REDDITCH, England - Contrary to the general trend in the British retail market, Halfords UK reports an increase in bicycle sales in its 28 March trading update. The company's focus on its range of premium mechanical bikes that have a price tag of more than £1,000, as announced last year, turned out for the best.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Industry leaders dare to speak out on future developments more openly now the main hurdle of the inventory crisis has been overcome. Giant Group Chairman Young Liu spoke directly to Bike Europe about his plans for production in Europe and his focal points for his first year in this position.

MILAN, Italy - After two years of double-digit declines, the Italian bicycle market seems to have stabilised. In 2024, over 1.3 million units were sold, marking a modest -0.7% decrease compared to the previous years. This positive signal comes from Italy's trade association, Confindustria ANCMA, which recently unveiled its market figures.

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Pon Holdings has made significant strides in 2024 towards enhancing its focus on mobility through strategic investments and divestments. Despite market uncertainties, Pon Holdings recorded stable revenues of €9.9 billion, matching the prior year's results normalised for divestments.

PLOCHINGEN, Germany - Demand for bicycle and team sports products within the extensive product portfolio of Decathlon has been very strong in Germany last year, reports the sporting goods retail giant. Decathlon expanded their market share in the otherwise weak German bicycle market in 2024 and reported a sales increase of 8% in the category bicycles. However, exact sales figures have not been disclosed.

MASER, Italy - The brand relaunch of Sidi after the takeover by Italmobiliare Group in 2022 has turned out to be very profitable. The Italian cycling and motorcycle shoes manufacturer reports a 33.1% year-on-year growth in turnover to €31.7 million.

TAICHUING, Taiwan -Taiwan´s third-largest bicycle manufacturer Ideal Bike Corporation significantly reduced its costs in 2024, according to the limited financial information communicated by the company. However, last year's revenue of TWD 2.65 billion (€737.46 mln) still represented a year-on-year drop of 27.5%.

REICHSHOF, Germany - Schwalbe owner Ralf Bohle GmbH and Pyrum Innovations AG have concluded a framework agreement for the long-term purchase of Pyrum's recovered carbon black (rcb). The agreement covers the purchase of rcb at a fixed price for the next 10 years.

OTTOBRUNN, Germany - Porsche eBike Performance GmbH has brought two new leaders on board its management team to bolster the company's leadership body and shape the company's future. Denise Silva has been appointed as Director Product Definition and Thorsten Weppert as Director Corporate Quality.

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands - Accell Group has officially announced Jonas Nilsson as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Formerly the Chief Operating Officer for the European manufacturer, Nilsson has been making the shift into the role since January, after Tjeerd Jegen announced he would step down and join the Supervisory Board as Chair.

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands - Pon has announced the sale of Dockr, its cargo bike subscriptions system to micro mobility supplier Today in shares. "With this acquisition, we are accelerating our vision of making micromobility solutions accessible for all," said Sean Flood and David Touwsma, co-founders of Today.

MADRID, Spain - The Spanish bicycle industry closed 2024 with a decrease in turnover for the third consecutive year. In line with neighbouring markets, the turnover in the Spanish cycling sector remains above pre-pandemic levels but contracted by 6.5% in 2024, to €2.3 billion including parts and accessories. Revenue from e-bike and bicycle sales make up 56% of this total value at €1.3 billion in 2024.

AARAU, Switzerland - In 2024, the bicycle industry in Switzerland was in a far deeper trough than in Germany or The Netherlands. Total sales fell by 54,000 units - a drop of 14%. It is worth noting that sales of e-bikes are still in the shadows of regular bicycles as market share remains locked in at around 45% for the past three years.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan's leading role in the international market for ICT products could play an important role in regenerating the supply chain for e-bikes. In 2017-2018 the country's bicycle industry made a successful transition to the production of e-bikes. The strong focus on this high-value product category gave Taiwan the opportunity to move forward in this innovative market. However, the strong fluctuations in supply and demand has seen Taiwan completely lose momentum in the e-bike market.

LONDON, United Kingdom - The total bicycle market in the UK saw sales drop a further 2% year-on-year in 2024 to a new low this century. This latest drop continues the long post-COVID downturn which began in the second half of 2021. However, the latest figures from the Bicycle Association (BA) suggest there is light at the end of the tunnel.

FRANKFURT, Germany - DJI was one of the biggest newcomers on the e-bike market last year creating a lot of rumor during the tradeshows. What makes the e-bike market so interesting for this leading manufacturer of drones which generates a multi-billion revenue? The introduction into the e-bike market was put in the hands of drone pilot and DJI Product Experience Director Ferdinand Wolf.

MASER, Italy - Sidi Sport S.r.l., was sold by founder Dino Signori to the Milan-based investment holding company, Italmobiliare S.p.A. in 2022. Soon after the takeover of the company specialising in the production of cycling and motorcycling footwear, Davide Rossetti was appointed CEO and that marked the start of a complete overhaul of the company. What is the current status of this iconic brand?

PODGRODZIE, Poland - Based in the southeast of Poland, Romet has been in the bicycle industry for more than 75 years. Operating in a total of three factories spread out over the country, Romet holds a strong position in its home market, but is also one of the well-known players in the European OEM market. Romet president Wieslaw Grzyb is now preparing the company to take the next step on the export market, both for OEMs as well as the brand Romet.

KOPRIVNICE, Czech Republic - The long-time experience in the production of city bikes for a leading Dutch brand, gave Bike Fun International (BFI) a strong position in the expanding urban mobility cycling market. Bike Europe talked with CEO René Gasser about the manufacturer's ambition to serve the central European markets as a leading distributor, but also how they can distinguish themselves as an OEM supplier.