Switching to omni-channel distribution has started. This is what the e-commerce battle entails and how it's to become decisive in the coming years.

WAALWIJK, the Netherlands - The traditional Dutch bicycle brand Fongers will be relaunched in the Benelux. The brand name was acquired by Matrabike, an omni-channel player operating a webshop as well as 8 stores in the Netherlands and Belgium.

STUTTGART, Germany - During Eurobike 2019 German Lightweight manufacturer Carbon Sports will open the doors for their in-house show in Friedrichshafen.

Scratch M5 / Scratch M5 PAS is the new saddle line that uses 4.0 technologies. The saddles are innovative in terms of size, shape and ergonomics and they are suitable for multiple uses, such as road, off-road and triathlons.

CHANGHUA, Taiwan - Lee Chi Enterprises Co Ltd that makes braking, cockpit, drivetrain and MTB parts under the Promax brand, is planning to build new plants in Indonesia and Vietnam.

REDDITCH, UK - Bicycles and car parts retailer Halfords UK has reported a 24 percent fall in annual pre-tax profit and forecast a flat outcome for the next financial year. However, the company said that a mild winter had boosted cycling, with like-for-like cycling sales up 2.6 percent.

SAINT-JEAN-DE-MOIRANS, France - Rossignol Group SA, the French outdoor company, announces the restructuring of Time Sport, the premium road bike brand bought by the group in February 2016. The management has decided to cut jobs and to relocate production.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - This year will be decisive for Accell Group's 'three pillar omni-channel strategy'. This strategy will be kicked off soon in the UK with the premiere of Haibike.co.uk.

LILLE, France - Decathlon posted a global sales increase of 5 percent to 11.3 billion euros excluding VAT for 2018. Despite this positive result, the market was not as good as in the past four years for the sports retail giant. Between 2014 and 2017 Decathlon still generated a double-digit sales increase annually.

MONTREAL, Canada - Dorel Sports including Cycling Sports Group (Cannondale, GT, Mongoose among other brands as well as Pacific Cycle and Caloi) showed a strong third quarter performance with revenues increasing by approximately 9.6 percent after removing the impact of varying foreign exchange rates year-over-year.

COLOGNE, Germany - Enabling cyclists to find the best IBD nearby and make booking appointments online easily 24/7; that's what Flexini.com is about. Bicycle dealers can use the management tool of flexini.com to organize their appointments efficiently. This is the concept behind the new online platform flexini.com.

HELSINKI, Finland - Mavic and Enve no longer fit in Amer Sports' strategy to pursue sustainable, profitable growth. "We prioritize acceleration in soft goods, B2C, China, United States, and digitalization," said Amer Sports President and CEO Heikki Takala this morning while he announced the company's updated strategy.

Finally it becomes more clear where Accell is heading to after Europe's biggest in bikes earlier this year announced to implement radical strategy changes. Part of these changes, and certainly not the least one, is the company's switch to omnichannel. What

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany - Last July 31 the partnership between Messe Friedrichshafen and the European Outdoor Group (EOG), conceptual owner of the European OutDoor trade show, officially ended. This triggered the start of a new show, organized solely by Messe Friedrichshafen, named Outdoor Friedrichshafen.

OSLO, Norway - Keeping an eye on the traffic and fellow bikers behind can be a challenge without mirror on the bike. TriEye developed eyewear with integrated mirror which is launched at Eurobike.

LELYSTAD, the Netherlands - Giant announced today it will invest 13.5 million Euros to establish a new European distribution center in the Netherlands. Just like Giant's factory which is in operation since 1996, the new distribution center will also be located in Lelystad.

DENVER, USA - Gates Industrial Corporation, maker of the Gates Carbon Drive belt system, will launch a suite of new products at the Eurobike trade show. This includes a direct-mount crankset and e-bike components for recently released mid-drive motors.

In a strikingly unanimous action all major industry players with Ford Motor and Tome Software founded the Bicycle-to-Vehicle (B2V) Executive Advisory Board.

Accell Group NV saw in 2017 its net turnover grow by 3.7%, but its operating result drop with 37.1%. Against strong sales of e-MTB's in Germany, Austria,

DOETINCHEM, the Netherlands - The switch to omni-channel distribution is starting now. It's still on a limited scale and especially taking place in markets