SmartEtailing was founded in 1999 by cycling industry veterans Mark Graff and Barry Brenner. Their innovative idea was to provide an easy-to-use website platform managed and controlled by independent retailers.
This was a time when many were paying attention to the internet’s global possibilities and predicting that this new technology would bring about the demise of small independent retailers. By contrast, Graff and Brenner saw a world where people still lived and worked in local communities. In their view, local specialty retailers, using this new technology, could combine the personal service and instant gratification of in-store shopping with 24/7 online convenience.
They imagined and then built a company based on easy-to-use, cloud-based software that modernized bike shops, and all backed by a friendly support team that perfectly understood the needs of bike shop owners.
The company’s success steadily increased as retailers experienced meaningful benefits within their businesses. Suppliers also began to recognize and recommend the company’s services, realizing that their brand and product stories were more consistently and professionally represented by retailers using SmartEtailing.
SmartEtailing began leading the effort to connect with other retail business systems and software. First, it introduced Point-of-Sale (POS) Sync, helping in-store inventory and pricing systems automate data sharing with the online catalogs within store websites. This kept online and in-store pricing matched as well as helped keep product displays fresh and timely with actual on-hand availability.
The growing SmartEtailing team began to observe another trend that they believed would be a boon for local retailers and their suppliers. More and more national retailers were starting to show warehouse and supply-chain inventory on their websites. Customers were beginning to appreciate this enhanced visibility to what they could purchase. Warehouses were also helping to move goods directly to consumers based on orders placed through retailers’ online catalogs.
SmartEtailing introduced its Supplier Sync and Supplier Fulfillment options as a way to strategically strengthen how local retailers could demonstrate value for their customers. Now, at each retailer’s website, every available product, down to each individual SKU, whether in-stock at the store, or at one of the store’s replenishment warehouses, could be seen with real-time accuracy.
After the resounding success of Supplier Sync and Supplier Fulfillment, SmartEtailing began looking for further opportunities to integrate the bicycle industry supply chain.
The next innovation conceived of by the company would build on its established role as a hub for real-time inventory and price data from suppliers and stores. Buy Local Now™ was developed to give consumers real-time visibility to store and supply-chain availability directly from a brand’s website.
Buy Local Now™ was a big project that demanded additional resources. In order to do that, SmartEtailing sought out a new partner.
In 2012, Steve Flagg and Mary Henrickson became majority partners in SmartEtailing to help fund new opportunities. This partnership enabled expanded development of tools to help independent bicycle dealers better compete with online sellers through effective omnichannel strategies.
Flagg and Henrickson have deep roots in the cycling industry. As the founders of Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) in 1981, they are keenly aware of the concerns held by both retailers and brands as consumer shopping preferences continue to change and shift to online purchasing.
Steve and Mary have a passionate commitment to nurturing a healthy independent bicycle dealer network and see SmartEtailing as a crucial partner that enables independent retailers to compete in a constantly changing retail world. SmartEtailing is a personal investment by Steve and Mary and SmartEtailing is not owned by QBP.
After 17 years of running SmartEtailing, founders Mark and Barry chose to retire in 2016. The pair had spent several years collaborating with a bicycle industry marketing provider called Harvest Retail Marketing, operated by Ryan Atkinson. They introduced Ryan Atkinson to Flagg and the group prepared a succession plan with Atkinson becoming the next leader of SmartEtailing.
In May 2016, SmartEtailing merged with Harvest Retail Marketing, bringing cutting edge marketing services to the SmartEtailing platform and creating a launchpad for further innovation of SmartEtailing’s core website platform. Ryan Atkinson joined Steve and Mary as a partner in the business and moved the marketing company he founded in Omaha, NE to Boulder, CO.
In 2021 SmartEtailing merged with Retail Toolkit, a business intelligence and marketing automation software designed for independent bike shops. The software and teams were unified to provide bike shops with a more complete operating system.
SmartEtailing's marketing services and effectiveness at driving revenue growth for clients was amplified with the addition of new outbound marketing software capabilities. For the first time, SmartEtailing offered software that directly contributed to bike shop operations and profitability.
SmartEtailing is headquartered in Broomfield, CO. With more than 65 employees, everyone at SmartEtailing brings a wealth of industry-specific knowledge and skills to provide the best possible content, programming functionality, and client support for specialty retailers.
The company has been recognized multiple times as one of Outside Magazines Best Places to work. SmartEtailing is an active supported of trade organizations like PeopleForBikes and the National Bicycle Dealers Association. Additionally, the company makes ongoing contributions to support healthy communities and encourage equitable opportunities.
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