Interview Patrice Cassard – Superbécane

Tell us about yourself Patrice!

After successively selling Lafraise & Archiduchesse, I moved in Noirmoutier in 2012 to build a little house there, and in the village I used to, while walking, pass by available commercial premises, in front of the harbour. Not knowing what I really wanted to do with it, but thinking it had a great potential, I intended to rent it, unsuccessfully... so I ended buying the walls.

What exactly is Superbécane ?

Once I bought the store (april 2014) it was time to get to work, and to find what to do of the place. So I spent a couple of month thinking, watching boats and bikes passing by my shop window, and the idea that finally came out was to offer a selection of accessories for bikes, original ones, saddlebags, bells, helmets, t-shirts.. sourcing brands all over Europe or making them build if necessary.

The aim being to sell in store, in particular during the touristic season, & of course online whenever the website is ready (within 1 or 2 months).

Superbécane's shop window

What have you learnt working on your projects ?

I learnt a lot, e.g knowing to know how to (poorly) complete all the tasks that make up the digital seller job, at least to understand the people I work with, and to know how to do it myself. Tasks going from development, design, supply chain, product sourcing, CRM and community creation based around the project.

I also learnt that the ecosystem in which we're evolving (internet) changes so fast it's really complicated to maintain  a high level of skills on the long run, and that when we think we've learnt something, after several month or years, we finally don't know anything anymore and we need to start it all over.

How do you use social networks ?

I use Facebook & Instagram to "tell" the beginning of the project to people who find that interesting, upstream the website going online. I dit it through blogs for my 2 previous projects but Facebook nowadays seems more appropriate to me, feedbacks are easier to get and more numerous, and viralness is much more important there. I have two types of followers : those who are waiting for the website to be available online, and those who are big fans of the store itself, with a much more local interaction.

Tell us about your Smiirl Counter, the way you use it!

The counter allows to materialize (for those who pass by the store) the community aspect of the brand or the store. The more the number on the counter goes up (we recently earned our one thousand subscribers), the more the counter works as a reinsurence or curiosity vector for those who don't know us yet.

And, besides being a machiavellian tool to take over the world and to sell, as for me, thousands of bycicle bells and saddlebags (a man can dream), I find the object very nice itself, with its flaps moving for every like gained, it has a little 60's/70's Braun touch working for it.

The counter at Superbécane's

A last word ?

Congrats to the whole Smiirl team, it's a really nice project, a wonderful product, and an idea I which I had myself!

Don't hesitate to like Superbecane's facebook page !