Posts by Phil Latz
E-Bikes Attract More Women – Study Suggests
A new study of electric bike use in New Zealand has found that pedal assistance has acted as an enabler to empower women to ride. Ebikes could be the catalyst for bike retail environments becoming more female friendly. Part of the reasoning for the shift put forward by the bike shop managers interviewed for the…
BikeExchange Co-Founder Returns to New Full Time Role
Sam Salter has returned to work in the company that he co-founded with Jason Wyatt 15 years ago. He will take up the newly created role of Chief Sales and Partnerships Officer. Sam is currently a non-executive director of BikeExchange Limited, a role he’ll retain. Sam is also the co‑founder of Marketplacer, which operates a…
Latest Data Reveals Bike Boom’s Scale in Europe
If Australian dealers needed any further explanation of why bikes have been in such short supply, it’s just arrived in the form of a major annual report by CONEBI, the Confederation of European Bicycle, E-Bike, Parts & Accessories Industries. The report collates the sales data of all 27 European Union countries, plus the UK (which…
Shimano New Factories
An Asian news source is reporting that Shimano plans to invest US$179 million (A$239 million) to build a new plant in Singapore that will open next year. According to the report from Nikkei Asia which you can see here, Shimano also decided to invest another $118 million (A$157 million) in its factories in Osaka and…
Grandfather, Grandson to Ride Across Australia for Compassion
Mike Jeffs, a keen amateur cyclist and businessman from Queensland, is set to take on the adventure of his life, cycling all the way across Australia to see children released from poverty. The journey will be even more special because his grandson, Elijah, will be riding beside him. “This is an amazing adventure opportunity for…
Aussie Cycling Apparel Brand Opens ‘Shop in Shop’ in Harrods, London
MAAP, the Melbourne-based cycling apparel brand, is now available for purchase, in-store and online through a click and collect service, at Harrods one of London’s and the world’s most famous high-end department stores. MAAP commissioned leading London-based retail design consultants Brinkworth to design a bespoke ‘shop in shop’ retail kit to translate the brand into…
Bosch Pays A$1.345 million for a Domain Name
What’s in a name? Clearly a lot if that name is ebike.com! Robert Bosch GmbH, the huge multinational owner of Bosch eBike Systems, just paid US$1,008,900 (A$1,345,000) for the domain name ebike.com. According to dnjournal.com, the domain was previously owned by names company Legendary Names Inc, which bought it at an auction of expired domain…
Sea Otter Australia Postponed – Again
Rather than delaying what was increasingly looking like an inevitably forced decision, Christian Haag, Executive Officer of Sea Otter Australia recently wrote to exhibitors and entrants with 12 weeks’ notice, advising them of the postponement of this year’s event. Sea Otter Australia had been scheduled to be held on this October long weekend but has…
KRUSH Announces Grassroots Scholarships Scheme
A group of Australian bicycle companies have collaborated to create a unique scholarship scheme for up and coming young cyclists. Industry participants included Sea Otter Australia, KRUSH, Bikecorp, Pushys, GravityOZ, Ridemore and Fist Handware. The program was to have been launched at Sea Otter Australia. Unfortunately, as we detailed elsewhere, that event has been postponed…
