Industry Briefs: Giant, Merida, Trek Travel & Scott Sports SA
Giant has been crowned as Australia’s best-rated bicycle brand in an annual award conducted by a prominent consumer guide website.
The Finder Retail Awards pitched Giant against 10 other bike brands that received enough customer reviews between November 2022 and February 2023 to be eligible for the category.
The awards assessed each eligible brand on performance, product range, value for money, features and designs and overall experience.
Giant received top marks for performance, product range, features & design, overall experience and value for money.
It also scored highly for features, design and value for money.
It also received a customer recommendation rating of 98%, a level matched by Merida and Avanti, with Diamondback and Malvern Star close behind on 94% each.
Trek ranked second for performance, product range, features & design and overall experience.
Merida placed second for value for money and featured among top scores for a number of categories, as did Mongoose and Avanti.
Finder claims to be Australia’s most-visited financial comparison site, providing guidance for consumers on a wide range of products and services.
Giant Group Profit Drop
Giant Group recorded a 32.9% drop in nett profit before tax YoY (year on year), down to NT$3.35 billion (A$162.97 million), according to its 2023 first half consolidated financial report released last month.
Its nett profit after tax fell even further, by 44.3% YoY to NT$2.02billion (A$107.01 million), which the company attributed to the impact of reducing inventories on the European and North American markets.
Its consolidated revenue came in at NT$42.6 billion (A$2.072 billion), a decline of 5.4% YoY.
The report says strong sales in China helped buffer the results in strong sales in the second quarter, limiting the drop in that period to 1.2% YoY to NT$22.46 billion (A$1.092 billion).
Merida Financial Report
Another leader Taiwanese manufacturer, Merida, reported a 38.8% drop in half-year profit to NT$1.34 billion ($65.19 million), while its 2023 half year sales fell 6.6% to NT$15.85 billion (A$771.05 million).
Trek Travel Reaches Australia
Trek has introduced its Trek Travel bike tours business to Australia from this month.
Trek Travel has been providing cycling holidays around the globe for the past 20 years and is hoping its introduction to Australia will inspire more US and Canadian residents to visit this country, while offering Australian residents the chance to experience the tours within their own shores.
Its trips range from solo treks to the chance to race like a pro at the Tour de France.
Trek Travel already operates in more than 20 countries, including Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Chile and Japan.
Taking Stock of Scott
A legal dispute between Swiss bicycle manufacturer Scott Sports SA and the estate of AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott, over intellectual property, has reached a conclusion.
While the estate of the Scottish-born and WA raised singer had sought to register his name as a trademark for clothing, sunglasses, bags and other merchandise, it had come up against Scott Sport’s own filed cases for the trademark of clothing and sunglasses.
According to Scottish Legal News, the UK International Property Office ruled in favour of the Bon Scott estate.
It ruled the trademarks ‘Scott’ and ‘Bon Scott’ could coexist in the UK for clothing items and sunglasses because it was no likelihood of confusion between the two marks.
However, a second case filed by Scott Sports, with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, was approved and prevents Sevdoka Pty Ltd, which runs the Bon Scott estate, from using the Bon Scott trademark in Europe.