A software business developed by local bicycle retailer Wheel & Sprocket has merged with a company based in Denver.
Noel Kegel, who is now the president of Wheel & Sprocket, founded Retail Toolkit in 2016. The software program, which started as a method to manage internal business processes, offers retail analytics, forecasting and marketing intelligence. The business merged with SmartEtailing, an e-commerce and data provider for bike shops.
Kegel said the idea for Retail Toolkit dates back to 2006, when he wanted to help Wheel & Sprocket manage its purchasing decisions within a new computer system. The concept started in Microsoft Excel and remained there for several years.
Around 2012 or 2013, Kegel said the company hired a developer to transition the concept into a web-based inventory purchasing tool. At trade shows and conferences, other specialty retailers would see the tool in use and ask if they could have access.
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“We decided to productize this tool,” Kegel said.
Over time, Retail Toolkit expanded to include more functions, such as payroll, scheduling, sales reporting and other features.
Kegel said Retail Toolkit has been an integral part of how Wheel & Sprocket operates and how it purchases inventory while staying on budget.
“It would not be overstating it to say that without Retail Toolkit or a software similar to it, we would not be in business right now,” he said.
Many of Retail Toolkit’s clients are bike shops, Kegel said, although some are other types of merchants.
The business has grown organically without outside funding. In the last couple years, he said, the potential for Retail Toolkit grew, but he did not have the resources to shepherd it along. Kegel said he had been in talks with the buyer, and the deal came together.
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SmartEtailing was founded in 1999 and offers a variety of services to help independent bicycle retailers and suppliers grow their businesses, according to an announcement of the transaction.
Ryan Atkinson, the president and co-owner of SmartEtailing, said the merger with Retail Toolkit “offers our clients new ways to interact with their data and generate sales.” The transaction extends his company’s services into expense management and profitability, he said in the announcement.
Financial details of the merger were not disclosed. The merged business will be based in Denver. Kegel said he will stay involved with the platform in an advisory capacity.
