BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
One of the UK’s largest independent cycling retail groups is creating ten new jobs across three departments following record growth in 2015.
The £31M group, consisting of bike and accessory retailer, Tredz, cycling replacement company, Wheelies Direct, and Cycle to Work scheme provider, Cycle Solutions, saw a record 23% increase in sales last year.
The ten new positions in its warehouse, contact centre and I.T. department follow the creation of 53 new jobs over the past two years, taking the group’s total workforce to 269.
Founded by Swansea brothers, Keith and Mike Jones in 1989, the group is looking to hire two new Telesales Executives, two eCommerce Marketing Executives, three Claims Handlers, two Cycle Technicians and a Senior Web Developer.
The group is one of only three cycling centres in the UK to offer training under the Cyctech NVQ training scheme, set up to support the development of cycle technicians.
Group Managing Director, Keith Jones, said: “We’re looking for enthusiastic, hard-working people with a passion for good quality customer service to join our team. Knowledge of bicycles is a bonus but not essential. The majority of positions available, such as claim handling, can be learned on the job as we provide full training and support.
“Given the terrible news regarding so many redundancies in Swansea recently, we’re pleased to be in a position to create jobs across several of our departments, especially as this allows us to offer employment to a range of people with different skills.”
Further growth success is anticipated in 2016 with the group’s Tredz brand projected to top £21M in sales. As a result, the group is planning to further increase staff numbers by 15 towards the end of the year.
Mr Jones continued: “Acquiring a workforce of talented and skilled people is a crucial component in our growth strategy. Moving forward, we will continue to put all our efforts into future growth, increasing our share of the domestic market and acquiring new store locations across the UK. We aim to expand further afield, moving into global markets where possible, and hope that this, along with consolidating our existing portfolio of brands will continue to fuel our success as a business and drive its growth.”
