PerformanceBike.com.
Peformance Bicycle, America’s largest chain of bike retail shops, will open their latest location in downtown Portland.
According to the Portland Business Journal, Bitech Inc. (Performance’s corporate name) signed a lease for 20,000 square feet of retail space at 1736 SW Alder St. (the Biz Journal reported it incorrectly as SE Alder).
The location is just south of W. Burnside and a few blocks from PGE Park. Performance currently has 80 retail locations in 15 states and is a juggernaut in the online and catalog bike part/accessory business. This will be their fourth store in Oregon. They already have retail stores in Beaverton, outer east Portland (Mall 205) and Tualatin.
No word yet on when the store is scheduled to open. I have a call into Performance’s corporate offices and will update this story when I know more.
Bo Peele in the marketing department at Performance Inc. told me this morning that the store is scheduled to open in May and a grand opening event will be held in June. The store is slated to be a “state-of-the-art” design and will be the first one of its kind outside of their flagship store in North Carolina.
Thanks for reading.
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Wow. It’s great to see a retailer expanding in this economy. Hopefully this is more evidence that the bicycle culture will retain it’s robustness as we ride out this nasty economy.
As nice as it is to see biking expand in Portland, I can’t help but be a little concerned for small, local bike shops (IBD’s) when a corporate giant who is usually located in the burbs comes to the central city.
Please shop local. More of your money stays in the community and it may just save your job or the job of a friend.
This is the town where local coffee shops outlast Starbucks. Let’s show the same loyalty with bike stuff.
I’m pretty sure local shops have nothing to fear. The other retail locations have been around for years in this area. Not to mention the local shops seem to stock a bit more of what Portland expects out of a bike shop. Any business is good business at this moment.
I’m hip to Performance moving in downtown. Maybe it will cause Bike Gallery and Rivercity to lower their prices to a reasonable level. I’d support both businesses if they didn’t have to shaft me to do stay alive.
In a city teeming with really great, locally-owned bike stores, it’d have to be a pretty good reason to get me to shop at a Performance store. No offense to the folks who work there, but I’d prefer to support local businesses.
Nothing wrong with competition. Performance is a great place to get deals on clothing, gloves, and parts. Plus, their vibe is pretty friendly towards new riders and their prices on entry to mid-range bikes are encouraging to that demographic.
I started my bike buying at Performance and gravitated to the more focused local retailers as my needs and wants became more sophisticated. Today’s PBS customer becomes tomorrow’s specialty bike shop customer as their passion grows.
That’s not Downtown. That’s Goose Hollow. Downtown ends at I-405.
http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=58371
Given all the possibilities of what kind of retail goes into a location, a chain bike shop is better than most, worse than some. I’ll stick to my favorite local lbs unless I *need* some of that ultra-stylin’ performance house brand stuff.
It might not be Downtown, but it definitely is downtown. Split hairs much?
+1, Brad #7.
When I started riding, I shopped at my local Performance Bike. It was less intimidating to go in there and admit ignorance than to go into Bike Gallery and admit ignorance– that was the vibe I got.
I bought my first bike at Performance. I take it back there for maintenance. I like them.
My second bike, we bought at Bike Gallery– I was looking for something a little more expensive, was interested in Trek, and needed a more sophisticated hand to help me out.
I would say that BG and PB cater to different sections of the bike community. It’s not like PB turns a WalMart trick and gets rid of all the local shops before coming in and taking over… 😀
I’ve never bought anything at Performance, but did check out there Beaverton store when I was looking at buying a new bike. I think Brad and Kt are right that they do a good job with entry-level folks who are new to cycling. I wanted more expertise and so I went with the Bike Gallery in the end. In the end, you pay for what you get.
Also, ever noticed that car dealers like being near one another? They want you to buy a car from them, but they also realize it is good to be close to your competitor so that their potential customers also check you out. The Bike Gallery’s bigger competition is from other Trek dealers in some ways not from Performance.
Don’t worry about Performance displacing any of the local flavor. Their product assortment is very different and built to serve a very generalized set of cycling needs not the specialized cyclist needs of anyone who lives on and speaks through BikePortland. Portland is rocking 2009 with even more bike shops and less car dealerships. Yeah!
Bike Gallery and Performance are down the street from each other in Beaverton, and have been for years, and I doubt that it is seriously hurting either of them. Performance’s prices are great for things like tubes, but I’ve never been particularly impressed with their service department, both times I’ve been in there, they look at my bike for about half an hour and then tell me they can’t do it.
