7 min read
Childstore - "I combine my great interest with my profession"
Childstore has been around since 1996 and the store was started up in Stockholm, but when Johan, who runs Childstore today, took over, he moved the business to Gothenburg. At that time Johan was 19 years old and he loved hanging out in the skateparks with his friends, because just like the previous owner he had a big interest in BMX. The reason he took over the shop was because he wanted to combine his great interest in life with his profession. Hence, the shop's main focus in the beginning was BMX bikes with accessories but over the years as Johan's lifestyle and interests have changed, the shop has also broadened and changed its range.
To expand his business to a larger market Johan also started up a webshop in addition to the physical store in 2001 and over the years he has expanded his business further.In 2019 he teamed up with his friend and together they started up a skateshop in the same building as Childstore is located and of course they also set up a webshop in addition to that store as well, stigbergetsskateshop.se.
This means that Johan now runs two physical shops as well as two online shops at Abicart and is a multi-shop customer with us.
Read about how he managed to combine his interest with his profession:The web shop as a complement to a physical store reaches a larger market.
Childstore opened its doors in 1996 on Brunnsgatan in Stockholm. The owner of the store was Mark and the reason he started up the store was to combine his great interest in life with his profession. His great interest and lifestyle was riding BMX and by opening the shop he could also work with his interest. For this reason, the main focus of the shop was BMX and accessories. In 2000, Mark got the urge to try something else and then Mark's friend Johan took over the business and moved it to Berzeliigatan in Gothenburg. At this time Johan was 19 years old and just like Mark he had a great interest in BMX. So he continued with the same brand and focus but to expand the business to a larger market, Johan started up a webshop in addition to the physical store in 2001. Around 2019 Johan's friend Egorn needed a new office, he is a former professional skateboarder and won the Swedish Championships in 1989. He is a true skateboarding legend and currently works as a designer. Together they made space in the shop to start up another business, a skateboard shop. So Johan has two accounts on the Abicart platform where he runs his stores Childstore.se and Stigbergetskateshop.se.
What do you sell in your shop Childstore.se?
Initially we were very niche and sold mostly BMX but the range has changed over the years, as my interests and lifestyle have changed. Now we sell more commuter bikes and accessories to high quality and lifestyle bikes but of course we still sell BMX bikes. Cycling is one of my biggest interests in life, although it has changed over the years. Initially it was BMX in the skate parks, then it became single handlebar fixed gear, but now I mostly ride caterpillar gear bikes.
Why did you start a webshop in addition to your physical shop?
I started the webshop in addition to the physical store to reach a larger market and for my customers to be able to go in and read about the products before they come to the physical store.
My first website my friend helped me build, then I was given a code that was burned on a CD disc that I had to upload and customers had to pay by cash on delivery. This wasn't very smooth so I was very happy when companies started offering e-commerce platforms.
Why did you choose Abicart as your e-commerce platform?
Our previous platform grew so big and everything started costing a lot of money which became unsustainable for me as a small business owner. If you have a small turnover, Abicart is as good as it gets, I don't know any better platform. I still looked around a lot and made webshops on many other platforms but Abicart was the best.
The best thing about Abicart is that it's easy to change the look and it's quick to make changes. It doesn't take weeks to redesign a website, but last time it took me one working day to redesign the whole website. As far as I know there is not a faster platform to work in. There are of course similar e-commerce platforms but at Abicart you get a lot for your money and if you know a bit of programming you can also make your own subpages without any problems.
What is the best thing about running your own business and webshop?
I started my business when I was 19 so this shop has really become my identity, I don't know anything else and I find it hard to see myself doing anything else now. When you are self-employed you get a certain sense of freedom. Obviously you need to put a lot of time into your work but it's nice that you can control the range as you want and you get to be involved in the whole process. Because it's my interest and an area I'm passionate about, the days and time I spend at work are a lot of fun.
Our products lend themselves very well to having a combined physical store and webshop. That way, customers can search and read online and then come to the store to test and feel and to get help with the settings. Of course, we have customers who only order online or come to the store as well. As we are quite niche, it is good that we are visible online so that visitors find us even if they do not live in the immediate area of Gothenburg.
Do you have any tips for others who want to start a webshop?
I think it's important to have a good structure from the start so that the stock balance is always correct, it's important to have a chat function on the website and to clearly display your email and phone number so that visitors can easily get help. Make sure you respond quickly to emails and on your social media channels. In a web shop you don't have the physical contact with your customers but that doesn't mean you don't have to take care of your customers, on the contrary, customer contact becomes extra important but in a different way. Usually it doesn't take much to get a satisfied customer and a satisfied customer is your best ambassador and "free" marketing for your business.
