French Market Stabilizing after Three Years of Decline

PARIS, France – The French bicycle market is slowly recovering after three years of declining revenues. According to the French industry organization Conseil National des Profession du Cycle (CNPC and Tous à Vélo) the turnover generated by the sales of bicycles rose by 5.5% over the first half of 2010. Also the market for parts and accessories increased by 3.5% compared with the first half of 2010.

These increases, mainly due to the extremely mild weather early in the year, reversed the downward trend the market has shown over the previous years.

According to CNPC and Tous à Vélo, the character of the French market is changing as bike sales become more and more mobility and recreational orientated. Nevertheless mountainbikes and road race bikes still take the largest share of the market, while other segments are growing quickly. CNPC and Tous à Vélo report that during the first half of 2011 especially bicycles for mobility and recreational use have recorded a sustainable growth. Sales of folding bikes for example increased by no less than 31%, but also other segments like electric bikes (+17%), BMX (+11%) and ATV (+8%), and kids bikes (+5.5%) were also very popular in France.

The forecast for the second half of 2011 is showing less promising. The weather conditions in summer were less favourable to cycling while consumer confidence was affected negatively by some economic measures taken by the government. Still cycling is one of the most economical means of mobility. Market analysts of the industry organization CNPC and Tous à Vélo expect that the overall market in 2011 will stabilize or show a very small decline.