(And then I take it to Bike Gallery and they make me leave it overnight because they are so backed up. But they fix it.)
And Performance seems to always be short staffed when the weather is nice. Not that I blame them, if I could call in sick everytime it was sunny, I would too.
HA HA On two different occasions I’ve wandered out of the Beaverton Performance shop with cheap tubes from their ‘bargain sales table’ and the tubes had patches on them! Each time it was less than the 5 or 6 patches I normally run and they held air so I went with it….just makes me laugh!
Agree with the differing clientele and service.
I’ll be sticking with local shops, but I’ll take any sort of bike business as long as it doesn’t crush the little guy.
I think this might be a case where the local shops know their customers better and will have a huge advantage in that regard.
To pdxrocket,
Please bear in mind that Bike Gallery and River City give their employees a living wage and health benefits, give their customers superior service, AND all the dollars you spend in those stores stays in PDX…The owners of both establishments live in inner NE. Performance wants your money so they can pass it on to corporate shareholders in other cities and states. Think about that.
You have to look at the kinds of gear and the brands Performance sells. They’ve got a combination of brands everyone wants and brands very few people want, so if you’re looking for a deal on Shimano, they might have it but they have a lot of those low-market Forte items too… They fill a niche but they don’t have the depth that RC or BG have.
Performance doesn’t sell much in the way of what I want, but each to their own.
I’d rather see any sort of bike shop than a payday lender…
Performance is the “Walmart” of bike stores. The customer means nothing to them. Endorce them at your will.
to Common Sense post #17
The Bike Gallery does NOT pay its workers a living wage. They DO provide health care to full time, non-seasonal employees. From what I understand, River city employees work on commission and also do NOT receive a living wage.
I know three people who work in non-managerial roles at Performance and they all are paid comparably to a Bike Gallery worker.
I really could care less about any of this, but you are delusional if you think those shops pay their employees a living wage.
Steve #21,
I really don’t think you have enough experience or perspective to speak with the amount of authority you are attempting to do so now.
I have worked at Bike Gallery for a while now, after years of experience in the bicycle industry in Portland and around Oregon and California it is by far the best shop I have been employed at.
With out getting in to it I can tell you that Performance “mechanics” don’t get the pay or the benefits as those of BG. That is for an important reason too. Our standards are a million times higher and our experience a billion times deeper. BG also does important little things (that are actually really important) like the community work that Jay Graves and employees at large do for Portland.
To say that there is no difference from outfits like BG and Performance in both community benefit and treatment of employees is absolutely not true and categorically untrue. I don’t mean to be terse, and I apologize if I came off a little hard, but really I can’t tell you what a relief it is to work for this company after working at several other local bike shops. The difference couldn’t be more stark, except if we were to bring in Performance for a comparison.
Ok, lets get down to brass tacks:
Does anyone know what the average starting wage for a seasonal worker at Bike Gallery vs. Performance?
Does anyone know what the average starting wage is for a non-seasonal worker at Bike Gallery vs. Performance?
Does anyone know what the average wage is for someone thats been at either Bike Gallery or Performance for, say, 2 or 3 seasons, 5-10 seasons?
Can anyone share these numbers?
Faux Porteur,
Not to exaggerate, but I’d guess that the difference is somewhere in the millions or billions.
I really don’t think you have any idea what my experience or perspective is #22.
#23 is asking the right questions.
No matter what, it is better to spend your money at a locally owned company. What would be even better, is if ALL workers were paid an equitable and living wage.
Performance doesn’t cater to the “Weird” crowd of Portland, but they’re okay for general supplies. Don’t hate them.
Bike Gallery = Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Community Cycling Center, Cycle Oregon, mechanics at Bridge Pedal, Jay Graves on dozens of boards and committees.
Performance = ?
#21 Steve – you claim that Bike Gallery doesn’t pay a living wage, what do they pay? Facts please. What does Performance pay?
I don’t personally shop at the Bike Gallery all that often, but they do a lot better then most bike shops in terms of paying their people and getting them respectable insurance for around $50/mo. Jay has also been a big advocate for cycling in this community though support of the BTA and other things.
Do I wish that shops would pay people ~$13-15/hour or more? Heck ya, but unfortunately that doesn’t happen real often unless you look at the REALLY high end. We need to continue to work for more truly living wage jobs, but local businesses are going to do more to help employees then Performance. I would love to see people unionize Performance – bike workers union??? It could set a new standard for labor in the industry.
