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BikeAction owner Christoph Goebel (l.) handed over the business to Rocky Mountain Executive Chairman, Raymond Dutil (r.) and CEO Katy Bond (m.) – Photo Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain acquires North European distributor BikeAction

SAINT-GEORGES, Canada - Rocky Mountain has vertically integrated the distribution in the Northern European region with the takeover of BikeAction. For more than 30 years BikeAction represented Rocky Mountain. According to BikeAction owner Christoph Goebel, his transition into retirement was the main reason for the take-over.

SRAM CEO Ken Lousberg: “While the pandemic was clearly horrible for the world, it was amazing for the bike industry. 2022 ended up being our best year ever” - Photo SRAM

CEO Ken Lousberg on SRAM's global production strategy

CHICAGO, USA - The announcement in February to build a new factory in Taiwan confirmed SRAM's commitment to their largest production base. With the investment, SRAM is expanding its capabilities and capacity in Taichung. A week before the opening of the Taipei Cycle Show, SRAM CEO Ken Lousberg elaborates on their choice for Taiwan and his market outlook for the months ahead.

On the back of 2022 results Giant Group declares that the demand for e-bikes remains solid in the medium to long term. – Photo Shutterstock

12.5% growth for Giant Group in 2022; outlook remains solid

TAICHING, Taiwan - Taiwan's leading bicycle producer Giant Group saw its fiscal 2022 sales jump by a double-digit 12.5% year-on-year to TW$ 92.04 billion (€2.82 billion). However, the impact of rising material and labour costs as well as increased OE-business affected the Group's overall gross margin and operating profit performance.

Within just ten weeks, Prophete Group has found itself a new owner. – Photo Prophete

Prophete Group's future secured through Asian manufacturing giant

RHEDA-WIEDENBRÜCK, Germany - Following a "lively bidding process" the German bicycle and e-bike manufacturers Prophete and Cycle Union have been successfully taken-over. No stranger to the bicycle industry, the new owner Singapore-based Dutech Group, is on a path to strategically expand its focus on green technology. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Ampler co-founder and CEO Ardo Kaurit (l.) and Kristjan Maruste, CEO of Kõu Mobility Group. – Photo Ampler

Kõu Mobility Group obtains majority share in Estonian Ampler e-bikes

TALINN, Estonia - To strengthen their joint position in the micro-mobility industry, two Estonian companies Ampler and Kõu Mobility Group have signed an investment and share-swap agreement. Kõu Mobility took over 51% of the Ampler share for an undisclosed amount.

“Our factory in Italy will be expanded in the next few years to be less dependent on outsourcing,” explains Wilier Triestina CEO Andrea Gastaldello. – Photo Wilier Triestina

Wilier Triestina to split sourcing between Asia and Europe

ROSSANO VENETO, Italy - To create a viable future for Wilier Triestina, the Italian family-owned business attracted new investments via Pamoja Capital SA in 2020. In an exclusive interview with Bike Europe, Wilier Triestina CEO Andrea Gastaldello elaborates on how this partnership worked out.

Bikester, Probikeshop and Internetstores are some of the bicycle businesses which are part of Signa Sports United’s sports e-commerce platform. – Photo Bikester

'Macroeconomic turbulence' weighs on bike business of Signa Sports

BERLIN, Germany - The past fiscal year was "a year of two halves," for German e-commerce retail giant Signa Sports United (SSU). "We were able to meaningfully increase our scale through acquisitions before being affected by the macroeconomic turbulence," explains CEO Stephan Zoll on release of the FY2022 results.

V Frames is currently producing injection-molded carbon composite frames, forks, cockpits and other components for several OEMs. – Photo Bike Europe

V Frames and Lehvoss to raise performance of injection-molded bicycle...

SAALFELD, Germany - After V Frames successfully began mass production of injection-molded carbon composite frames, the major focus is now increasing the performance of the raw materials, including stiffness. A recent development agreement with chemical specialist Lehvoss Group should take the products to the next level.

GreenMo leases e-bikes and e-scooters to many prominent meal delivery companies in several countries across Europe. - Photo GreenMo

GreenMo goes bankrupt as e-mobility market growth misjudged

WAARDENBURG, the Netherlands - GreenMo Group, which leases e-bikes and electric scooters to prominent delivery outlets in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and England has been declared bankrupt. According to the trustee, the company misjudged the growth opportunities.

Eurosport DHS CEO Tianqi Yang doesn’t deny the drastic impact of Prophete’s insolvency on the production planning for 2023. – Photo Jo Beckendorff

Prophete insolvency has no direct impact on DHS operation

DEVA, Romania - The announced insolvency of Prophete Group last December immediately raised questions about the impact on the Eurosport DHS SA operation in Romania. Prophete holds 47.5% of the Romanian company. Reason enough for Eurosport DHS CEO Tianqi Yang to issue an official statement on the current situation.