Market Reports

Top Ten EU Suppliers in 2006

(in units)

Taiwan

2,797,397

China

809,384

Indonesia

497,563

Malaysia

496,036

Vietnam

420,485

Bangladesh

378,584

Cambodia

367,792

Turkey

251,849

Tunesia

250,755

India

113,704

Source: Eurostat

For all statistics go to:

 

 

 

Facts & Figures

Market Reports

Israel 2007: Bike Boom

JERUSALEM, Israel – For the last eight years Israel’s bicycle stores have shown steady 20% annual increases in sales. This growth could even accelerate further. While the government has ignored soft mobility solutions up to now, it has just announced it will finance the construction of a 120 km bike path from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. And there’s talk of installing a public bike rental project á la Vélib in Tel Aviv.

The 120 km bike path project should be finalized within the next six months. The initiative is part of the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel. The government’s abrupt cycling initiative is rooted more in increasing international tourism than in rising home country cycling activities.

Tourist attraction

“This cycling path will become a number one tourist attraction for international cyclists,” says a newspaper article that quotes Efi Stenzler, chairman of the Keren Kajemet Leisrael national fund. According to Israeli daily newspaper 'Jediot Achronot' this national fund is financing the 120 km bicycle path project from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In total the project will cost – including planned rest areas and view points – approximately € 300,000.

Nevertheless according to an article in the German Jewish newspaper  'Jüdische Zeitung' more and more Israelis are bicycling. A survey found that 80% of the nation’s population cycles. 42% of kids use a bike at least once a week. “About 200,000 Israelis use their bicycles on the weekend for leisure mountain rides,” says Alex Kaplan, spokesman for Israel’s bicycle club. Moreover there are “about 30,000 cyclists pedaling on country roads. During the week there are about 60,000 people using the bicycle as their daily mobility vehicle.”

The coast metropolis Tel Aviv is especially benefiting from the bike boom. It seems that there is no street without a bicycle store. According to the 'Jüdische Zeitung' Tel Aviv already has a 74 km network of cycling paths. The city is planning a bike rental system like the Vélib’ installed by JCDecaux in Paris. About 2,500 rental bikes are planned to be ready to go at 25 rental stations within the city. If this pilot project will be successful more rental systems are planned in Israel’s urban areas.

Israel: Leader in High End Sales

With a population of just 6 million people, Israel is a leader in high end bicycle sales. Quality is a major issue for Israeli buyers, so most leading high end brands of bicycles and accessories are sold in Israel. On that 6 million population, total sales of bikes and accessories are US$ 70 million per year. The total number of bicycles sold is approximately 300,000 per year. Hard core bikes should number around 100,000, judging by trial use and memberships of cycle clubs.

If we look at the import figures over the last couple of years, we see that total import figures of bicycles and bicycle products in 2005 was US$ 19 million, 2004 was 16 million USD, and 2001 was 12 million USD. These figures reflect a growth in sales of up to 20% annually.

Leading agents in Israel are Matzman-Merutz importers of Specialized, Haro, and Raleigh. Rosen Meentz, importers of GT, Merida, and Schwinn. Then there’s CTC Cycle Trading Company who import Trek, Gary Fisher, and Klein. And DAA Company import Cannondale bicycles.

Fraiberg Ltd is the leading independent importer and distributor of bicycle parts and accessories.All agents import and market a full line of parts and accessories and have full service retail outlets throughout the country.

IBD’s account for 80% of retail sales. Import customs duties are zero for complete bicycles from anywhere in the world. Mountain bikes are extraordinarily popular in Israel, accounting for up to 80% of the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Market Reports

Europe 2007: Not a bad year for the bike

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Last year may well have been a turning point for the international bicycle business. The world economy was not yet subject to the type of crisis we are going through today. Still, purchasing power was already under pressure as a result of soaring petrol and energy prices.

