SALES CYCLE
Jet Cycles:
80 Clarence St, Sydney NSW
CONTACTS
Specialized: www.specialized.com
ONE Group Retail Experience: (03) 9403 3555 or www.onegroupretail.com
Cycling is no longer a cheap means of transportation. It’s a religion. People of all ages are jumping into their lycra and joining the global pelaton. But let’s not kid ourselves, it’s the middle age gent who’s hellbent on losing that 40+ paunch who’s leading the retail renaissance. So, where better to place a cycling superstore than in the Sydney CBD, providing easy access for suits to drop $10k or more on a hi-tech treadley?
Specialized, the global retailer of road, mountain and children’s bikes, was ahead of the game and created an impressive retail showcase in a historical building on Clarence St, transforming it into the ultimate two-level haven for cycling enthusiasts.
When developing this ambitious project, the Specialized Retail Services Department appointed ONE Group Retail Experience to take on the fitout and project management role. Hannah Ferens, Specialized Retail Services Project Manager, had worked with ONE previously and felt comfortable partnering with them again on this project.
“Our endeavour was to make the most of the great bones of the 400sqm property and to emphasise its heritage features while bringing warmth to the space. We felt that in this atmosphere the Specialized values to be authentic and approachable to all riders would be best presented,” said Ms Ferens.
ONE Group worked within the confines of the heritage-listed property with care, using top quality materials to draw out the character of the building.
The original timber features were restored and brick archways were painstakingly uncovered by the ONE Group team who chipped back layers of paint to reveal and protect their original splendour.
The store is full of nice design touches. For example, the children’s bikes are positioned in large colourful boxes and installed on angles in the archways to draw the eyes up the grand staircase.
Framed photographs of shop owner Mark Newton working with the famous and infamous in the cycling world are laid around the store creating intriguing features that draw you into the different areas of the premises.
Timber finishes, leafy pot plants and neatly presented merchandise make for an inviting and comfortable space regardless of your cycling experience level.
The Service Centre on the ground level is positioned behind a glazed window and doors, a transparency rarely found in bicycle stores, that allows riders to view the mechanics at work; a spectacle usually reserved for hidden basements or a workshop ‘out the back’.
The signature Specialized red is cleverly used throughout, highlighting the exceptional or more exclusive features such as the S-Works range; the pinnacle of the Specialized brand. This is a characteristic of the Specialized retail experience in all concept stores across the globe.