Create a novelty value for your visitors every now and then. Even if you don't get new items in all the time, you can still create a new feel by moving items around. A quick fix you can do is to change images and products, it's quick to do and it creates a curiosity in the visitor to look further into your site. When starting up or changing the design of your webshop, I can recommend making a test shop and then trying to build it up in different themes with some products to get a feel for which theme suits your business best.
Another tip is that it is good to get to know other self-employed people, that way you can help each other in different situations.
Which of our subscriptions do you use and why?
I use the Plus subscription and it suits me well. It includes the integrations I need to run my two shops and it's a very affordable option compared to the competition.
Check out Childstore!
Fancy skateboarding?
Childstore opened its doors in 1996 on Brunnsgatan in Stockholm. The owner of the store was Mark and the reason he started up the store was to combine his great interest in life with his profession. His great interest and lifestyle was riding BMX and by opening the shop he could also work with his interest. For this reason, the main focus of the shop was BMX and accessories. In 2000, Mark got the urge to try something else and then Mark's friend Johan took over the business and moved it to Berzeliigatan in Gothenburg. At this time Johan was 19 years old and just like Mark he had a great interest in BMX. So he continued with the same brand and focus but to expand the business to a larger market, Johan started up a webshop in addition to the physical store in 2001. Around 2019 Johan's friend Egorn needed a new office, he is a former professional skateboarder and won the Swedish Championships in 1989. He is a true skateboarding legend and currently works as a designer. Together they made space in the shop to start up another business, a skateboard shop. So Johan has two accounts on the Abicart platform where he runs his stores Childstore.se and Stigbergetskateshop.se.
What do you sell in your shop Childstore.se?
Initially we were very niche and sold mostly BMX but the range has changed over the years, as my interests and lifestyle have changed. Now we sell more commuter bikes and accessories to high quality and lifestyle bikes but of course we still sell BMX bikes. Cycling is one of my biggest interests in life, although it has changed over the years. Initially it was BMX in the skate parks, then it became single handlebar fixed gear, but now I mostly ride caterpillar gear bikes.
Why did you start a webshop in addition to your physical shop?
I started the webshop in addition to the physical store to reach a larger market and for my customers to be able to go in and read about the products before they come to the physical store.
My first website my friend helped me build, then I was given a code that was burned on a CD disc that I had to upload and customers had to pay by cash on delivery. This wasn't very smooth so I was very happy when companies started offering e-commerce platforms.
Why did you choose Abicart as your e-commerce platform?
Our previous platform grew so big and everything started costing a lot of money which became unsustainable for me as a small business owner. If you have a small turnover, Abicart is as good as it gets, I don't know any better platform. I still looked around a lot and made webshops on many other platforms but Abicart was the best.
The best thing about Abicart is that it's easy to change the look and it's quick to make changes. It doesn't take weeks to redesign a website, but last time it took me one working day to redesign the whole website. As far as I know there is not a faster platform to work in. There are of course similar e-commerce platforms but at Abicart you get a lot for your money and if you know a bit of programming you can also make your own subpages without any problems.
What is the best thing about running your own business and webshop?
I started my business when I was 19 so this shop has really become my identity, I don't know anything else and I find it hard to see myself doing anything else now. When you are self-employed you get a certain sense of freedom. Obviously you need to put a lot of time into your work but it's nice that you can control the range as you want and you get to be involved in the whole process. Because it's my interest and an area I'm passionate about, the days and time I spend at work are a lot of fun.
Our products lend themselves very well to having a combined physical store and webshop. That way, customers can search and read online and then come to the store to test and feel and to get help with the settings. Of course, we have customers who only order online or come to the store as well. As we are quite niche, it is good that we are visible online so that visitors find us even if they do not live in the immediate area of Gothenburg.
Do you have any tips for others who want to start a webshop?
I think it's important to have a good structure from the start so that the stock balance is always correct, it's important to have a chat function on the website and to clearly display your email and phone number so that visitors can easily get help. Make sure you respond quickly to emails and on your social media channels. In a web shop you don't have the physical contact with your customers but that doesn't mean you don't have to take care of your customers, on the contrary, customer contact becomes extra important but in a different way. Usually it doesn't take much to get a satisfied customer and a satisfied customer is your best ambassador and "free" marketing for your business.
Create a novelty value for your visitors every now and then. Even if you don't get new items in all the time, you can still create a new feel by moving items around. A quick fix you can do is to change images and products, it's quick to do and it creates a curiosity in the visitor to look further into your site. When starting up or changing the design of your webshop, I can recommend making a test shop and then trying to build it up in different themes with some products to get a feel for which theme suits your business best.
Another tip is that it is good to get to know other self-employed people, that way you can help each other in different situations.
Which of our subscriptions do you use and why?
I use the Plus subscription and it suits me well. It includes the integrations I need to run my two shops and it's a very affordable option compared to the competition.
Check out Childstore!
Fancy skateboarding?