Ryan Ziemba | Work Sample | Sept. 19, 2013 Ryan Ziemba Columbia Business School Prepared Nov. 28, 2012 This work sample contains excerpts from a comprehensive analysis I prepared along with my team of student colleagues at Columbia Business School. The full analysis was used by the investors and management team of a custom bicycle design and manufacturing startup. While this was in part a business school assignment, it was also a valuable consulting-style deliverable with real business implications for the recipients. In the interest of anonymity, I have replaced the name of the firm with “Bike Startup X.”
Transcript
Ryan Ziemba | Work Sample | Sept. 19, 2013
Ryan ZiembaColumbia Business SchoolPrepared Nov. 28, 2012
This work sample contains excerpts from a comprehensive analysis I prepared along with my team of student colleagues at Columbia Business School. The full analysis was used by the investors and management team of a custom bicycle design and manufacturing startup.
While this was in part a business school assignment, it was also a valuable consulting-style deliverable with real business implications for the recipients.
In the interest of anonymity, I have replaced the name of the firm with “Bike Startup X.”
2Source: National Bicycle Dealers Association, Industry Overview 2011, online.
Units sold between 2000 and 2008 averaged 18.7 million per year
Sales have been volatile since 2009, when they dropped to 14.9 million, rising to 19.8 million in 2010, and dropping again to 15.7 million last year
On average, kids’ bikes have accounted for 30% of the total units sold per year for the past 10 years
U.S. bicycle sale revenues have had an 1.5% average growth over the past 8 years
Sales topped $6 billion in 2011, incl. retail sales, parts & accessories through all distribution channels.
3Source: National Bicycle Dealers Association, Industry Overview 2011, online.
The Market: Sales Distribution Channels
Specialty retailers Mass merchants
Outdoor specialty stores Full-line sporting goods stores Online and other retailers
Mass MerchantsSpecialty Retailers
Sporting Goods ChainsOutdoor Specialty Retailers
Online and other
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70% 70%
18%
7%
2%3%
27%
55%
8%
5%5%
Market Share
Share of Total Dollars Spent
There is opportunity to capture market share and customer dollars
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Specialty retailers are of particular interest.
Source: National Bicycle Dealers Association, Industry Overview 2011, online.
Only distribution channel that maintained or increased average retail bike selling price in recent years;
Overall share and average selling price of new bike sales were up in 2011 compared to 2010;
New bicycle sales represent ≈ 41% of revenue – the rest is parts, accessories, service/repair, rentals and fitness equipment sales;
Approx. 4,100 retailers nationwide, but numbers are declining due to consolidation;
Core business strategy is differentiation: quality merchandise, added value services (e.g. bike fitting, assembly, repair, and community involvement)
The Market: Specialty Retailers
5
Group bike programs on the rise (e.g. bike share, corporate fleets, hotel amenities), as more metro areas become more bike friendly *
Well-known bike share programs in place in:
Some large corporations such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Genentech, and Williams-Sonoma have implemented corporate fleet programs
* 19 of the 51 largest U.S. cities and 26 states have adopted policies requiring streets be built to accommodate bikes
The Market: Relevant Bike Use Trends
There is room for growth in the corporate sales space
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Corporate Sales Strategy: Segmentation & Analysis
Market segmentation is the cornerstone of an effective and efficient sales strategy
Consider barriers to entry Understand potential barriers to entry for each potential market to determine if successfully targeting a
given segment is feasible and economically advantageous in both the short and long run.
Understand customer behavior & preferences It is also crucial to investigate customer needs, buying processes and behaviors, value perceptions, and
channel preferences for each segment.
Find where, when and how do prospective targets make related purchases.
Determine how individual target clients operate internally Identify who influences buying decisions, who actually makes them, and who places the orders.
Analyze distribution channels Evaluate each step in the the distribution channel pipeline.
Stay on top of market developments Monitor the key trends in your market, such as market changes and the activities of competitors.
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Corporate Sales Strategy: Potential Leads
“In the HR world—outside of the industry—bikes are fast becoming the “cool” recruitment tool. High-tech firms in the Bay Area, including such behemoths as Apple, Google and Facebook, have invested in bikes for workers to get to various campuses, and it’s a trend that Kurt Wallace Martin says is on the rise nationwide as employers in dense urban cities feel the squeeze of congestion and limited parking.”
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Competitive Analysis: Summary
CompetitorRetail Program
Corporate Branding
Employee Program
Hotel Fleet
University Campus
Bike ShareCity Bike
Share
√ √ √ √
√ √ √
√ √ √ √
√
√
Digital Analysis: Competitive Demographic Profiles
BikeStartupX.com
RepublicBikes.com
PublicBikes.com
TrekBikes.com
Digital Analysis: Competitive Search Volume
Search volume for “Bike Startup X” was quite strong during 3 distinct time periods
100 represents peak search volume
What happened at these spikes and can it be repeated?
BikeStartupX
BikeStartupXBikeStartupX
Digital Analysis: Competitive Traffic & Unique Visitor Ranking
Villy Republic Public Workman Trek0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
117,32090,006
107,500
380,435
17,366
268,984
163,626
63,094
631,880
12,912
Unique Visitor Rank (U.S.)
Visitors Rank (U.S.)
BikeStartupX.com
BikeStartupX.com’s traffic trails most competitors although SEO recommendations should boost rankings.
