Bike Shop Seeing Record Sales Due To Gas Prices
WFSB-TV, Hartford, July 1, 2008
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. -- Business is booming at Bloomfield Bikes, said owner Mike Wolf, but not because of kids. He said business is doing well because of high gas prices.
“This is even crazier than in the 1970s with the gas shortages then,” he said.
A few Saturdays ago, he said, the 50-year-old company had its biggest day of sales ever.
“It’s happening all over,” said Wolf. “I have reports from friends in Chicago (and) California. It's the same over there.
If you want an indication that it's commuters adding to that business, he said, you just have to take a look at sales of travel bags. They let you bring supplies to work, he said, and sales of these are also through the roof.
“We sold 110 pair in a month, where, in the past, in a good month we'd sell five, eight (or) 10,” said Wolf. “They're versatile. When you get to the office you can pull it off, walk into the office with your bag and have all your belongings with you.”
Catering to commuters, he said, Bloomfield Bikes is also selling other accessories, like rearview mirrors, fenders to keep mud off business suits and bikes that fold up to store in the office. If people want to run errands on two wheels, he said, customers can get a carrier to bring their pets along for the ride.
And it's not just new bike sales, said Wolf. People are also pulling out some antiques that haven't seen action in years, he said.
“People have taken their old bikes out of storage, bringing them in,” he said. “We fix them up, clean them up.”
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