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Shifting gears to online sales
Founded 115 years ago, ROSE Bikes is an expert at moving with the times and adapting accordingly. Launching the online store in the 1990s was a huge step. The company has been consistently making improvements to the store ever since. The aim of these bicycle experts is always to provide customers with an easy and pleasant shopping experience.
ROSE Bikes chose Akamai to add an extra layer of security to their site. Customers can admire great photos of their next bike, schedule a video consultation, and make purchases with a 30-day return policy policy — 80% of sales are now made online. With Akamai’s help, the experience will keep getting even better.
Pedaling confidently into the future with an omnichannel focus
1907. ROSE Bikes opens its first store in Bocholt, Germany, selling bicycles in the summer and sewing machines in the winter.
Fast-forward to the present: ROSE Bikes is a mecca for cycling enthusiasts across Europe. It’s still run by the Rose family, and the bicycles are still designed and assembled by hand in Bocholt. “We’ve been a family business for four generations,” says Stefan Essing, Manager of eCommerce IT. “All of us love cycling — it’s good for your health and the environment.”
Essing joined ROSE Bikes as an IT apprentice back in 2005. Today, he is responsible for the communication between the business and IT teams. “Our typical customer is an avid cyclist,” he says. “Some are professionals; others are hobbyists who enjoy long cycling trips on the weekend. We’re also starting to see more and more people get e-bikes for their commute to work.”
In its 115-year history, ROSE Bikes has always kept moving with the times and reinventing itself along the way: mail order in 1982, an online catalog in the 1990s, a selection of leasing options a few years later. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the expansion of its state-of-the-art online store, which operates alongside the company’s six physical stores and numerous shop-in-shop locations.
“People have been shopping online for years, but during the pandemic they became more comfortable making larger purchases,” says Essing. “To stand out from the masses, we wanted to create a professional shopping experience, offering everything you can do in a local store — shy of taking a test ride.”
People have been shopping online for years, but during the pandemic they became more comfortable making larger purchases. To stand out from the masses, we wanted to create a professional shopping experience, offering everything you can do in a local store — shy of taking a test ride.
Stefan Essing, Manager of eCommerce IT, ROSE Bikes
A reliable online store and secure customer data
As online sales increased, Essing wasn’t entirely satisfied with the company’s web security and performance provider. Overage fees were a problem. “Predicting web traffic is tricky for our company: Our sales go up when the weather is nice,” Essing explains. An even bigger problem he saw: potential cyberattacks that could negatively affect the website, the customer experience, and the company’s bottom line.
Essing was looking for a new web security and performance provider with robust web and application security, a predictable pricing model, and enough performance to reliably provide customers across Europe with an excellent experience. Akamai proved to be the solution to his problems. “Akamai is the best choice for our online store since they have servers everywhere our customers are,” Essing says. “Thanks to Akamai, there’s no lag in the delivery of our site and no overage fees. We also have more precise control over web security and the possibility to grow without limits.” Akamai also ensures that ROSE Bikes’s web traffic never leaves the EU, fulfilling that requirement of the General Data Protection Regulation.
Akamai is the best choice for our online store since they have servers everywhere our customers are. Thanks to Akamai, there’s no lag in the delivery of our site and no overage fees. We also have more precise control over web security and the possibility to grow without limits.
Stefan Essing, Manager of eCommerce IT, ROSE Bikes
A premium, customized shopping experience
Essing designed the shopping experience knowing that many customers would never visit a physical store, while others would. Imagine a customer: Jessica. She wants to upgrade from the old three-speed bicycle she dusted off during the pandemic. She goes to rosebikes.de on her iPhone and is greeted by beautiful photos — no lag. The images are optimized for her device. Jessica is very taken with the BACKROAD gravel bike, admiring it in “deepest purple,” “evil pepper green,” and “blue haze.” Wondering about the difference between the Shimano and Campagnolo gears and brakes, she types her question into the chat box and gets an answer from an AI-powered chatbot in no time. Now she wants human advice: Should she consider an e-bike instead? So she taps a button to schedule a WhatsApp video consultation with a ROSE customer advisor. The advisor agrees that the gravel bike is a good choice for Jessica and recommends several models for her consideration. The next day, Jessica can take them for a test ride at a nearby ROSE store. By the time she gets back home after the test ride, she has made her decision and goes back online to order her bike and pay for it securely.
“We’re dissolving the boundaries between what you can do online and in our physical stores,” Essing states. “Helping our customers buy a bike they love without needing multiple trips to the store is part of our commitment to sustainability.”
Outlook
The online store has been a huge success. But Essing and his team aren’t done yet. A curated marketplace for partner products is in the works, as is the development of more personalized offers. Essing is confident the Akamai team can help ROSE Bikes adapt to whatever the future holds. “Our philosophy is that customers should be able to enjoy a great shopping experience anytime and from anywhere,” he says. “We’re moving with the times, and with Akamai’s help, I’m confident that ROSE Bikes will still be leading the way in another 100 years.”
About ROSE Bikes
ROSE Bikes is a customer-focused bicycle brand from Bocholt, Germany, whose mission is to make unique cycling adventures a reality for their customers. The family business, which has 480 employees, mainly focuses on high-quality mobility and performance bicycling products of their own design. These products are developed and assembled at the company’s headquarters, then distributed throughout Europe. The multi-award–winning company is a leader in omnichannel retailing, combining online and offline touchpoints for selection, advice, and service. Their wide range of products and services can be experienced online and in person at ROSE stores across Germany, from Bocholt to Cologne, Berlin, and Munich, as well as at Lake Zurich in Switzerland and in more than 30 cooperative stores by the end of 2022.
For more information, visit www.rosebikes.de
About Akamai
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