Jo Beckendorff

CHANGHUA, Taiwan - In the first three sales quarters of the current 2024 financial year Taiwan's second-largest bicycle manufacturer Merida Industry Co. Ltd. generated total revenue of TWD 23.8 billion (€695 million). Compared to the first nine months of the previous year, this is a good increase of 5.8% in a persistently difficult and challenging environment.

SCHAMBERG, Germany - High-precision transmission parts and components manufacturer hGears AG continues to suffer not only from the automotive crisis, but also from the e-bike business segment's sluggish destocking. In the first nine months of the current 2024 financial year, it had to digest its biggest sales drop.

DRESDEN, Germany - Online retailer Bike24 reports a year-on-year revenue increase of 2.9% to €62.89 million from July to September 2024. In this quarter the category fully assembled bicycles saw a 6% revenue growth to an all-time high of €13.4 million. According to Bike24, "this is the result of our choice for a large brand portfolio and attractive price points."

WELS, Austria - The macro-economic conditions made two-wheeler giant Pierer Mobility AG already revise its forecast for the current financial year in October. Moreover they communicated a far-reaching restructuring program of its bicycle and e-bike sector. It now turns out that the liquidity requirement for its motorized two-wheeler business has a much bigger impact on the financial stability of the whole company.

DULUTH, USA - It's not only the inclusion of recently acquired Marucci Sports' revenue boosting up suspension expert Fox Factory Holding Corp.'s Sports Specialty Sports Group (SSG) third quarter sales. SSG's bicycle product sales under the Easton Cycling, Fox, Marzocchi, Race Face, Ride Concepts brand names are also impressively bouncing back.

UPPLANDS VÄSBY, Sweden - With the complete takeover of Swedish suspension specialist Öhlins Racing AB, Italian brake expert Brembo is making the largest acquisition in the company's history, according to its own statements. Öhlins had been part of US automotive supplier Tenneco Inc. since the end of 2018. Subject to the usual regulatory approvals, the takeover, which was announced on 11 October, is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2025.

BERLIN, Germany - The latest insolvency in the bicycle industry comes as a surprise, at least to outsiders. With their innovative LEV vehicles - a hybrid between an e-two-wheeler and a car - the Berlin-based Onomotion is seen as a state of the art 'last mile' vehicle with a golden future, particularly in the urban logistics sector.

BARCELONA, Spain - The strategy to concentrate on 'Powered Two-Wheelers' by Pierer Mobility AG led to the announcement to part ways with its pure bicycle and e-bikes brands Felt Bicycles and R Raymon. The company wanted to focus on motorcycles and e-bikes including the brands Husqvarna and GasGas E-Bicycles. After the publication of this new strategy, it turned out that Felt Bicycles was still somehow part of Pierer Mobility. To shed some light on the situation, Bike Europe sat down with Felt Bicycles managing director Florian Burguet.

BAD URACH, Germany - As German Gustav Magenwirth GmbH & Co. KG announced back in spring 2024, it intends to significantly strengthen its innovative power as part of the future-oriented strategic restructuring of Magura parent company Magenwirth Technologies GmbH (MWT). In this context innovation- and development-oriented Ingo Beutner was hired as additional managing director to the Magura management board.

HARD, Austria - Business has not always gone smoothly at Austria's second largest bicycle manufacturer, Simplon Fahrrad GmbH. How big these problems were, became public when the shareholders replaced the management at the end of 2023. This year's industry-wide double-digit sales drop left a real skid mark on Simplon's revenue, forcing them to apply for a Chapter 11 status this week to support the ongoing restructuring process.