Bianchi Turkey Making Major Push into Europe

MANISA, Turkey – Bianchi Turkey, owner of Atala in Italy, is making a major push into Europe. The company not only recently took over another Italian bike brand, but is also establishing a P&A business under the Byte brand name. And the fact that former Vuelta MD and COLIPED President Moreno Fioravanti is now part of the Bianchi Turkey team is another indication that the company is aiming at establishing a substantial presence in Europe.

For some years now Bianchi Bisiklet San.ve. Tic. A.S. (Bianchi Turkey) President Ovadya Sarda strategy's has been to take advantage of Turkey’s proximity to Europe. Another reason why Bianchi Bisiklet is eyeing a greater share of the high-end European bicycle market is that Turkey has duty free export status for Europe for bicycles. For that reason Atala was taken over in 2005. Now President Sarda is taking the next step in his strategy that promises to make his company a strong player in Europe.

That next step is the takeover of Carraro srl Industria Cicli, handled through Atala. Carraro Cicli is based in Padova, Italy. Like Atala, Carraro is another renowned name in the Italian bike scene. The company has a long history as it was established by Giovanni Carraro in 1924.

Carraro offers a large number of high-end mountain bikes in its range varying from hardtails to full suspension and from aluminium up to carbon and even titanium frames. The same goes for the company’s road race range while Carraro Cicli also offers City & Trekking, Fitness and Sports as well as Kids bikes. They are all aimed at higher quality and price levels.

With the addition of Carraro Cicli to its portfolio, Bianchi Turkey wants to establish itself as a full line bike supplier in Europe which counts on a multiple brand strategy. High to mid-end bikes come under the Carraro brand name while entry to mid level bikes are marketed under the Atala brand name. Next to that there’s the high-end Whistle range in road and MTB distributed by Atala.

With the expanded product portfolio that now includes three brand names and a line-up that covers all categories (including e-Bikes) and price segments, Bianchi Bisiklet is looking for distributors in various European countries. As well as the comprehensive offering in bikes; such distributors can also profit from what the Turkish bike company is aiming for in Parts & Accessories (P&A).

What Bianchi Bisiklet is setting up in P&A, is something like Pro or BBB. In short, an in-store marketed high-end range of parts and accessories. Byte P&A is a division of Atala in Italy. The Managing Director of Byte is a man with about 25 years of experience in P&A: Moreno Fioravanti, boss of the renowned wheel brand Vuelta for many years. He is also President of COLIPED which is the European association for bicycle components and accessories manufacturers.

Byte will focus on developing high-end racing components. A big part of the Byte product range will be ‘Made in Italy’ because of the quality and its high tech characteristics.

At next month's EICMA Bici Show in Milan, which is taking place from November 4 – 9, Byte will launch its complete P&A program. Atala including Whistle bikes as well as Carraro Cicli will also be there with an even stronger presence than before. A comprehensive report on Bianchi Bisiklet European expansion plans is in Bike Europe’s October edition.

• For related items on Bianchi Turkey, click here
• For related items on Carraro, click here
• For related items on Atala, click here
• For related items on Moreno Fioravanti, click here