Bike Store Wisdom Secures a Decade of Lock Innovation

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It’s 10 years since KWT Imports general manager and Park Lock founder Eamon Thompson wisely heeded the advice of a Melbourne bike store owner calling for a greater selection of quality U locks for bikes.

Eamon was visiting the Bike Zone store when its owner, Mocha Ishay, declared the market was crying out for well-priced quality bike security.

Eamon was aware of Mocha’s own wholesale experience and decided the recommendation was certainly worth investigating.

Mocha went so far as declaring: “You call them Park Lock” … sowing the seeds for the brand and its story.

Inspired, Eamon began scouring bicycle shows in Asia for likely candidates and found a few combination four-digit U locks that perfectly matched what he was hunting.

He tested them with several Australian retailers who were extremely impressed with their strength and reliability.

Eamon then turned to a design and branding company for support and inspiration, and together they developed the Richmond, named after the Melbourne suburb where Eamon lived for the first two years after leaving his family home.

The suburb left its mark on Eamon and his first U lock offering, with a map of Richmond’s streets featured on the product packaging.

That map and all it symbolised led to another celebration of Eamon’s time in Melbourne when he named Park Lock’s next model the Collingwood. With the Richmond on the market, Eamon had identified a need for a larger and wider U lock.

And so began a common theme in the Park Lock range, as Eamon tipped his lid to iconic suburbs of Melbourne and coyly hinted at how they might reflect the locale and their respective demographic.

The Elwood, Brighton and Frankston joined the Park Lock tribe.

Feedback from Australian retailers drove further innovation and expansion of the brand’s offerings.

After a long giggle about the model names, Fitzroy bike store owner Steve White questioned why Park Lock didn’t have a chain lock.

“Come on, get with the program,” the White Bikes owner joked and Park Lock got on the case. It sent samples of its response to Steve and his input helped give rise to the Fitzroy, a chain lock constructed with hardened 5mm steel links, a four-digit resettable combination barrel and nylon sleeve for protection.

Then Jake from Sydney Electric Bikes told Park Lock about the “oodles” of folding bike locks they were selling during the Covid pandemic.

“He suggested it would make sense to look into folding bicycle locks – especially at the right price,” Eamon recalled.

“So began our foray into folding locks, with the advent of the Brooklyn first and, later, the Pyrmont lock, aptly named after Jake’s first store, Sydney Electric Bikes – Pyrmont.”

Park Locks sources its models from a number of manufacturers, to supply the best quality and features for a competitive price.

Many of its models are manufactured in Taiwan by a company with more than 50 years of experience, over 45 engineers and a founder who has a background in aerospace science and engineering.

There are now additional models on the horizon: more folding locks designed specifically for e-bikes, small café locks, and long cables locks perfect for bike store owners to secure bicycles out the front of their stores.

As their releases approach, Park Lock is preparing to launch a new dedicated website that will be backed by a more proactive brand push to help elevate the brand.

For more information about the Park Lock range, visit https://www.kwtimports.com.au/PARKLOCK.html or contact your local KWT sales rep to discuss becoming a Park Lock dealer.