World
Popular Australian Founded Website Sold – Again…
CyclingTips was founded in Melbourne by Wade Wallace. It was a classic ‘bootstraps home business start up’ which became one of the most popular cycling websites not just in Australia but globally. It was later bought by another Melbourne based business, BikeExchange. In 2019 BikeExchange sold it to Canadian based global mountain bike site Pinkbike.…
Porsche & Yamaha Invest in Online Bike Retailer
Bianchi Invests to Quadruple Italian Production Capacity
As most Australian bicycle trade members, but perhaps not so many consumers realise, most of the famous European brands shifted the bulk of their production to Asia years ago. But faced with ballooning delays and freight costs, plus tight ‘anti dumping’ tariffs, more recently there has been a growing trend to move at least some…
Shimano’s Malaysia Factory Closed Due to Covid Wave
The Shimano component factory in Malaysia has not yet restarted its production following a forced closure. The factory had to shut down completely last week after the Malaysian government issued a total lockdown from June 1 to June 14 considering the situation of COVID-19 in the country. Further delays in the supply chain are now…
Wiggle, Max Studio Acquisitions Proceed
As we anticipated in a previous article here, it has now been confirmed that global UK based mail-order company Wiggle is set to be acquired by a German group Sigma Sports United. This company is a global sports e-commerce and technology platform, not to be confused with the Sigma computer brand. “We’re proud and excited…
Bicycle Industry Gets Its First Stock Index Tracker
Set to launch on the Frankfurt stock exchange on the 21st of June, the bicycle industry will get its first stock exchange index, tracking 20 of the trade’s largest listed names. This means that an investor could invest in this single index and know that they’ve just invested in a diversified portfolio of 20 major…
Latest Data from UK Further Emphasises Bike Boom
Two recent reports from the UK further underline why Australia has been having trouble securing bicycles. The boom is global. The first was from Halfords, by far the largest bicycle retailer in the UK. Halfords sells products from the automotive and other sectors in addition to bicycles. They have about 800 outlets throughout the UK.…
Taiwanese Ebike Exports Now Exceed Non-Ebikes
Taiwan exported US$555 million (A$740 million) worth of e-bikes in the first five months of 2021, up 44% from the same period in 2020, the country’s Ministry of Finance announced. Exports of regular bikes totalled US$525 million (A$700 million), up 38% from the same period last year. Taiwan’s total bicycle exports in calendar year 2020…
Is Wiggle About to be Sold?
There is more money than ever looking to purchase bicycle industry companies and, following the recent sale of Canyon, it appears that Wiggle, the global mail order company that does significant business in Australia, might be next. Financial media giant Bloomberg has reported that Wiggle could be in the sights of acquisition specialists as part…
Shimano Sales and Profits Soar
Given the extent of the bike boom and consequent component shortages, it would surprise few in the bicycle industry to learn that Shimano’s sales and profits are up. But the recently released official figures show staggering increases for a company in a mature industry that’s celebrating it’s 100th anniversary this year. Shimano sales in its…