Industry Anxiously Awaiting Taipei Show

TAIPEI, Taiwan – As spring heralds the start of the bicycle season in Europe and the US, the Taipei Int’l Cycle Show this year will show the current state of the global bicycle industry. One thing is already clear and that is that the Taiwan bike industry is anxiously awaiting to hear from the show visitors about the current situation of the European bicycle market.

The Taiwanese heavily depend on the market developments in Europe. Last year 67% of all the bikes that were exported from Taiwan were shipped to Europe. Not surprisingly the Taiwan industry is watching the European bike sector closely. A sudden drop in demand because of the economy and weaker Euro will be devastating for the Taiwanese companies.

Ying Ming Yang, chairman of the Taiwan Bicycle Exporters’ Association even stated that: “the Taiwan industry will face a year of retrenchment in 2009. How to cope with this challenging situation for the Taiwanese makers is one of the focal points at this year’s Taipei Show.”

One of the companies with a high ratio of export to Europe is Merida. Like others they are scrambling to find alternative markets to spread their risks by selling into markets such as Eastern Europe and Russia. The A-Team in Taiwan is reported to be working on cooperative marketing including the development of an A-Team brand model, as well as promoting sales of higher value-added products as part of an effort to reach new heights.

The Taipei International Cycle Show will start next week, Tuesday March 17 and last until Friday March 20th. For more information on this show, click here.