Exploring New Ground
As Ribble Cycles celebrates its 125-year anniversary with the launch of a new campaign, Emma Brereton talks to CEO Andy Smallwood
Ribble Cycles is a world-leading brand that is known for its innovation. From humble beginnings, over 125 years it has developed into a business that has embraced the digital era to become a trailblazer in the cycling world.
Wow, 125 years? How did it all start?
Ribble Cycles was founded by Richard Geldeard in 1897, opening his steel bike frame fabrication workshop and bike shop on Watery Lane in Preston. It sat right on the banks of the River Ribble, which winds its way through the picturesque Ribble Valley inspiring the company name. The heart of the business has always stayed very close to its roots.
It’s incredible to be one of the oldest bike brands in the world, how has Ribble Cycles achieved this?
Through the brand’s history it is clear that Ribble has always innovated, not just from a product perspective but also in terms of business model. Over the decades it has moved with the changes to retail and stayed focused as a direct-to-consumer brand. We were early to introduce mail-order and then later embraced the opportunities that have evolved from the digital era. In recent years, being at the forefront of digital retail has been the key driver of the business’ growth and success.
How important is being a British brand to Ribble?
The Ribble Valley and Lancashire terrain has always been a strong influencing factor in our product design and development. The landscape provides some of the toughest testing conditions in the UK. We are very proud to be a British brand keeping our manufacturing process as British as possible with every bike built by hand in Preston.
If Ribble Cycles was going to feature on Tomorrow’s World, what would we see?
Hmmm, I need to be careful here to not give any secrets away. Put it this way, our ‘Q department’ are working on some really exciting projects.
What kind of person will the CEO be for the 250th anniversary?
They will need to share the passion for cycling and product innovation that every Ribble Cycles leader has shared over the past 125 years. It’s not just about product though, they will need to remain at the forefront of both digital and physical retail progression, driving the Ribble brand forward striving to give cyclists the best experience possible.
What advice would you give them?
Ribble’s success comes from the talent, creativity, experience, hard work and dedication of the team. Keep challenging the normal – just because that’s the way it’s done now, doesn’t make it the best way forward. Think beyond your surroundings.
How do you mix physical and digital and how do you see this developing?
Whilst we are a digitally native business, we understand that physical and real-time interaction is very important. To achieve this, we have trialled and evolved various brand showroom formats culminating in our flagship showroom in Clitheroe.
The showroom has been designed to give the customer the ability to be immersed in the Ribble brand, whilst physically experiencing our product range, customisation and personalisation. Customers are supported by an expert and surrounded by digital tech to create the same journey as they would via our website.
We have worked towards bridging the digital and physical worlds with the introduction of Ribble Live. It’s a one-way video link whereby the customer, in real-time, can access our Clitheroe showroom anywhere in the world to see our product range all with the support of an expert.
Our future development will be centred around giving our customers better and more immersive experiences both digitally and physically – so watch this space!
What is the 125th year going to look like for Ribble?
We have just launched our ‘125 years of exploring new ground’ campaign where you will see lots of activity across the next 12 months celebrating this significant milestone. There will be special edition products, experiential events alongside brand activation and content that celebrates our heritage, legacy and most importantly, our exciting future.
And finally, where can we see the special edition bikes?
The first of our spectacular special edition 125 bike models recently launched at RouleurLive in London and will be coming soon to our flagship showroom at Clitheroe.
For more information on the new campaign – 125 years of exploring new ground, special edition 125 bikes and annual celebratory events and activations visit: ribblecycles.co.uk
Ribble Cycles
ribblecycles.co.uk
