World
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…
Industry Guru Gives His Assessment of Future Product Supply and Demand
Many members in the bicycle industry have either met or know of the American bike industry veteran Bob Margevicius. As well as being long time Executive Vice President of Specialized, he’s also renowned as an enthusiastic cyclist and supporter of the bike industry, former New Zealand resident and the Vice Chair of the BPSA (Bicycle Product Suppliers Association) in the USA. …
Giant Profit!
The global Covid-induced bike boom has seen Giant Group’s net profit grow by almost half in 2020. Net profit for 2020 was up 46.7% over 2019. It reached NT$4.95 billion (A$228 million). This was based upon total sales for 2020 of NT$70 billion (A$3.22 billion) meaning that the net profit percentage rate was still a quite modest 7.1%. Giant said all its…
How Bicycle Frames Could Become Batteries
One of the downsides of electric bicycles is that they’re heavier than conventional bikes. But imagine if the bicycle frame itself could also be the battery. We’re not just talking about existing technology where batteries are now hidden inside the frame, sometimes with an exposed surface that blends in with the frame tube’s profile, but new technology where the…
Shimano Launches Global Anti-counterfeiting Program
Shimano is launching a program to curb the sale of counterfeit products, which includes promises to work with criminal investigations and file civil suits against manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit Shimano gear. The company also said it is creating packaging technology that is difficult to counterfeit and adding QR code labels to packaging. A smartphone…
UK and French Sales Both Up Strongly
Recently further evidence was released showing the global reach of the pandemic induced bike boom. The UK cycling market was valued at £2.31 billion (A$4.2 billion) in 2020, an increase of 45% vs 2019. Within this, total ebike sales grew by 67% in volume to 160,000 units and by 96% in value to £280 million (A$509 million). The Bicycle Association is predicting only a 5% reduction in sales for 2021…
