DRESDEN, Germany - Bicycle chain store retailer Little John Bikes GmbH celebrated the opening of its 40th store on its home market Germany. The company aims to celebrate its 50th store opening in the fall of 2022. Besides the new store openings, the company is achieving rapid expansion through a unique IBD succession concept which offers a solution to the 'ageing' market.
WALS, Austria - Austrian sporting goods chain store giant Hervis Sport has announced a spring offensive, following the opening of a new flagship store in Innsbruck, Austria. This offensive relies not only on a chain store expansion in Austria, but in six further European countries in which they are already on the ground. The focus of this heralded spring offensive is on nothing but "bicycles, outdoor and even more stores."
WOUDENBERG, The Netherlands - Extreme market fluctuations, a new business model overhaul, repositioning of the brand... it has been a busy couple of years for Cycling Sports Group (CSG) Europe and its leading brand, Cannondale. From the new headquarters in Woudenberg, the Netherlands, the company is now preparing for the next stage in its growth. Upstream investments are on the horizon.
DUISBURG, Germany - In a farewell letter officially released on March 23, the Steelworks by Thyssenkrupp team tells its community that due to strategic considerations and with a heavy heart, it has made the decision to "end Steelworks production and cease distribution by the end of March 2021."
TAICHUNG, Taiwan - For fiscal 2020, the country's largest bicycle manufacturer Giant Group reports a 10.3% year-on-year sales increase to TW$ 70.01 billion (€2.08 billion). At TW$ 4.95 billion (€147.29 million), profit after tax was even 46.7% higher than the previous year.
MONZA, Italy - Founded in 1907, Atala is one of Italy's largest bicycle manufacturers and since it became part of the Accell Group in 2010, it has been given a head-start in the e-bike category. Based in Monza, a few kilometers away from Milan, the brand produces all kinds of bicycles and e-bikes as well as home trainers. Bike Europe interviewed CEO Massimo Panzeri who shared his experiences of how Atala is positioned to handle the unprecedented growth in demand as a result of the pandemic.
LONDON, UK - The most recent monthly figures showing like-for-like bike and e-bike imports and exports released by the Bicycle Association (BA) show a huge fluctuation. The statistics reveal the massive double whammy effect of the Covid crisis and the UK's exit from the EU has had on the bike and e-bike flows into and out of the UK.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Eight of Europe's main e-scooter operators, including Lime, Voi and Bolt, have joined forces to form a new coalition, Micro-Mobility for Europe (MMfE). The coalition aims to contribute to the development of a coherent policy framework for micromobility solutions.
MELBOURNE, Australia - Supply chain constraints as a result of Covid-19 left many shops and distributers sold-out of stock in Australia. In the meantime, Brexit has gone under the radar for Aussies, though it has started causing disruptions between Europe and the UK and could have a fallout for Australian distributers, bike shops and customers as well.
VICENZA, Italy - Italian component manufacturers, Campagnolo and Fulcrum, both experienced a surge in demand as a result of the unprecedented growth in the Italian market after the first lock-down. Davide Campagnolo is CEO of the Fulcrum brand but also involved at various levels in the activities of Campagnolo. Bike Europe spoke to him about the impact on both companies during what he describes as "a complex year".
