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This piece first appeared in the March edition of BikeBiz magazine – not subscribed? Get a free subscription.
From the back of a van to a national distributor, how Bob Elliot & Co. built a lasting legacy in the cycling industry.
1985 was a year of new beginnings for Bob Elliot. Welcoming his son, Paul, into the world coincided with the launch of Bob Elliott & Co. We look back on how it all began as the company celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Before Bob Elliot existed (the business, not the man) Bob had worked in the industry prior to starting his company. Following the closure of several factories, being made redundant, and lack of opportunity in Scotland, he decided to move to Manchester to join his wife, Sue. He knew he’d have to create his own opportunities, and with a young family, he couldn’t afford to sit still for long.
Thanks to his industry background and anticipating the needs of trade, Bob began selling parts from the back of his car. Shortly after he got a van, a VW LT35, before replacing it with a Renault Master equipped with baskets that allowed retailers to step in and fill up on stock, something that set him apart from others doing the same at the time.
Two years later he put a second van on the road, “I was finding it very difficult to cover the North as a whole and run the business because me and my wife did everything,” he recalled. At that time, all the deliveries came to his home. He’d head home, restock from the garage and head back out on the road.
Between Bob and a friend, together they did the North of England in two vans. Soon, the practicalities of managing several deliveries at home and risking not keeping in favour with the neighbours meant Bob got his first unit. From there that grew to securing units close to home and employing Paul Freeman as warehouse manager, someone who still works with the business as a rep for the company to this day.
Later, due to selling out part way through the day and not having stock available, customers began to ask about shipping products. The decision to stop using the vans and head out on the road as reps soon followed. Bob and Paul got cars, went to shops to take orders which by that time, were sent directly from the warehouse. That led to hiring more warehouse staff and expanding into other areas of the UK.
Five years later and in their original base in Atherton, what started with one unit, grew to two before expanding to six, “We had all the units on one estate, all in a row but soon ran out of space again. We then had to start looking for a new property because the Council wouldn’t give us any more,” said Bob.
Following a move to bigger units in Wigan, their expansion throughout the UK meant they had to move again. What’s perhaps more impressive is that this predates the introduction of today’s POS systems or online services for managing stock, “The invoices were all handwritten, done either by myself, my wife, or Paul. For stock, we had a card system. As we were getting lower on stock, Paul would have to make a note and keep check. If I was out on the road, someone had to do the buying,” Bob explained.
Later, Bob took a step back, focusing on running the business from base. This meant taking on a new rep to replace him. Around this time, Bob was joined by John, his 18-year-old son who began working in the warehouse. Following the tragedy of losing his new rep to a brain haemorrhage on Christmas day, in the new year, John was put on the road as an emergency rep, something that later became permanent. In fact, many of you may regularly see him in your shops today.
Nowadays, Bob Elliot is a family-run business. Although Paul did not originally plan to join the business, he became involved.
“It was quite by chance really,” explained Paul. “An unfortunate chance. I went to university and got five years doing a degree in computing. And during that time, my idea wasn’t really to come into the business. In the last few months when I was doing my exams, Dad and Mum fell ill at the same time and were both in hospital.”
This led Paul to join the business at 21. He told his parents not to worry, that he’d be there as long as they needed him, and he never left. But that’s not to say he regrets his choice. He brought a wealth of knowledge from his degree and updated the business website and systems, utilising contacts he made during his University years.
The advantage of being family-run? For Bob Elliot, the benefits are numerous, “There’s a lot of heart that goes into it, and a lot of common sense,” said Paul. The business runs with no outside investment, they fund everything themselves. If they make a profit, it gets reinvested back into the business. If they are at a loss, the directors make sacrifices before it impacts their employees. They’re proud that they’ve never made anyone redundant in forty years.
Looking after people is a huge part of how they run the business. They care about staff and customers, emphasising treating people as they’d like to be treated, “We don’t lose many staff, once we employ staff, they tend to stay. We have staff that have been here for quite a long time,” said Bob. Now at around 22 members of staff, most of them are employed through recommendation from existing employees.
“We’ve got a lot of good people and we go a long way back with many of them. We tend to train people to do jobs, we don’t just look at qualifications or a CV,” Bob and Paul explained.
Despite having 55 years in the cycling industry under his belt, Bob isn’t that interested in riding bikes. He may not cycle, but there’s not much he doesn’t know about the industry. Something his son, Paul points to as something that helped them weather COVID, “I’ve never experienced anything like that before. I could have easily made so many wrong calls but my Dad who has been through two or three recessions, seen peaks and troughs through the trade used his years of experience to say, this isn’t forever, the boom will come back the other way, and when it does, that’s when the hard work starts,” he said.
If Bob could go back in time and give his younger self a piece of advice, it would be not to keep working as long as he has, “I keep getting told now that I’ve got to slow down,” he said. Despite advice and well wishes, he doesn’t show many signs of slowing down. In fact, when he had a stent fitted, he was back at work the next day.
Today, Bob Elliot & Co can be found in Chorley, a move made around 16 years ago. It was a huge move for the business and testament to the loyalty of their staff. For many, who were based in Wigan at the time, added around 40 minutes travel to the new premises. The current HQ started as one unit and today, they also rent next door. This expansion came as they launched their in-house wheel brand following the closure of their supplier. They have also recently opened an off-site unit to manufacture KX wheels.
What many might not realise, is that Bob still runs the business. Coming up to 75, Bob is still very involved, supported by John and Paul. Although he trusts them to make key decisions, he keeps them grounded.
One thing that hasn’t changed is their attitude to relationships, especially with suppliers and dealers. “We’ve got a culture, morals and ethics here, and they’ve not really changed. We are B2B and for the trade, nobody else. We don’t want to go direct, we don’t want to muddy the waters, but we’re always mindful that one day, that may change,” said Paul.
“Over the years I’ve seen companies that sell direct, but I’ve always believed that we shouldn’t do that because we’re taking the bread and butter out of shops, we support IBDs,” said Bob.
Standing true to their values may be in part, a big part of why they’ve seen growth, success and support throughout the years. “One thing we’ll never do is race to the bottom,” said Paul. Bob Elliot stands by the fact they look after people as best as they can. They don’t rip people off and won’t put themselves in trouble if they can help it. All decisions are considered and there are no investors to worry about. They have a clear, dynamic model and know where they stand at all times.
“It’s important for us to look after every trade customer the same, regardless of size,” said Paul.
With a focus on good service, offering 24-hour delivery and allowing shops to order with smaller postage fees, Bob Elliot has customers who often order once a day. In fact, 2024 was a great year for the business. But what about the future?
“The business will be passed onto the boys, and I’ll slow down a bit, but I’ll still be there,” said Bob. Bob Elliot isn’t just his name, it’s his legacy and a part of the future. With progression in mind, the business aims to continue growing organically, “We don’t want to stand still, so we either develop the ranges we’ve got with the suppliers we work with, or look elsewhere, so hopefully the future is bright,” said Paul.