And, although winter was mild, summer was extremely wet in most of Europe, whilst fall did not offer particularly good cycling weather either. Despite all that, 2007 was not a bad year for the bike. In most countries, both production and import as well as sales progressed.

The five year sales trend shows a remarkable double digit growth. Since 2003 bike sales increased 11.5% to close to 19 million units in the ‘old’ EU-15.

According to Eurostat (the statistical office of the European Community) the European import from countries outside the EU increased with more than 8%. In Eurostat tables this is referred to as ‘extra EU imports’. Average value stagnated at € 80.53. In the top ten there were a few remarkable developments.

‘Extra’ Import

Thailand more than doubled its export to Europe up to almost 1.5 million and promptly took over second position from China. Quite remarkably, the average value of Thai export also rose with more than 50% to € 74.07. Thailand has taken over a large part of the Vietnamese production for the UK. Last year, Thailand sold almost 900,000 bikes there.

At the same time, Vietnam has completely disappeared from the top ten. Whereas production peaked in 2004 at 1.85 million units, export in 2007 did not even reach 30,000 units anymore. Cambodia has also taken advantage of the effects of anti-dumping duties against its neighbour. Last year, the country sold almost 370,000 bicycles in Europe. All in all, this was almost 15% less than in 2006.

Another remarkable jump in the top ten was the Tunisian one: import into Europe made a big leap (+218%). This was among other things the result of the Chinese, Italian, Tunisian joint venture MUI becoming fully operational. Consequently, Tunisia is now in 7th position.

Taiwan remains the unbeaten leader of the import ranking. Last year, imports rounded the cape of 3 million. Average value hardly changed: +1.1% to € 131.33 per unit. That is rather peculiar because Taiwanese manufacturers focus mainly on the middle and high end of the market. At the same time, rumours that Chinese bicycles are being shipped through Taiwan persist. The stagnation of average value combined with the strong volume increase seems to corroborate the rumours. With that, imports from China dropped with almost 2.3%. The higher average value € 30.60 (+6.4%) is probably linked to the increase of the prices of raw material.

Intra EU import

Eurostat calls the import between EU member states ‘intra EU imports’. The number of bikes that crossed borders between the 27 member states remained more or less at the 2006 level. That runs counter to the trend because in the past years intra EU imports increased considerably, whilst extra EU imports decreased. In 2006, extra EU imports had only just a majority share of 51.6%. In 2007, this share has grown again to 55% and + 45% for intra EU imports.


The stagnation of intra EU imports must be put in perspective however. The decrease should be fully charged to the ‘old’ member states. Apart from Estonia and Bulgaria, all new member states have sold more bicycles to their fellow member states last year.


Bulgaria has become a member of the European Union in 2007. The decline of its export may well be partly due to the fact that the country stopped forwarding non-EU bicycles in transit. The average value of the intra EU export of the new member states has risen considerably except for Hungarian bicycles. With that, Czech bicycles have reached a remarkably high average value: € 190.23.

Germany is without any doubt the best customer of the bicycle manufacturers in the new member states. Lithuania and Hungary sell almost their entire export to the country. Of course, this is related to German companies having set up production facilities in the new member states such as Panther Werke in Lithuania and Hercules/Winora in Hungary.

Poland also sells to France and the UK, Bulgaria to Greece, Austria, Belgium and the UK and the Czech Republic to Belgium, Austria and remarkably enough to its ‘ex’ Slovakia.

Production

Unfortunately, for lack of statistics and reliable estimates, it is impossible even to make an educated guess about bicycle production for the entire European Union with its current 27 member states. However, we do have results for the 15 ‘old’ member states, which include the largest bike markets. In 2007 production dropped with 3.3% or some 300,000 bikes to slightly less than 9.3 million units. Bicycle production in the ‘old’ EU has dropped for five consecutive years now.

Since 2003 the number of bikes produced decreased with 1.1 million or 10.8%. Taking into account that some major manufacturers, such as Kynast, Sprick, Biria went bankrupt or ceased production, that decrease is still limited. But that is also due to the fact that new bike makers, like Mifa,  appeared while others like Derby Cycle Werke managed to grow.

