Raleigh Introducing Cyclelife Franchise in Ireland

DUBLIN, Ireland – After a successful start in the UK, Raleigh is now turning to Ireland with its Cyclelife franchise partnership for bike dealers. Key dealers already have been contacted and the first contract are about to be signed.

Introducing the successful UK Cyclelife franchise this year, is the next step is for Raleigh Ireland. The Irish market mirrored that of the UK and so the move from making to selling bikes was a natural one, as it was for the mother company Raleigh UK Ltd. Irish Raleigh Cycle Co. was closed in February 2002 when the continuation of an assembly plant was no longer viable and distribution was moved to Eurotrek Ltd.

Eurotrek was formed in 1991 by Mel Sutcliffe and was originally one stand alone retail store. In search of growth Eurotrek started to import bikes and distribute throughout Ireland. The break came in 2000 when Raleigh sought an Irish based company to take on the sales, marketing and distribution of all products. In conjunction with wholesale distribution, the retail wing of the business has been expanded to include 3 modern well located stores.

Raleigh Ireland Chairman Mel Sutcliffe explains “Ireland is a special market place; it resembles the United Kingdom in many respects but differs greatly in others. We feel with such a small population (5 million) we need to lead by example. Our own retail stores allow us to showcase the Raleigh and Diamondback brands and ensure they are always to the fore”.

Group Managing Director Aidan Duff explains “In many ways we have the best of both worlds. We work closely with our partners in Raleigh UK and benefit because of this. We share the same bike range, catalogues and many other advantages. Since the turn of the 21st Century Ireland has too often been seen as a dumping ground for UK and European surplus stock.”

It has taken the strength of a brand and the hard work from Eurotrek to trade through and persevere in tough market conditions to the point where today Raleigh has regained its rightful position as the number one selling brand in the market. Eurotrek reports into Raleigh UK enabling it to take advantage of the UK’s greater resources, as well as product range, including IT development allowing their customers to access Raleigh UK’s B2B site directly.

Next to the bikes and the P&A range Raleigh Ireland is now also introducing UK’s Cyclelife franchise this year to Irish dealers. The partnership between Raleigh UK and Raleigh Ireland plans will be launched this summer and Raleigh Ireland plans to open 15 Cyclelife dealerships.

Raleigh UK started its Cyclelife initiative in 2004. The 100th Cyclelife store opened beginning of April in Scarborough, UK. At that opening Raleigh UK said that it was well on the way to achieving interim target of 250 stores nationwide by 2010.

The Cyclelife concept was created to compete effectively with chain stores in the UK by giving all Cyclelife participants a national identity. The ambition of Raleigh’s partnership is: “To improve the retailing standards of its members and by driving greater footfall into the stores, improving the profitability. For that, the promotion of the Raleigh brand nationally and locally in a cost effective manner will be provided.”