Problem solved: How Moose is tackling business and consumer pain points

Daniel Blackham speaks to Sam McCarthy to learn how Moose is making life easier for businesses and consumers in the e-bike sector

This piece first appeared in the July edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here

The origin story of Moose can be traced back to a sustainable clothing company, created by Moose co-founder and CEO, Sam McCarthy.

“I always wanted to create a business which does good but does good in a profitable way, because then it allows the good to continue,” explains McCarthy.

“I started that about 10 years ago before sustainable clothing was really a major thing. We used 100% organic cotton, had fully traceable supply chains, everything like that.”

While living in London running that business, McCarthy bought an e-scooter to see if there was an easier way to get around the city.

“It was awesome,” he says. “I never really got the tube again. I got places way faster than I could on any other mode of transport.

“In my head I thought ‘why isn’t this the next step of transport?’ And that’s why I’ve always stuck with micromobility.”

For McCarthy, the seed was sown to create a business in this space as micromobility achieves a unique trifecta of benefits.

“It’s really hard to have a product which saves money, saves time and is good for the planet,” he says.

“Usually you can only have two of the three, whereas now with the price of some e-bikes and e-scooters coming down, you can actually have all three.”

The creation of Moose

The Moose business is broken down into three segments.

The initial concept was an end-to-end solution for 3PL in the UK. In recent months, the business has expanded to create a C2C marketplace, as well as offer a trade-in tool for businesses.

All three have been created to address specific pain points which have arisen in conversations McCarthy has had with market stakeholders over the last six years.

“You slowly build up a picture of what people are struggling with,” he explains.

“Unless someone solves those problems, it becomes really difficult for the market to improve.

“The easier you can make it for the market to enjoy being in that sector, the better.”

As a result, Moose launched a complete 3PL operation for the UK market.

This includes bringing stock from overseas, tracked next day shipping to D2C customers or handling bulk B2B orders.

If there are any issues or warranty claims, Moose can collect the product.

For returns it goes through the Moose workshop and is then sold as approved-used. For warranty, it will go through the workshop, get fixed and then sent back to the customer.

McCarthy adds: “This means that, when working with us, there is zero wastage when it comes to stock.

“We also have the ability to exit new slow moving stock, allowing you to manage stock level.”

“Our whole thing is figuring out how we can make it really easy for brands, manufacturers and distributors to sell more, but sell more with confidence. And if something does go wrong, it doesn’t become a massive, costly event. It’s manageable and structured.”

Marketplace and trade-in tool

As well as resolving pain points for brands, Moose has created tools to make the lives of retailers and consumers easier.

First up is the trade-in tool which is offered both online and instore.

“Our trade-in tool allows businesses to offer trade-ins on bikes without having the hassle of dealing with the second hand bike,” says McCarthy.

“The instore feature allows the customer to trade-in their bike and walk out with their new one. We buy the bike from the customer, the customer gets to sell their bike completely hassle free and the store gets a way to give the customer a discount on the RRP without losing any money on the sale.

“The online feature allows businesses to work with us to create a discount code for their site. We create a collaboration page where customers can fill out their bike’s details. We give them an estimated value, if they are happy, they send their bike to us. We do a final assessment and the customer gets a discount code for the company we have partnered with to buy a new bike.”

The final offering from Moose is a recently-launched C2C marketplace.

“Riders came to us frustrated with the current offering from other C2C websites that weren’t catered towards a bike-centric experience,” says McCarthy.

“We take away the hassle of selling something big and bulky online. We arrange the shipping and provide a box that will keep the bike safe throughout the shipping process.”

The main features are 0% selling fees and a more robust buyer protection than seen on other marketplaces.

“The buyer is 100% covered for shipping and condition of the bike,” says McCarthy.

“So if the bike is different to what was described, you can return the bike for free.”

To offer further protection, Moose is looking to introduce a warranty option for both sellers and buyers in the coming months.

“If the bike is sold or bought with a Moose warranty, the bike will come to our workshop first,” explains McCarthy.

“It will be inspected, cleaned and any issues fixed. It will be then sent to the buyer with a full Moose warranty.

“This allows customers to get the best prices with the same experience as buying a brand new bike.”