Retailers certainly hope so – and they have a good reason, too. After a very successful year in 2008 (aside from the lackluster holiday season), businesses specializing in bicycling need a solid year in 2009 in order to stay viable in a rocky economy. This issue was covered recently in a New York Times article which stated:
Mr. Townley is even more skeptical now, predicting a flat to slightly down year for small bicycle stores. Declining gas prices are one reason. He also cited major price increases in bicycles and accessories resulting from the rising cost of materials and shipping — 98 percent of bicycles are manufactured overseas — which cut into profits. He said data showed that wholesale sales of new bicycles to shops for the first nine months of the year were down by more than 4 percent.
As our national economy begins a real shift to become more “green” and sustainable, there is a good chance that other businesses which help to create the “sustainable” economy will become the focus of business writers. The thing to remember, though, is that even though going green is the rage among television shows and big businesses right now – it will still take some time to catch on among the general public.
Great strides are being made, however, and I don’t believe that articles like this one will serve to hurt the change in our economy.
You know SLB’s stepdad owns a place called “The Peddler’s Shop” in Deptford, NJ – right?
I remember hearing something about that – hopefully SLB’s stepdad brings in some big dollars this spring.