FRANKFURT, Germany - Giant Group paid considerable attention to its ESG efforts on its booth at this year's Eurobike. One of the features was the Pre rCarbon push bike, the "r" signifying recycled versions of raw materials. Weighing around 2.4kg it is Giant's first ever complete bike application using its recycle long carbon fiber manufacturing technology.
SHANGHAI, China - E-bike drive system manufacturer, Ananda has opened a new factory in Vietnam to strengthen its worldwide manufacturing capabilities. Already up and running, the factory will meet the growing needs in the US and European markets. Additionally, the company is celebrating a successful listing on the Shanghai stock exchange.
TALLINN, Estonia - Tallinn appears to be a nucleus for e-mobility. The Kõu Group with Ampler and Comodule put Estonian expertise in this field on the map. Now Vok is taking things to the next level: the start-up wants to shake-up up the market with heavy-duty bikes. In any case, it has a unique selling point, with its self-developed serial all-wheel hybrid drive.
TALLINN, Estonia - Building an own mobile application has become easier for e-bike manufacturers with the launch of Comodule's next generation software development kit. The Estonia company expects that user-experience will soon emerge as the main differentiator. "Forward-thinking e-bike manufacturers are well-advised to partner with IoT providers that enable them to develop their own brand apps," writes Comodule.
REICHSHOF, Germany - Tyre manufacturer Schwalbe has reported a turnover of €237 million in 2023, down 30% from a record year in 2022. Dampened consumer sentiment and high inventory levels at all trade levels are cited to have had an impact. Nevertheless, the turnover was still well above the pre-corona level. In 2019, turnover reached €210 million.
HELSINKI, Finland - Vapaus Bikes Finland Oy, has secured a €15 million loan to drive growth and international expansion in the employee benefit bikes sector. Besides scaling up in Finland and Sweden, further internationalisation is being considered. Boasting a mature and scalable business model, the mobility service provider has seen its net revenues rise from €4.5 million in 2021 to over €30 million in 2023.
MUTLANGEN, Germany - A difficult market situation including slow consumer spending made Advanced Sports GmbH decide on 1 April last year to apply for insolvency in self-administration. Shortly before Christmas, the European distributor of Breezer, Fuji and SE Bikes report that their insolvency plan had been accepted.
OBERNZELL, Germany - Cycling and sports gear manufacturer Uvex Group announced the closure of one of its European production locations in a strategic reorientation. The company will close its independent helmet production subsidiary, known as BSA, by the end of 2024. Approximately 190 jobs are affected by the closure.
DRESDEN, Germany - German e-commerce outlet Bike24 Holding has reported a 16% drop in total sales to €61.1 million in Q3, despite full bike sales seeing a 26% upturn due to an 'expanded brand portfolio'. In addition, the margin improvement initiatives continue to show positive development during the third quarter of 2023.
CHESTER, England - Bikmo, a UK-based specialist cycle and e-mobility insurer has raised £3.4 million (€3.9 million) in a Series A extension round to accelerate European expansion and drive product innovation. The specialist insurer currently protects over 75,000 riders in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Austria through strategic partnerships with brands such as British Cycling, Cyclescheme and folding bike specialist Brompton.
VIENNA, Austria - Despite the insolvency reorganisation of Gleam Technologies and the public call for investors by company founder Mario Eibl, the company has failed to avoid bankruptcy. According to an official statement published last Friday, the insolvency has been changed to bankruptcy proceedings.
FRANKFURT, Germany - Once again, high-precision transmission parts and components producer hGears AG, with its comparatively young e-mobility business unit, had its own booth at this year's Eurobike.
FRANKFURT, Germany - The second edition of the Eurobike Investors Lounge attracted some 70 participants, primarily private equity investors and family offices. The high level of attendance shows that investors still see the potential of the bicycle industry.
BERLIN, Germany - Bicycle, outdoor and team sports e-commerce vendor Signa Sports United reports a year-on-year 23.5% sales-drop down to €195 million in the second quarter of 2022/2023, which ended on March 31, 2023. The WiggleCRC, Bikester, Fahrrad.de and Probikeshop owner was still able to cope with the loss thanks to better results in the first sales quarter of fiscal year 2022/2023.
SCHRAMBERG, Germany - According to precision gearbox manufacturer hGears AG, its first quarter 2023 results are in line with expectations. The strong performance of the premium, luxury and sports car segments was not able to compensate for the decline of the two other business segments e-mobility and e-tools - but at least cushioned it.
MONTIGNY-LE-BRETONNEUX, France - Alltricks, the omni-channel pure-player, has reported a turnover of €219 million in 2022. This represents a 30% increase compared to 2021. This figure includes the activity of Troc Vélo, the first specialised second-hand site that Alltricks acquired in March 2021. Last year, this company has recorded a 65% growth in active classifieds, generating a volume of transactions between individuals of €49 million.
REDDITCH, UK - In its latest financial statement, UK bicycle retailer Halfords reports that cycling sales have dropped to pre-covid levels. Despite stating that "overall revenues are outperforming the market," the cycling division is down 20% year on year to date.
GRENOBLE, France - The commercial court of Grenoble has put the sporting goods retailing giant Go Sport in receivership on 19th January after being notified of its state of cessation of payment. For retailer insiders these problems at Go Sport don't come as a surprise.
A hot topic in the bike industry currently is the quest for more sustainable bike components. The key to reaching real, long-term results, is to focus on the materials used to manufacture bike components, following-up with tangible targets leading to concrete impact.
ZEIST, The Netherlands - The October edition of Bike Europe magazine (issue 5/2022) is now available to read online in our digital magazine section. With a focus on production on Romania, a series of articles looks at how this former 'poorhouse' of Europe is becoming home to several prominent bicycle manufacturers.
