Mass customization remains one of the prominent buzz words in the retail industry. For retailers, responding to customers’ wants with customized products at reasonable prices, has become paramount in engaging customers and building a loyal following. What local on-line and now bricks-and-mortar retailer, YNOT Cycle delivers, is more than mass customization. They deliver customized hand-crafted products, made locally – and with a bricks-and-mortar store that speaks to the very essence of that offering.
The era of mass customization
Across retail sectors, from M & M’s personalized candies to the Nike ID program, mass customization is just one more tool in a retailer’s repertoire to reach today’s customer who has become accustomed to getting what they want and when they want it. Fuelled by social media, the desire for self-expression and a sense of individuality – not to mention potential bragging rights – are motivational drivers for purchasing customized products. With the democratization of retail (the latest buzz phrase), customers have endless choices of products, price-points and shopping channels (on-line, mobile, bricks-and-mortars). Customers are now in the driver’s seat more than ever before. And their demands and desires will increase as a result. Retailers who deliver customization, whether full customization, mass customization or personalization, to their customers, benefit. Not only do customized products have a greater perceived value for customers, they also result in increased customer engagement and brand loyalty.
YNOT the little shop that could
Although their products have been available on-line and through other retailers since 2009, it was less than a year ago that YNOT Cycle opened their first bricks-and-mortar shop at 831 Queen St. West, in the heart of the arts neighbourhood. Starting originally in a garage, then moving their manufacturing to an industrial building in the Junction area, the company has gradually expanded their line of products from pedal straps, to panniers, backpacks and messenger bags and other miscellaneous cycling related accessories – all hand-made locally on their premises. With an emphasis on functionality, durability and comfort and a simple design aesthetic, the company has developed a following amongst avid urban cyclists in Toronto and around the world. For many of their standard products, customers can chose to ‘build their own’ by selecting from an array of materials and colours and then add accessories such as laptop sleeves to their bags for further personalization. Not content to stand still – rumoured to be coming soon, is an expanded line to cater to not just cyclists but urban commuters and travellers.
Mass customization & local appeal
While other similar retailers, like American powerhouse Timbuk2, which arrived late last summer with its store further east on Queen St, also offer customized options coming from their San Francisco factory, what YNOT Cycle offers is mass customization, hand-made here. (Although one might be hard pressed to think of such a small operation hand-making product as mass customization, but by definition that’s what they offer – customization at comparable prices to their standard offering) For customers, beyond the mass customization, there’s something very appealing about buying directly from the maker and even more so if that maker is in their backyard. Witness the success of on-line venue, Etsy, or the rising popularity of pop-up markets featuring local artisans and entrepreneurs.
‘Hand-made locally’ and customization are not only part of their brand DNA, and the very things that differentiate them in the Toronto market, these qualities have been translated deftly to their bricks-and-mortar operation. From the rusticated metal sign on the narrow storefront to the re-purposed uni-strut wall merchandising system to the salvaged corrugated metal and live-edge wood counter, the store is infused with an inventive hand-crafted quality – one that feels as grass-roots as it does sophisticated and urban. Yet, by far, the most telling feature is their Custom Build Bar, a long counter along the right wall housing a couple of computer stations for customizing product and several functioning sewing – complete with heavy-duty sewing machines. Here, they have broken one of the cardinal rules of retail, placing the cash counter or anything remotely resembling one, immediately to the right of the entrance, but it makes absolute sense, front and centre, and the focal point of the store. It is, after all, what sets them apart.
What YNOT Cycle delivers – mass customization that’s elevated by being hand-made locally – is relevant and resonates with Toronto customers. However, with increasingly demanding customers what’s their next step, aside from expanding their line? The challenge for YNOT Cycle or any other retailer is to listen to customers and respond with new and improved customization options; continuing to up the game on customer engagement while remaining true to their brand. Crowdsourcing? Co-creations or collaborations? More personalization options? One-of-a-kind products? The possibilities are as endless as customer demands.
