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Giant Store - Bristol officially opened

Olympians turn out to help celebrate opening of shop in Bradley Stoke

Bicycle manufacturer Giant celebrated the official opening of its new store in Bristol last Saturday with a day-long programme of events including appearances from a number of athletes who ride its bikes. It’s the Taiwan-based brand’s third standalone store in the UK, the others being in Liverpool and Cambridge.

A launch party was held in the evening, with guests including Giant customers, cycling enthusiasts, representatives of the local press and tourism bodies, plus family and friends. Olympic triathletes Marc and Helen Jenkins also attended, as did their fellow Team GB athlete, mountain biker Oli Beckinsale.

Earlier in the day, shoppers outside the Willow Brook Centre in Bradley Stoke, where the store is located, were able to watch a series of stunt shows featuring multiple World Record holder Andrei Burton, ranked number five in the world, on his Giant Trials Pro bike.

Giant UK marketing manager Collette Clensy said: “Andrei’s performances were inspirational for the young crowd and got everyone excited for the evening launch. We wanted to give people a show to demonstrate just what can be achieved whilst riding a Giant bike.”

The store actually opened in August, and Giant said it had quickly become part of the local community. As well as the company’s range of bikes, it also offers a full range of cycling gear aimed at everyone from total beginners to expert cyclists, plus servicing and repairs.

Cutting the ceremonial ribbon to declare the store officially open, Paul Newman, director of The Giant Store – Bristol, said: “With our good friends at Giant we have created the ultimate cycle shop experience right here in Bradley Stoke and with the launch party we wanted to show the people of Bristol exactly what an amazing store we have to offer them”.

Giant is not the only bike manufacturer that is opening its own standalone stores to help showcase its range and enhance its brand image. Specialized now has six stores across the UK, including one in Bristol. The other Specialized Concept Stores are located in Acton in London, Harrogate, Chester, Plymouth and Birmingham.

The Giant Store – Bristol is open seven days a week, and contact details and opening times are available here
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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Mike McBeth | 14 years ago
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Reads a bit like you live up there Jon - or maybe you work for them. My point is that people who say that they're in Bristol should pay the (higher) taxes associated with living in the city, before saying that they live here. In my experience there are many people in S. Glos who hate the idea of having to pay Bristol's higher local taxes to fund things like arts, cycling or services for homeless people but are quite happy to make use of them/and associate themselves with the city (and the people) who pay for them when it suits. (Avonmouth IS in Bristol, by the way!).

S. Glos has spent the last 10 years or so undermining Bristol through developments like Cribb's Causeway, which was a very clear attempt to spoil Bristol's Broadmead. I wouldn't want a cycle-track to Cribb's Causeway - I think that cyclists should be able to feel safe on the roads and not pushed off onto tracks. So S Glos could convert some of its (many) dual carriageways to slower cycling-friendly roads as Exeter has started to do recently.

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Jon Burrage | 14 years ago
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Interesting comments Mike. Lots of people live in Bristol and work at Aztec West which is in South Gloucestershire, as is Airbus, the MOD, UWE, Rolls Royce etc (some of the largest employers in 'bristol'

Bristol is termed Bristol due to its geopgraphical area and because its easier than saying Bristol up until Staple Hill, Mangotsfield, Filton, Frenchay, Cribbs, Avonmouth etc.

You are correct about it being having a major 'out of town' shopping centre (cribbs causeway) which will be linked to other areas of bristol by 4 off road cycle tracks and improved cycle lanes within the year.

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Mike McBeth | 14 years ago
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This store looks nice - but it's not in Bristol - it's in South Gloucestershire! Home to motorwaways, ring-roads and out-of-town shopping centres with giant sheds and acres of car parks. Why do lots of people in S. Glos seem happy to say that they live in Bristol without paying Bristol's council tax?

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