After a 22% setback in 2006, French bicycle production decreased with another 5% in 2007. This is all to do with supermarkets loosing interest in bike sales. As a result, the Accell Group has completely abandoned production for supermarkets. Their main supplier of entry-level bikes, Mercier, was integrated into Lapierre which is also part of Accell. Lapierre only distributes through dealers. As of next year, French production is bound to go up again, since by that time the Decathlon bike factory in Lille will be up and running.

German production decreased with 3.6% to 2.4 million. According to ZIV, this was the result of a number of German manufacturers disappearing, i.e. Biria, Enik and Vaterland. Export however increased with almost 20% to 575,000 units.

In Italy production grew with 4.2% to 2.52 million, the first increase since 2005. There was also a turn in export, with the first plus in 3 years’ time. The increase was just under 10% for a total of 1,358 million. The production growth was mainly thanks to the category of children’s bikes and of city and sports bikes. The latter category attained a production share of 20% compared with 18% in 2006. Mountain bikes are loosing out. Their production share shrunk to 25% compared with 33.5% in 2006

The Portuguese production decreased for the first time in 6 years. However, the preliminary results for this year show that the 2007 number was just a temporary hiccup.

According to the RAI, Dutch bicycle production has gone up with 13.8% to 1.1 million bikes. This increase was prompted by a growth in sales. Finally, in Poland production shrunk by almost 11% to 785,000. This was mainly caused by a considerable drop in sales of low-end bikes, whereas sales of high-end models reached a record.

Sales

As is the case for production, it is very hard to present a reliable estimate of the total number of bikes sold in the EU-27. But again there is the result for the ‘old’ EU with 15 member states. These figures are compiled from sales statistics published by industry associations like ZIV (Germany), Tous à Vélo  (France), BAGB (UK), ANCMA (Italy), RAI (Netherlands), SEEB (Spain), FFÖ (Austria), Agoria (Belgium), FAPIC (Denmark), TIF (Finland) Danske Cykelhandlere (Denmark).

In 2007 close to 19 million bikes were sold in Europe’s major markets, which belong to the ‘old’ EU-15. Bike sales in 2007 rose with close to 400,000 units or 2.1%. The five year trend shows a remarkable double digit growth. Since 2003 bike sales increased with 11.5% or about 2 million units.

In quite a few member states, bicycle sales developed positively last year. In Austria an increase occurred for the first time since 2000: +14.2%. Portugal and the Czech Republic also progressed with 10% and more. Italian sales gained 2.4%, German 3% and, important, sales in the leading cycling country Holland gained 5.8%.

In France sales remained stable, whilst Poland lost 16%. How many bicycles were sold in the UK last year is unknown, but the Bike Europe correspondent there assesses the situation as very positively. He reported: “a rain blasted year that should have seen bike sales plummet to record lows, but, miraculously, sales seemed to be steady, an indication that the burgeoning British bicycle culture is no flash in the pan. Much of the steadiness was due to the rapid acceleration of city cycling in the UK.”

The development of city cycling is indeed a trend that seems to be cropping up in several countries. A growing number of people start using a bike for commuting, shopping, for bringing their children to school… They are fed up with traffic jams and swap to a faster means of transport that is quite a bit cheaper than a car and that also contributes to their health. More and more governments are supporting this choice by implementing cycling policies.

More intensive use

City cycling implies intensive cycle usage. As a result, you would expect people to choose for quality rather than for price. This may well explain why supermarkets are the first distribution channel to loose out. That happened last year in France and in Poland. At the same time, in France, repairs and sales of components and accessories grew, which seems to confirm a more intensive use of the bicycles.

In Austria there was also a clear shift towards high-value branded bicycles. Overall sales value grew by 16.8%. What’s more, the mobility segments of city (+16%) and trekking bikes (+19%) showed an impressive increase. They were also the two winning categories in Germany where together they reached a share of 55%.

