Rothera Cycling

Rothera Cycling started in 2012, like all great businesses, in a garage and grew to be the industry leader in 3 years. Rothera consists of two focus areas. First, our public-facing e-commerce brand designs and manufactures cycling caps, apparel, and accessories. The other component is b2b sales, where we work closely with high-level clients to hit deadlines and create a streamlined process of ideation, marketing, production, and delivery.

What Rothera Cycling Does

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eCommerce

We make custom and limited edition cycling apparel, specializing in hats. Generates an average 200 orders per month, representing 60% of annual revenue.

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Bespoke apparel

Producing custom branded hats for cycling teams, b2b sales, and OEM production. Generates an average 300 orders per month, representing 40% of annual revenue.

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Event activations

Organizing custom products, demonstrations, and rides for events in the corporate and cycling world.

PROBLEM

These caps started as an alternative to the cheap cotton cycling caps that all look and fit the same way. I loved collecting them, but if I wasn't losing them, they were falling apart. So I decided to make a cap with both form and function, that I was proud of and that could keep up with me and my bicycle.

How might we carve out a niche in this market?

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Quality above all else

With the majority of caps on the market made by one manufacturer, our goal was to create a product that filled a need and it was clear the products currently on the market weren’t built to last or look good doing it, so our goal was to do both.

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Speak the language

Cycling culture is steeped in tradition. By paying homage through design and marketing, while applying the newest and highest quality materials in manufacturing, we’re able to create a unique and desirable product.

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Small business first

Initially capitalizing on the handmade movement and the rise of Instagram, we were able to showcase our premium products and cater to a vast customer base traditionally ignored by larger brands.

GOALS

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Speak the Customer’s Language

Talk the talk and walk the walk, or ride the ride in this case. Small businesses need more than just a great product, they need a strong brand that understands how to speak to their audience. Rothera’s brand draws upon cycling history and culture to create products that resonate with the needs and interests of our customers.

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Customers Want You to Succeed

As much as I stand by our products and goals, our customers always keep us looking up the road to our next venture. Our solid base of support, cultivated through relatable and engaging digital marketing, has been pivotal for Rothera’s success and continued growth.

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The Goalposts Are Always Moving

In bike racing, it’s said: “If you’re not moving up, you’re moving back”. While running a business doesn’t have a finish line, I was most successful when actively looking to conquer the next objective, adding another arrow to our quiver, which ultimately is what has sent me down this path today, in search of the next summit.

SKETCHING V1

Illustrations by Bobby Dixon

BRAND IDENTITY

SOLUTIONS

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Design & Manufacturing

From ideation to production we are proud to do everything in-house, using ethically sourced raw materials, which allows us to refresh our designs with no turnaround or minimum demands from overseas manufacturers.

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Marketing and Scale

Focusing on retail sales, 60% of Rothera caters to customers through UX writing paired with targeted releases and digital marketing which generates a 4.03% conversion rate compared to the industry average of 2.68%.

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B2B

The other 40% of Rothera is made up of B2B design and production services starting with point of concept on through to manufacturing, fulfillment, and release. By using our base for digital marketing we’re able to use the Rothera brand to elevate our clients’ visibility and thereby increase their sales while also advertising our services and generating more B2B sales.