The CompanyIf someone wants a cup of coffee - get in get out, and on their way - they go to 7-11. If they want atmosphere, comfort and quality, they go to Starbucks. It's that simple. It's a new day and consumers want more in a shopping experience than a square room full of hangers and promotional posters. They want an experience. It was time to end the mediocrity in retail and time for a change. It was time for Rogue.
Rogue is the brain child of Hal Kuntze and Paul Anderson. Two sons of Calgary that wanted to give the cyclist elite of their city what they themselves would want in a new bike shop. A place where ideology such as 'craftsmanship, quality, and history' were paramount. Set in the increasingly trendy locale of Calgary's downtown beltline area, Rogue services a city rich with outdoor enthusiasts and cycling commuters. Calgary has long been in need of a fresh face in it's ever growing retail market and needless to say, the fellas at Rogue have done just that.
Rogue escaped the typical retail mediocrity ten fold by teaming up with the brand development gurus 54blue. The result? The attention to detail went way beyond your typical merchandising, instead focusing on an ideological viewpoint of the human experience. Avoiding bombardment of the normality associated with retail, shoppers entering Rogue are instead greeted by a relaxed vibe or a 'decompression zone' akin to the home foyer. This allows shoppers to acclimatize to the environment - giving them time to take in the rich, dark wood and leather trim finishing peppered throughout the store. Offset perfectly by a balance of modern design, iconic imagery and kitschy gold framed photographs of cycle culture. What is even cooler about this store is how it will escape stagnant design by annually changing the store length, gallery type photography to reflect the heritage of the sport of cycling. Very cool indeed.
So you've got iconic road signs from around the world, stylish photography of past and present bicycle culture and beautiful interior design. But what about merchandise? In keeping with the boutique vibe, Rogue isn't looking to fill a square room with as much product as they can find. Instead, hand selected items carefully chosen to reflect the culture and the brand are strategically placed throughout the store. Everything from a small selection of fixed-gear and cruiser bikes, to commuter friendly clothing, eyewear and footwear and sport specific packs and courier bags. Keeping with the overall aesthetic and boutique feel, only the necessary pieces will be on display while larger quantities of stock are housed in the hidden cabinets and shelving above.
Rogue definitely has brought some much needed life into the Calgary retail scene with their stunning and stylish boutique.
The only thing that might make your shopping experience better is a fully stocked bar in the back. Here's hoping..
- Jon Boyer
I will go back this week...see if the attitude is still the same.
If I was going to get a bike for riding around town and the associated bits and bobs, I'd head to BikeBike. They know their shizzle and service what they sell, and have the clothes, packs, fenders, etc.
Not even a fully stocked bar would bring me back and gauging by the look of this place the bar would be stocked with exotic and expensive wine spritzers.
No I will keep tossing my hard earned money to the boys at Calgary Cycle who deal only in the most bad A$$ bikes and leave the expensive neon rimmed single speed commuters to the hipsters and mail couriers.
Not my sort of shop, and especially not if they're going to give me a bunch of "cooler than u" attitude. I'll save my pennies for Cyclepath, who at least always say hello when I walk in, and trip over themselves to help me spend my money.
The shop gets busy but someone will always aknowledge your presence
stuff is overpriced.
they're selling an image, they're not there to sell bikes.
if you've got coin to burn (and a lot in Calgary do) and want to be on the whole hipster fixie fad....this is the place for you. I just dont see this surviving long term with this kind of business model and service.
So the ideological viewpoint of the human experience is to sell trendy, over-priced items in a wastefully decadent setting by staff dripping with elitist attitude? Seriously... the older I get, the more I love my dogs.
Looks like they used this website hipsterlogo.com to make their webpage.
B - this is definitely not the site to advertise that shop (comment section shall back that up)
And C - from the 2 pictures it seems like they have 3 bikes on display.....WTF kind of bike has so little bikes to showcase?
Are you kidding? no thanks!
...thinking...
Wait - maybe I'm the target market...?
Now I'm sure I'm not trendy/spendy enough to be the target market, but even I realize this analogy is clueless. I'm not sure I'd trust a company that touts itself as the Starbucks of bikes to have an actual clue what is a hip or meaningful experience.
Two years two late, bandwagon jumpers. I predict they won't even last their first lease.
First entry in Wikipedia is Lazy Bowel Syndrome...
Can't be that...