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Shimano welcomes a new store to its network of over 200 Shimano Service Centers: Culture Vélo in Rambouillet (78).
Source: Press Release
For over 25 years, the Shimano Service Center network has continuously strengthened and improved in quality. The motto has not changed over the years: build a network of reference stores for bike maintenance and the expertise of technicians and salespeople.
Beyond the symbolic number, this new recruit within the Shimano Service Center network demonstrates the strategic importance of customer care and service in the development and sustainability of physical stores.
Jérémy Voet, manager of the Culture Vélo store in Rambouillet, states about becoming a Shimano Service Center: “It’s an awareness of what we wanted to offer our customers in terms of image. We are fortunate to have highly competent technicians with experience, and it was natural to bring this legitimacy to the workshop. We also wanted to go further in our knowledge, which is possible thanks to the training offered. Similarly, being able to handle after-sales service with a little more efficiency was a bonus. These are our driving forces.”
Mathieu Arrambourg, General Manager of Shimano France, states: “For over 20 years, Shimano France has strived to be a true partner to its customers, so that they can best serve consumers. Thanks, among other things, to its network of Shimano Service Center stores, the Japanese brand’s aura has evolved over the years to become today the reference brand for innovation and the quality of its products, but also for its advice and maintenance services.
The 200th Shimano Service Center store is the perfect illustration of the partnership established between stores and Shimano France, far beyond a simple commercial relationship. Cycles Jacky in Rambouillet has long been an ambassador and ally of our brand. Indeed, on two occasions in the 2000s and then 2010s, employees from the parent company in Osaka stayed in France. As part of a program called “Shimano Leader Development,” they worked at Cycles Jacky to be immersed in the heart of the issues faced by customers and users of Shimano products.
While the number of Shimano Service Center stores is not an end in itself, it nevertheless contributes to the increasingly dense network across our territory, so that every consumer has access to a plethora of choices offered by trained and certified professionals, close to home.
Our roots, our values, our vision, and our passion for cycling in all its forms, but also and above all our priority for services provided to all cyclists, allow us to continue to develop, through all types of stores, whether branded or independent, whatever the bicycle brands present in these points of sale.
The excellent dynamism of the workshops in all our Shimano Service Centers proves how much the stores that have chosen or will choose to trust us in the coming years all share the same vision: it is thanks to quality offerings and services that, all together, we build loyalty among practitioners to our stores and our brand.”
Culture Vélo Rambouillet writes its history
The entity was created in 1967 in Orsay by Jérémy Voet’s grandparents, who worked together for several years. At the time, they dealt with motorized vehicles, alongside the cycling part.
Then the Villebon store chose to focus on the cycling part, this store being the historic Cycles Jacky store. Jérémy’s father joined the adventure. Father and son worked together in this store. The grandfather, living in Eure et Loire, wanted to move closer to home and therefore created a second store in Rambouillet.
Each therefore had his own store. Thierry in Villebon and Jacky in Rambouillet. This also allowed them to be autonomous on their own.
Then came the time for a well-deserved retirement for Jacky, Thierry Voet took over both stores, where he developed several product families, until it seemed logical to focus on a single store. So the decision was made to resell the Villebon store to continue developing Rambouillet, which was closer to their teams, their customers, and to adopt a more meticulous management of what is possible to do daily, on stocks, on follow-up, on spare parts replenishment, the workshop. Everything that matters.
Which brings us to 2016 when Jérémy Voet bought his father’s shares to take over management. Then, with his team, he worked for 7/8 years before being able to expand the store and now integrate the Shimano Service Center concept.
The Shimano Service Center concept
Created in 1996, this concept based on services and workshop expertise has continuously strengthened and improved in quality over recent years, now reaching over 200 stores in France and over 1,000 stores across Europe. A Shimano Service Center is:
– A store certified by Shimano for its expertise (workshop) and professionalism
– A local leading store for bike repair and maintenance, and for information, purchasing, and testing Shimano technologies
– A quality and well-maintained workshop (reception, support, tools, etc.)
– A general store, covering all segments of cycling practice
To learn more about Shimano Service Center stores and view the network map in France, visit: shimanoservicecenter.com
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