News
What Impact Will Covid-19 Have on Your Business?
Things have certainly been moving fast since my March newsletter. What was already a major concern is now a full-blown global pandemic. Every day, the situation is changing, so there’s little point in discussing the latest news within this article. Instead I’m going to project forward and try to help you get a picture of…
How’s Business? April 2020
Announcing The Latz Report Yearbook 2020 – Coming Soon!
A personal note from Phil Latz, Publisher of The Latz Report. Way back in 1996 when I created the first Bicycling YearBook, I had no idea how quickly this annual trade directory would be embraced by Australian bicycle retailers. After selling the Bicycling Australia group, which included the Bicycling YearBook, to Yaffa Media in 2014,…
Google Search Data Suggests Growing Interest in Cycling as Virus Hits
Studying the frequency of Google search terms is an inexact science, but looking at the chart below, there appears to be a significant uptick in the number of Google searches for five key search terms over the past few days. The chart below is looking at searches across all of Australia for the period 1st…
Bicycle Commuting Might Grow Due to Coronavirus
The global coronavirus pandemic is developing so quickly that no-one, including those in positions of authority, can accurately predict what is going to happen next. But with each day it seems more likely that one consequence for larger cities will be at least a temporary increase in the percentage of commuting trips done by bicycle.…
Free Software to Help Bike Shops Through Virus Shut Down
Leading bike industry software solutions provider CykelOS (formerly known asBikeBookings) has spent years developing a highly refined system for workshopmanagement and bike rentals. Now co-founders Kristen and Natalie Britz have decided to provide their software, which usually costs $50 per month, free of charge with no strings attached. “From day one our intention has always…
SRAM is Aiming for 50% Female Workforce and Cycling Share
SRAM has announced that it will join a wider effort to promote gender parity across riding, racing, advocacy and its own employment. For 2020, the component maker has made four commitments to support these efforts; community, work, youth and athletes. “SRAM believes that achieving gender parity in cycling is imperative for the long-term success of…
We Ride Australia’s Bicycle Summit Announced, But USA Tour Cancelled
Australia’s bicycle industry funded national cycling advocacy organisation We Ride Australia has announced that their annual Australian Bicycle Summit will be held in Canberra. This year’s Summit will return to Canberra after a four year absence while the summit was held in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne respectively. The date has been set for Wednesday 19th…
Ebike Sales in Germany Surge to 1.36 Million Units and $4 Billion Value
German ebike sales have been growing by over 100,000 units per year since 2015, up to a total of 980,000 units for 2018. But the figures for 2019 which have just been released show further growth of 380,000 units in just one year to make total ebike sales for 2019 of approximately 1.36 million ebikes.…
Sea Otter Classic Announces New Dates
Sea Otter Classic has announced new dates, with the event now taking place between 1st – 4th October 2020, subject of course to the corona virus situation improving before then. Other than the date changes, the location and racing schedules for Sea Otter will remain essentially the same. The show, which was due to take…