Editor’s note: A version of this article ran in the December issue of BRAIN. This version is updated to include the sale of Austin’s Bicycle Sport Shop, announced Thursday.
FLOWER MOUND, Texas (BRAIN) — This year’s bike boom left many retailers with empty shelves, bulging bank accounts, and greatly reduced debt. It also left many exhausted. More than a few have decided this was the perfect time to get out of the retail grind, one way or another.
In a recent article, we wrote about new retailers jumping into the bike business because of the much-publicized growth this year. But there’s another side of the story.
Across the country, many shops are quietly shutting down or changing hands (Like this, this, or this, among many others). It’s sad, but many owners were able to close down without debt or inventory, which greatly eases their way into their next venture, or retirement.
“We’ve done well, I don’t want to mislead anybody,” one retailer in his 60’s told BRAIN. He asked not to be named because he’s still negotiating a sale of his store, which he has owned with a relative since the 1980s.
“It just did start to feel like we were in the store-running business instead of the bicycle business. I realize that the store-running business is where the industry is going, but maybe our talents are better used elsewhere.”
The retailer has been contemplating a sale for several years, but this year convinced him the time has come.
“I think it gave us an opportunity. We’ve carried a huge piece of long-term debt for a very long time, and we were able to whittle that down to nothing this year. Our sales doubled this year, and they could double again next year, it’s hard to say.
“And I have to say, we’re just exhausted,” he said. He said several staff members or their relatives are in high-risk groups for COVID-19 infection. Operating in safe conditions, sometimes with a reduced staff, made for a long summer. “I’m too old to work that hard!” he said.
Then he added, “I’m young and healthy. I’m not retiring. I still have things I want to do.”
Many U.S. retailers are baby boomers who entered the business in the 1970s or 80s and are now at or past the typical retirement age, but lacking a plan. Time flies for entrepreneurs focused on day-to-day business and many approach retirement age with some trade debt, perhaps a mortgage, and a business of unknown value.
Family business experts say entrepreneurs often wait decades too long to develop a succession plan such as handing the business over to their children or employees, or selling it. Such a transition can require as much energy and motivation as launching a new business, and owners who wait to retirement age or later to begin planning might lack the energy to make it work.
COVID-19 made it easier for many of them.
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