In the new member states, bicycle sales are benefiting from the expanding purchasing power of the population. In Slovenia, clearly more branded bikes were sold and average value progressed a lot. In Poland, more and more A-brands are becoming available. Giant, Wheeler or Cannondale were already present. Last year, Gazelle, Sparta and Hercules joined them. Bicycle sales in Poland diminished considerable in 2007, but, as mentioned, that was entirely at the expense of supermarkets.

The link between the development of city cycling and growing bicycle sales is also apparent in the Czech Republic. Sales increased by 11.4%. The majority of those bikes are sold in Prague where 30% of the purchasing power of the whole country is concentrated. In the Czech capital cycling is strongly encouraged among other things by building infrastructure.

What about Holland?

There is a fair chance that the trends which are going on in Holland today, will appear in the rest of the European Union in a few years’ time. The growth of the Dutch bicycle market in 2007 is to a large extent attributed to the electric bicycle. Its market share has doubled up to 6% and, more importantly the e-Bike has a 20% share in turnover. As a matter of fact, the average price of electric bikes sold in Holland is € 1,800. This in turn pushed the average price of new bicycles sold in 2007 up to € 603. The average value of bicycles sold by independent bike dealers only was € 709. The success of the e-Bike is put down to a rising need for new means of comfortable and individual transport.

If city cycling is indeed the driving force behind booming bicycle sales in Europe, then the future looks bright. There is an enormous potential out there of people who can still switch from the car to the bicycle. The governments have only just started taking measures to support cycling. Compared with the car, the bicycle will always remain cheap, especially if governments impose more taxes, excise duties and other charges in an attempt to restrict car usage. That makes bicycle sales more or less immune to the economic crisis. And last but not least, if people cycle for economic reasons, they will be a lot less inclined to set their bicycle aside at the drop of a hat. In other words, the ‘Velorution’ seems to be imminent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Market Reports

EU-14: Bicycle Consumption 2007

EU-14 Bicycle Consumption 2002 - 2007*** (x 1,000 units) 

 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Germany

4,700

4,930

4,730

4,750

4,448

4,582

France

2,987

3,258

3,517

3,760**

3,528

3,500

UK

2,300

2,500

3,500

3,300

3,300

3,400

Italy

1,384

1,418

1,666

1,877

1,943

2,000

Netherlands

1,324

1,324

1,250

1,239

1,323

 1,400

Spain

587

739

783

780*

1,051

 1,000

Austria

380

403

502

444

390

 430*

Belgium

450

450

428

420*

490

 500*

Sweden

365

420

430

440*

460

 485

Denmark

450

485

485

499

525

 554

Portugal

295*

295*

270

300*

330

 330*

Finland

228

295

310

320

315

 310

Greece

232*

245*

233*

230*

220

 220

Ireland

85*

90*

86*

85*

80

 80

Total ‘old’ EU

15,767

16,852

18,190

18,444

18,403

 18,791

* Estimates

** France: actual sales from retailer to end consumer

*** Consumption stands for deliveries to retailers

 

Sources: COLIBI, ZIV (Germany), FIEV (France), BAGB (UK), ANCMA (Italy), RAI (Netherlands), SEEB (Spain), FFÖ (Austria), Agoria (Belgium), FAPIC (Denmark), TIF (Finland) Danske Cykelhandlere (Denmark), Association of Bicycle Manufacturers Finland.

