Rory Feddersen runs Simple Sports, a family-owned bicycle and alternative sports store at 326 E. Main St. In addition to sales and service on bicycles, Simple Sports boasts the largest in-store selection of disc golf merchandise between Madison and Minneapolis. Sales and service on hockey equipment, skateboards and snowboards are also available.
Menomonie, Wis.—His mother has worked in retail for years and his father is a retired pipefitter and welder.
“I get my customer service focus from my mom and my mechanical skills from my dad,” said Rory Feddersen of Simple Sports.
Feddersen describes his parents as very social people, and he credits both of them for his own desire to take care of customers. “What they taught me growing up helps me listen and react to customers’ needs and then propose solutions,” he said.
Feddersen believes that his emphasis on customer service and industry knowledge give him a competitive edge in today’s bicycle marketplace.
Sometimes customers come into the store only to ask questions. And that’s fine with Feddersen.
“People tend to remember you when you are a resource and not just a retailer,” he said. “People come back to my store because they know I’ll take care of them. I go the extra mile to give customers exactly what they want. I take the time to listen for everything they are looking for in the product and their desired price range. Then I take action to find the best match for my customers,” he said.
Feddersen also credits his industry contacts and knowledge to his success in customer service.
“After 14 years in the bike industry, I can locate an answer to just about any sports equipment question or need, and I often can find products at a great deal because of my contacts,” he said.
It was no surprise, then, when readers of the local Volume One Magazine voted Simple Sports as the number one local bike shop in the Chippewa Valley last year.
When the competition began, Feddersen asked his customers to become his brand ambassadors. And they did. Big time.
When Simple Sports placed first, his customers were just as excited as he was.
“I received a lot of ‘atta boys,’” Feddersen said.
Perhaps more importantly, he also received new customers. Avid cyclists and disc golfers from Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire came into his store for the first time after reading about Simple Sports in the magazine.
Getting the word out about his store is critical to his success, Feddersen admits.
He knows that, these days, that also means using social networks. In addition to his website, Feddersen administers a Facebook page for Simple Sports and has experimented with Facebook ads and Google AdWords. He believes that rural communities tend to rely on electronic media more so than urban areas.
“I just canceled my Yellow Pages ad and am moving toward a greater online presence. If people can research online about Simple Sports first, they can save time, gas and money,” Feddersen said. “Using the most relative and cost effective ways to advertise and communicate is just smart business.”
He believes the Nature Valley Grand Prix Bicycle Festival, which comes to Menomonie June 19, is also smart.
“The Grand Prix is going to be great exposure for Menomonie,” Feddersen said. “It will show others what Menomonie has to offer the bicycling community,” Feddersen said.
In addition to bringing the race to town, Feddersen would like to see the city dedicate streets for cycling. He also is pursuing a designation that would name Menomonie a bicycling destination.
“Anything I can do to promote bicycling in Menomonie is a good thing,” Feddersen said.
Rory Feddersen of Simple Sports and his dog Phluff bike to work year round.
He said his own bicycle ride into work that morning is a good example of what he would like to see on a daily basis: a mother on a bicycle with her two kids in a child trailer riding behind, two gentlemen out on a social ride and another woman riding her bike to work.
“My long-term goal is making our city safer and cleaner by making it possible to use biking for transportation and recreation,” Feddersen said. “I feel we all need to do what we can to improve our community and leave behind a legacy of improving our world.”
Ultimately, Feddersen would like to build a business that will be a cornerstone of downtown Menomonie.
“My hope is that 200 years from now some descendent of mine will be running Simple Sports with the same passion that I do now,” he said.
Published in the Dunn County News, June 6, 2010