I try to support my LBS’s as much as possible, but money is tight. I regularly buy tubes from Performance, and have also purchased cassettes and chains from them because, when on sale, they are half the price the LBS’s charge. Literally. If the local shops could match prices on those consumables I’d feel better spending my money with them. I’ve worked hard to shift as much of my spending to local as possible, but sometimes it feels like simple economics works against that, which is frustrating.
The vast majority of consumers will ask one question: which is cheaper?
Mike (#20): I’ve been saying that for years, even joking with them when I shop there. The reason? Not because they’re often cheapest, but because they’re very reasonable in negotiating markdowns. They do seem to have higher turnover than other shops I’ve noticed, so maybe there is something to the way they treat employees. Their employees have been quite knowledgeable and helpful to me, though, and I can see where it may be a less intimidating shop to a newbie.
What I do is shop Performance and their sister company Nashbar online and via their catalogs. Then I take those prices to the LBS’s that treat me properly and build relationships as a repeat customer. If it’s a unique item or closeout nobody else can come near then my business goes to Performance/Nashbar or even eBay. I try to keep it local and spend more money by saving more money – and my friends will attest that I spend a lot on bike stuff!
Also, I’m willing to spend for items manufactured locally, but there’s a certain popular LBS that refuses to sell me the same overpriced Chinese/Taiwanese stuff for even 10% under retail when I know they’re marked up 60%. Another popular LBS (that I bought a bike from) is crowded and lacking personal attention. Why should I pay top dollar to be treated poorly just because the owner lives in the same city or state? And about certain shop owners giving money to BTA, Cycle Oregon, etc: so do I!
Matthew (#14) has a point. Most people I run into have bought their bike at Bike Gallery, and the one down the street from Performance in Beaverton isn’t hurting in the least.
I’m not sure about Rivercity but Bike Gallery does price match any and all competitor prices in the portland area, provided that the sale is one that is going on in an actual store. I don’t know anyone that price matches online super deals. So with that being said, I’m sure Bike Gallery and Rivercity would love to take business from Performance even if it means taking a small hit in profit. Same brand, same part, price matched to the same price… why not support local business? Ultimatly it is you choice as a consumer
Geez gang… Nothing wrong with any of the bike shops in town.
Do your homework before you buy, or learn to trust the sales people.
Y’all got one thing in common…
Passion
Sheesh..
I have shopped frequently at the Mall 205 Performance. The staff there has always been exceedingly helpful and friendly. I have never gotten an ounce of attitude (and I can’t say the same for a lot of the LBSs). Some Performance gear is great and sometimes you are limited by the selection. In regards to price though, there really is no comparison. The price difference is seldom a buck or two. I often find stuff on sale for half the cost of what I would buy something at my LBS. I have found a lot of gear at RC over MSRP. I love the concept of buying local, but sometimes it feels like you are being put over a barrel. At the end of the day I always shop around and go for the best value. Due to Perfomance’s limited selection, that often means the LBS. It’s hard to justify spening $7 on a tube though when you can get the same thing for $2.99.
Performance is the “Walmart” of bike shops! they undercut LBS’s, they pressure manufacturers for cheapest margins (just like Walmart) and put many smaller shops out of business by squating in an area, even though they don’t do the sales to justify staying in that area.
I would boycott them if I were you!
IMHO
#34
+1.
My biggest question regarding a “living wage”: What does this mean?
I bet there are several answers ranging from current minimum wage to an amount that allows one to not only live beyond paycheck to paycheck, but to actually save some money.
Before claiming one does or does not provide this, perhaps we could define what it is?
As for shopping local, I believe Performance will hire local mechanics and salespeople. Local jobs and more money for local economy? LBS or not, it sounds good to me.
Also-
A $7 tube does not exist @ BG or RC, unless it is on sale!
Last time we checked, Portland’s true living wage was rated at around 12.00 an hour (assuming the worker is scheduled 35 to 40 hours a week and is renting a median-priced apartment within the city limits). I would imagine that relatively few bike shops in Portland can pay that AND provide a real health benefits package. BG comes to mind as one of the few who can because of its size and buying power (i.e., relative to health insurance policies). Small shops simply can’t do it.
By that definition, only some of BG’s and RC’s full time year-round employees make a living wage.
It is worth noting that some of the smaller shops in town do pay a living wage based on those numbers, but you loose some of the other benefits; 401k, dental, optical.
Unfortunately, you can not pay for groceries or your rent with your medical benefits.
I bought tubes for 6 bucks yesterday at a BG store. So a sub $7 tube DOES exist at the BG. Check your facts before you blast local businesses. RC and BG will do a heck of a lot more for Portland and the cycling community that Circle P ever will. Most local shops benefit the community while Circle P is just another big company that only cares about there bottom line and not the communitys where their dollars come from.
