Jo Beckendorff

SCHWEINFURT, Germany - The absence of the brand R Raymon at the Pierer New Mobility booth at Eurobike 2023 was already a clear indication. The Austrian bicycle company has changed its brand strategy and with that Susanne and Felix Puello will go their own way taking R Raymon with them.

DAUN, Germany - Despite naming its relatively young e-bike brand HoheAcht after the region in Germany where it is based, bike supplier Technibike GmbH has decided to abandon its production facility in Staßfurt, Germany and move to Eastern Europe - more precisely Bulgaria.

KOBLENZ, Germany - By opening an Innovation Lab at its Koblenz headquarters, German D2C bike supplier Canyon Bicycle GmbH says it is taking "the next step in product development."

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Companies in the Taiwanese supply chain are beginning to feel the fall out of the VanMoof bankruptcy in Europe. Electronic connectivity solutions maker Speed Tech Corp and manufacturer Ideal Bikes have both posted listings on the Taiwanese stock exchange referring to unpaid bills by VanMoof Asia Ltd, forcing the company into liquidation.

PLOCHINGEN, Germany - Sporting goods manufacturer and retailer Decathlon has appointed the CEO of Decathlon-Germany André Weinert to CEO-CESEE (Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe). Effective immediately, he assumes responsibility for 17 countries in which Decathlon is represented. The sporting goods chain store giant will announce his successor in Germany within the coming weeks.

GEDERSDORF, Austria - Two-wheeled wholesaler and importer, KSR Group, has applied for a court-supervised restructuring procedure. Due to increased energy prices, high inflation and the lack of consumer purchasing power, the economic situation changed drastically within the last year in the markets the family-run company operates in.

WELS, Austria - In the first six months of 2023, Pierer Mobility AG achieved a new record revenue of €1.39 million, up 20.2%, compared to 2022. However, "the bicycle market as a whole is characterised by major changes. The consolidation that has already begun and is expected, will have profound effects on the entire bicycle industry," the motorcycle and e-bike specialist warns.

REGAU, Austria - In order to continue growing as quickly as possible and to meet current demand, Austrian OEM bicycle and e-bike assembler WSF Bicycle Technology GmbH has launched a crowdinvesting campaign. With a funding goal of €400,000, the company aims to increase the output of its factory from 25,000 bicycles and e-bikes per year to 100,000 units per year by 2026.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - As the third in line after Giant and Merida, Ideal has also reported red figures for this year. While the bicycle manufacturer was still able to keep up its Q1 revenue at a comparably good level with a slight 1.8 % decrease, Q2 2023 saw a double-digit downshift.

FRANKFURT, Germany - German automotive supplier Hirschvogel Holding GmbH (as known as Hirschvogel Automotive Group) already marked its entry into the micromobility field at both IAA Mobility 2021 and Eurobike 2022. At this year's Eurobike the first e-bike drive system as part of a component platform for cargo bikes and urban mobility, created under its own brand name Aximo, caused a stir.