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<\/a>At Rush Sports, high importance is given to order, packaging and efficiency. This product is ready to be sent out to clients.<\/span><\/p>\nUnlike most wholesalers, Rush Sports has experienced its greatest growth by focusing on unexciting, but essential consumables such as bearings and brake pads. Rush Sports is the importer of Enduro bearings, by far the most popular bearing brand in South Africa. It\u2019s also the agent for Formula and Brake Authority brake pads, both of which are high-end brands in this category. That and attention to detail, a character trait instilled in the business by Van Aarde, a self-confessed perfectionist.<\/p>\n
But Rush Sports hasn\u2019t always been a highly focussed business. Van Aarde says that it went through the usual rider-driven cycle industry business phases, which included having a bike brand and dabbling in a range (or ranges) of cool-to-own-but-hard-to-sell products. In fact, for much of its existence, Rush Sports was both a wholesaler and online retailer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to be everything to everyone. It\u2019s quite normal when you\u2019re in the online retail space. But we realised that the better we did in one, the worse we did in the other. It finally struck me when I went to an e-commerce conference in Johannesburg that online retail wasn\u2019t where we were going to make money as a business. There were guys there from Kalahari and Zando and they were all complaining how they weren\u2019t making any money,\u201d recalls Van Aarde.<\/p>\n
He returned to the Rush Sports offices in Pietermaritzburg and made the decision to close the online shop and rather integrate the technology into developing a slick wholesale-focused website. At the end of November 2014, an email went out from Rush Sports to customers informing them that the business had decided to end it\u2019s retail element and focus solely on the wholesale function.<\/p>\n \u201cSuddenly we had 80% more time,\u201d recalls Van Aarde. \u201cThe first two weeks were worrying, but then things started to pick up. We transferred the service excellence and attention to detail we had developed as an online retailer, to the wholesale platform \u2013 and it was appreciated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe print our own boxes and send out professionally packed and presented orders. This is an area that no wholesalers have never felt important, but we do and we believe it makes a difference,\u201d said Van Aarde. \u201cWe also aim to have quicker delivery times than anyone else and have a live-tracking system on our website so that our clients can see where their order is at any time.<\/p>\n \u201cCustomer interaction is a high priority for us. We have monthly personal in-shop interaction with our clients. In addition to that we have an automated call cycle system that ensures we have customer phone contact at least every second week. We send out two Rush Sports emails a week to our customers and we have a smart online system that is \u2018live-chat\u2019 enabled. We give our customers as many contact points as possible. Relationships are still important in business,\u201d explained Van Aarde.<\/p>\n Bearings and brake pads aren\u2019t the only products imported and distributed by Rush Sports. Also available are Formula brakes systems, Enduro and Wheels MFG bottom brackets and crank adapters, Wheels MFG brake cable crimps and donuts, Wheels MFG derailleur hangers, Enduro fork seals, Wheels MFG headset spacers, Onza tyres, and Industry Nine hubs, spokes and complete wheelsets. To be added soon is Praxis Cycles products, which include chainrings, cassettes, bottom brackets, specialist tools and conversion parts.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve travelled to most of the wholesalers in South Africa over the years. I\u2019m proud to say we have the most organised warehouse in the industry,\u201d smiled Van Aarde. \u201cI just always want to do things properly. Some may think it\u2019s over the top for the size of the business. We\u2019re by no means close to the size of the big wholesalers in this country, but in terms of package handling, we\u2019re a lot more efficient than most.\u201d<\/p>\n Besides an efficiently structured business, Rush Sports is also committed to educating both the consumer and the retailer. Van Aarde regularly posts videos on Rush Sports\u2019 youtube channel that improve the awareness of products and product categories.<\/p>\n \u201cWe actually sell products that every bike shop needs. But bearings are not just bearings. We want to educate our clients and the market at large about the different types of bearings and their applications. The more knowledge, the better for everyone,\u201d explains Van Aarde.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very much a bicycle workshop-orientated wholesaler and there\u2019s not much competition in this sub-sector. There\u2019s a temptation to go bigger with more exciting products, but we feel that we still have a lot more growth potential with our current offering. So we\u2019ll continue to focus on quality over quantity and ensuring we maintain our exceptionally high level of service excellence,\u201d says Van Aarde.<\/p>\n For more information about Rush Sports and its brands, visit www.rushsports.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/a>Rush Sports is the South African importer of Enduro bearings. Bearings are not a glamour item, but are essential for all bicycles.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>Exceptional communication with clients, either in person, by phone or online is a focus area for Rush Sports, something that’s helped set the company apart in South African cycling industry.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Rush Sports prides itself in having a highly organised, clean, well-stocked warehouse.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Andre van Aarde, founder and director of Rush Sports.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Mark Malherbe, sales manager at Rush Sports.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/a>Ryan Wortmann, sales manager at Rush Sports.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWhat does the future hold for Rush Sports?<\/h2>\n