That was considered a “blast”?
$6 > $2.99 x 2.
Hardly a persuasive argument.
How about this for a compromise? City Bikes has tubes for $4.50. It’s local and reasonable.
This is how I do it. If it’s something commonly available in a bike shop, I give the small LBS my business first. If they don’t have it, I go to one of the bigger local shops, i.e., Bike Gallery or River City. If one of the bigger local shops has it on closeout, I’ll buy it there.
If it’s something rare, I’m on eBay for it. I only check out Nashbar for their closeout sales.
YMMV
I have done business with the CCC, Bike Gallery, City Bikes, Weir’s Cyclery, Clever Cycles, Performance Bike, and River City. There’s a new Recyclery near my office which I have yet to check out, and every time I go somewhere I see another bike shop I haven’t visited yet.
CCC is by far my fave. I love the non-profit status, the awesome and friendly service, the fab selection of reasonably priced and lovingly rebuilt used bikes. I bought my bike there and I go there for service or stuff whenever I can. However, it’s not terribly convenient. If I need urgent service then I go to the Bike Gallery up the street from my office. They are very competent and I have nothing against them, but they are less thorough and less friendly and they cost more.
For stuff it doesn’t matter. Every place has a different selection and different prices. I get what I need when I need it from wherever I can get it easily for not too much money. I like every place I’ve visited so far and have been happy to give them my business.
Living wages… . Being a former manager of performance, I can assure you the folks up high in north carolina didn’t let us pay people more than 9.00 an hr. unless you were management.
Bike Gallery, The wages are better, the culture and buissness practices are much better.
Shoping at performance is shopping at Walmart.
#17 Common Sense
One of the owners (Dave) of RCB lives out in Boring. Sweet house, nice plot of land, with llamas in the yard.
Get your facts straight.
#17 & #47 If it matters, every single owner of CityBikes lives within biking distance of the shops. No llamas though, at least I don’t think so.
to #47 middle of the road guy
You are right. I had forgotten that about Dave. My mistake. But consider this: My understanding is that the primary owner of Performance lives in a mansion in Aspen, Colorado. $2.99 tubes…whatever!
To the rest of you folks who don’t value your LBS,
Consider this as: Perhaps the prices you see at your local bike shop aren’t high after all. Perhaps the prices you see at Performance (or Nashbar, or Colorado Cyclist…) are artificially *low* thanks to those companies predatory business preactices.
Case in point: Shimano America has fairly stringent pricing poicies for their authorized Internet/Mail Order (IMO) dealers. Performance is not in the ranks of these authorized dealers because they don’t play by the rules Shimano set up to protect their brick and mortar dealers. Performance has buying power that allows them to take advantage of grey market product, an example of this being overstock from foreign distributors, and OE distributors and manufacturers in Asia. They’re certainly not getting it directly from Shimano…
A second case in point: Does anyone remember when Cannondale started opening online dealers during the birth of online retailing? Here’s what happened…Consumers were going to their local Cannondale dealer, shopping for models, being assisted with selecting the proper size bike, then turning around and buying the bike for hundreds of dollars less from an online retailer. The result was that brick and mortar shops dropped Cannondale like a hot potato because that brand was no longer profitable. All because Cannondale did not realize the *value* of their brick and mortar dealers. Since then Cannondale has restored their dealer base and stopped selling online (except for REI…).
The Local Bike Shop is the life blood of the bike industry. Cycling is a fairly technical and very individual pursuit. The vast majority of average cyclists out there need a lot of *personal* help. So we can argue about which shops do that better, and who pays who better, and who has a better employee benefits package…But that’s not really the point. The bottom line is that without brick and mortar bike shops there would essentially be no bicycle industry in the USA. Portland would not enjoy the benefits that the thousands upon thousands of cyclists have brought to our fair city.
Bike Gallery, RCB, Lakeside, Fat Tire Farm, Clever Cycles, Cyclepath, CCC, Wiers, Veloshop, Sellwood and all the rest…they all LOVE Portland! I’m sure the people who work at the local Performance shops love Portland too, but Performance doesn’t love Portland. Performance loves money. And they’re doing a pretty bang-up job of exploiting opportunities provided by the global bike industry.
So think about that. And next time you need a tube, or a part, or whatever, put your money where your values are. I hope that’s in Portland.
customer service varies from store to store, and day to day, person to person. general thoughts about that are moot in debates like this.