Julia Hutton owned and operated Biker Babes and Beyond LLC, an Arizona-based motorcycle apparel shop with sales that slumped during the Great Recession.
“I kept hearing about all these events going on in the motorcycle industry,” she said. “Everybody was at the events and nobody was at my store. I wanted to go to the events with my stuff.”
So she closed her brick-and-mortar store, outfitted a 7' × 14' cargo trailer, started her own on-the-go mobile store, and began selling at motorcycle rallies, bike weeks, and car and bike shows across the country.
The mobile Biker Babes and Beyond grossed double in one weekend what the brick-and-mortar store ever sold in a week's time. Over time, Hutton saw a 300% increase in sales. To make it happen for other companies, she created ExTreme ReTrailers (a combination of the words “retail” and “trailers”).
Hutton is buying the cargo trailers from TrailersPlus of Kingman AZ, but said she would love to entertain bids and quotes from other manufacturers.
“It'd be awesome to find a source that would not only sell the trailer, but build out certain aspects of it according to our directions, such as electrical,” she said. “All we have to do is the décor, which is the easiest part. I'd be very interested in talking to a manufacturer who can make them open from the side and not just the back.”
The trailers come in a variety of sizes. All of Hutton's are 7' × 14', but TrailersPlus carries cargo trailers as big as 8.5' × 24'.
“We build them out according to the directives given to us,” Hutton said. “For example, somebody recently contacted me from Oklahoma. She wants to deliver certain things in the oil field that OSHA requires, and the retailer has to be set up a certain way in order for that to happen. Each one is different according to the type of business I see.
“There are a lot of advantages. All of your stuff is right in it. You don't have to move it; you just lock it up. You're not paying rent anywhere, and you're really customizing your service to the client — and a lot of it is in the comfort of their own home.”
ExTreme ReTrailers (www.extremeretrailers.com) sets up the trailer with modern components, including Rock While You Shop music and attention-grabbing LED lighting for night use. The trailers can be delivered anywhere in the United States.