COLOGNE, Germany – German retail organization ZEG and the French dealers buying group Veloland International entered into a partnership. It will open the ZEG purchasing and logistical services for the Veloland members/dealers. Next to that ZEG and Veloland are discussing a participation of the German retail organization in the French dealers buying group.
With this partnership the ‘Zweirad Experten Gruppe’ (ZEG) is giving its French business a big push as the number of Veloland outlets should reach 19 at the end of the year. In 2004 ZEG started in France and appointed Hans Joachim Retzlaff as its country manager. Currently there are 45 ZEG dealers in France; excluding Veloland.
After Veloland merged with La Compganie du Velo in November 2000, the French dealer buying group, had 34 dealers with a total of 70 people on the payroll, and a consolidated turnover of € 27 million in 2001. Late 2002 Veloland was placed under the 'redressement judiciaire' status which is under supervision of the court. It apparently did not turn into an insolvency as Veloland continued to exist. But in November 2006 Bike Europe reported on its website that 8 ex-Veloland bikeshops joined the new bicycle shop formula Sport 2000 launched in France under the name Mondovélo.
The remaining member/dealers took over Veloland in December 2006 from the sporting goods buying group SED TWINNER and founded Veloland International which is based in Annecy. MD is Jean-Pierre Lacombe. The shares of Veloland International are wholly owned by the member/dealers. Before the end of the year Veloland International is expected to number 19 outlets and a 2007 turnover of about € 25 million.
On the ZEG membership, numbers of outlets and turnover said CEO Georg Honkomp in a December 2006 interview with Bike Europe: “We have 723 dealer-members with 955 shops in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, France and (one shop only) in Italy. No, we are not planning to go full scale in the Italian market. We will end 2006 with a turnover of € 310 million.”
- For related items on ZEG, click here
- For related items on Veloland, click here
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