Community
22 July, 2026
The cost of doing business
IT may seem innocuous but even the theft of small items can have far-reaching ramifications for the businesses which are trying to do right by their community.
Adam Higham, the owner of Cobden’s Adams Bikes, has expressed his disappointment after alleging a young person had been spotted on security footage stealing a pair of bike gloves, valued at $25.
Mr Higham said businesses having to absorb costs due to theft was painful at a time when everyone was feeling the financial pinch.
“It’s an ongoing cost at a time when I’m always trying to have specials for customers,” he said.
“I have to pay for every bit of stock because everything is cash on delivery since COVID, so stolen stock just means I don’t have the money to buy the next lot of stock.”
Mr Higham said any theft was particularly painful after enduring two separate robberies in the past when he owned a business in Canberra, one of which resulted in him being stabbed.
“It’s hard to physically and mentally tolerate theft,” he said.
“Both robberies were over a long weekend and both times they had come in to scope out the shop.
“You can always tell something is off with some people who come in, but the next minute I had two pallets thrown through my window and two bikes ripped off.
“I saw the guy riding the bike he had stolen the next day and confronted him, which ended with me getting stabbed in the hand.”
The second robbery left Mr Higham in significant financial distress which spilled over into personal struggles.
“After COVID I was robbed for the second time, which was devastating because it was hard enough for businesses to survive COVID,” he said.
“They had put a snatch strap on my door and ripped the whole shopfront clean out, stealing seven e-bikes and damaging 30 other bikes.
“I lost $100,000 in a day and just fell into thinking ‘I can’t do this’.
“I sold every single e-bike after that, just sent them to auction, because I didn’t have the mental capacity to have them in my shop because I was so afraid.
“It turned my life upside down, but in the aftermath the good thing was I moved to Cobden a year later.”
The move to Cobden in the aftermath of the robberies has proven a benefit, with Mr Higham being dedicating countless hours and significant financial investment into renovating his store.
The investment is one he envisions has having the potential to service the growing regional bicycle tourism and local enthusiasts to purchase high-quality goods.
Mr Higham fondly remembers when bike stores were once more than just a commercial premise but spaces for a coalescence of culture and connection associated with difference styles of cycling, and hopes his store can one day recapture some of the magic lost to time.
“I moved a thousand kilometres to come to a lovely town, and I don’t ever want to leave,” he said.
“I want to die here and keep improving the building for the town.
“It’s been three years of renovations and there’s so much more to go but I want to employ, to get more work done through local tradies, get more money going through the town so it becomes a destination.
“It’s why my shop has cars, motorbikes and art.
“I want this business to be a multifaceted safe space where people feel comfortable to hang out, the same way I did when I was young – and still do when I visit other bike shops.”
Mr Higham said he holds no animosity towards the alleged thief, acknowledging everyone was once young and made mistakes, but hopes they find accountability before heading down the wrong path.
“You don’t want a young kid to get worse,” he said.
“Maybe they had a bad run, made a mistaken and it’s something they can learn from.
“I don’t have any ill will to the kid or know his financial situation or home life, but not everyone has it that great.
“I don’t want to pick on kids for stealing $25 gloves, but it’s more about saying please don’t do it again but it impacts me being able to offer the best prices I can.”
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