle stuff as a kind of loss leader to pull people in, and then folks buy high margin items like inner tubes and blinky lights? Not really sure. But I digress. My point is, WideLoaders are available through our dealers and distributors worldwide. PeaPod simply surprised us with how quickly it moved off the shelves.
Wait, one more thing on the WideLoaders – here’s a dealer that we’ve worked with for years – great people who sell a lot of cargo stuff for bikes and do it without undercutting their competitors. They offer excellent service, reasonable international rates. If you’re going to spring for WideLoaders now, I’d certainly recommend buying here:
http://www.biketrailershop.com/catalog/390-wideloader-p-145.html
–NATE