A few years ago, I used to drive around a rare car called a VW Corrado. It was a specialty “ride” only produced for a few seasons and only available in the States from 1990-1994. To say the least, I was proud of my jet black VR6, 200 HP cruisin’ machine. But something was missing; I needed one last push to make this car too cool for school. “What push is this guy talking about?” you may be asking yourself. Simple, my Corrado needed some ‘pimped out’ rims. So I drove around to a few tire shops and started looking for the wheel that caught my eye. I wanted something not too flashy, something low profile, and something without too much chrome. Unfortunately, all the places I visited only had a finite selection with nothing I would ever strap on my baby’s feet. So I had a problem – I needed customization – I needed Customwheel.com.
Customwheel.com, a Tennessee based niche that specializes in one thing – rims. Whether it is wheels for you car, motorcycle, or even golf cart – this is the place to visit. The selection, and customer service is bar none unbeatable. I saved $200 by ordering with these guys – and would do it again if I am ever in this market yet over. This Blog will explain why I personally believe Customwheel.com is a phenomenal niche.
To start things off, Customwheel.com serves a narrow market whose consumers are trying to meet a specific need – wheels. If I was a betting man, [guilty] I would gamble that the majority of people reading this are not in the market for new “rims for their rides.” Only a small percentage of you are looking-to-buy. This fits in well with the definition of a niche market because these sets of needs can be separated from the broader market.
Second, this firm gains competitive advantage by specialization. The tire shops I visited in person were just that – tire shops. They seemed equally concerned about the tires and wheels – consequently lowering their selection of rims. Customwheel.com does not have this problem. They sell one thing and one thing only. This makes for a broader product line, simpler distribution channels, and less volatility in the supply chain making prices a little cheaper than its brick and mortar competitors.
And finally, this site is smaller in size making the likelihood of other bigger competitors pushing them out slim. Custom rims for your golf cart is not something most people are thinking about. Customwheel.com figured this out and turned a profit because they realized the possible growth potential and the unlikelihood of being forced out of business due to big-box competition.
To sum it up, this site gains niche-like attributes a few ways. By serving a narrow market – Customwheel.com fits customer needs that cannot be met elsewhere. Specializing in wheels gives the consumer cheaper prices and higher customer service. And the size of the firm leads me to believe the chance of getting muscled out of business by bigger companies is relatively low.
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2 comments:
WOW Matt! This is defiantly a niche market. While the items offered at Customwheel.com are great, they are most certainly geared towards those that are willing to pay premium price.
I think that this is a wonderful niche market that they have tapped into, but my question would be, "how is their business doing during these uncertain economic times and have they found any other products to offer that may seem more practical, while the average consumer is looking to tighten their spending habit?"
That's a good question Baleigh. But honestly I find it hard to believe that Customwheel.com hasn't taken some sort of hit from this "recession" we're in at the moment.
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