Seventies Distribution adds consumer portal alongside B2B supply
Seventies Distribution of Hastings has launched a direct-to-consumer website, while pledging to remain a key supporter of core BMX stores.
The new website, which launched today under the Backyard BMX name, will feature all the 15+ brands and 3,500 products Seventies distributes for same day shipping, with support built in to point customers to BMX shops and Skateparks.
Seventies has provided shops with a stock feed for many years, but describes it as “very difficult for them to update and actively promote” so many products. Customers to the website will be able to nominate one of about 15 shops to support and Seventies will handle the packing, shipping, processing fees etc and the store will receive a commission in the form of a credit on their account.
Seventies are hoping by promoting this website they can increase the sales of these brands while simultaneously supporting BMX stores. Seventies has been looking at this style of model for some time now and says that it follows a similar path to some already in place with some of the UK’s larger distributors.
Owner, Stuart Dawkins had the following to say: “Backyard is the name of the original shop I opened in Hastings in 1989 and after closing the store in the mid 90s I focused all our efforts on Seventies Distribution. Over the years we’ve seen a lot less shops stocking BMX and the number of BMX specific shops diminish as more of the sales move online. Many shops simply don’t have the ability to list and update all the products that we sell, so this site will help them to compete online without having to invest huge amounts in website development and stocking thousands of items.
“At Seventies we value the role of the shops in helping support BMX, whether it’s sponsoring riders and events, giving advice and being a meeting point to help develop local scenes. It is very important that we try to include and support the dealer and I’m hoping this site will achieve this. At launch we are only looking at shipping orders, but may introduce a click and collect option in the future. We will also continue to market and promote BMX through sponsorship of riders, events and organising the Backyard Jam series of events.”
Seventies puts back into BMX through organising the Backyard Jam events, sponsoring BMX riders. The business will continue to operate both the traditional wholesale model with their B2B website, phone orders and stock feeds alongside the Backyard BMX website.
The new site can be viewed at www.backyardbmx.co.uk and dealers that are interested in being a part of this program can contact Seventies Distribution on 01424 855556.