 

 

 

 

Market Reports

EU-27: Bicycle Imports 2007

 

 

2007

2006

2005

Total import from countries other than EU countries

7,921,433

7,402,938

8,232,521

Total imports from outside EU

9,483,288

9,120,086

8,777,811

Total intro + extra

12,404,721

16,523,024

17,010,332
Specification per country

Country

2007

2006

2005

Austria

 

 

 

From other EU countries

204,654

250,626

207,042

From countries outside EU

221,102

209,439

221,709

Total

425,756

460,065

428,751

 

 

 

 

Belgium

 

 

 

From other EU countries

502,582

483,366

511,696

From countries outside EU

858,049

865,702

1,173,242

Total

1,360,631

1,349,068

1,684,938

 

 

 

 

Germany

 

 

 

From other EU countries

1,683,615

1,449,664

1,508,564

From countries outside EU

1,190,994

1,198,915

924,436

Total

2,874,609

2,648,579

2,433,000

 

 

 

 

Italy

 

 

 

From other EU countries

234,001

387,831

308,097

From countries outside EU

571,164

508,367

512,639

Total

805,165

896,198

820,736

 

 

 

 

The Netherlands

 

 

 

From other EU countries

315,66

393,876

88,728

From countries outside EU

693,798

562,447

659,853

Total

1,009,458

956,323

748,581

 

 

 

 

United Kingdom

 

 

 

From other EU countries

243,157

314,608

172,672

From countries outside EU

3,218,920

2,892,031

3,073,367

Total

3,462,077

3,206,639

3,246,039

 

 

 

 

France

 

 

 

From other EU countries

2,213,801

2,780,135

2,694,771

From countries outside EU

151,36

182,572

231,836

Total

2,365,161

2,962,707

2,926,607 

 

 

 

 

Spain

 

 

 

From other EU countries

1,033,851

949,121

1,027,276

From countries outside EU

438,892

281,067

299,44

Total

1,472,743

1,230,188

1,326,716

 

 

 

 

Portugal

 

 

 

From other EU countries

139,992

120,124

83,098

From countries outside EU

89,487

59,218

89,165

Total

229,479

179,342

172,263

 

 

 

 

Denmark

 

 

 

From other EU countries

164,148

187,929

201,384

From countries outside EU

406,42

380,559

318,066

Total

570,568

568,488

519,45

 

 

 

 

Finland

 

 

 

From other EU countries

158,013

134,293

117,818

From countries outside EU

156,137

143,522

153,617

Total

314,15

277,815

271,435

 

 

 

 

Sweden

 

 

 

From other EU countries

140,507

126,151

118,979

From countries outside EU

339,136

333,799

344,377

Total

479,643

459,95

463,356

 

 

 

 

Greece

 

 

 

From other EU countries

n.a.

75,465

7,704

From countries outside EU

110,152

135,044

158,939

Total

n.a.

210,509

166,643

 

 

 

 

Ireland

 

 

 

From other EU countries

107,118

162,06

63,436

From countries outside EU

146,419

158,164

115,18

Total

253,537

320,224

178,616

 

 

 

 

Luxembourg

 

 

 

From other EU countries

19,98

27,349

16,314

From countries outside EU

121

0

5

Total

20,101

27,349

16,319

 

 

 

 

Malta

 

 

 

From other EU countries

3,472

2,921

3,722

From countries outside EU

1,592

2,304

2,355

Total

5,064

5,225

6,077

 

 

 

 

Estonia

 

 

 

From other EU countries

24,903

17,67

17,446

From countries outside EU

47,846

32,448

38,463

Total

72,749

50,118

55,909

 

 

 

 

Latvia

 

 

 

From other EU countries

37,69

43,203

31,686

From countries outside EU

30,478

21,384

27,985

Total

68,168

64,587

59,671

 

 

 

 

Lithuania

 

 

 

From other EU countries

20,731

14,51

11,966

From countries outside EU

45,662

45,813

59,802

Total

66,393

60,323

71,768

 

 

 

 

Poland

 

 

 

From other EU countries

86,988

84,714

67,532

From countries outside EU

261,456

223,114

315,49

Total

348,444

307,828

383,022

 

 

 

 

Czech Rep

 

 

 

From other EU countries

105,229

84,042

74,929

From countries outside EU

201,062

245,04

227,366

Total

306,291

329,082

302,295

 

 

 

 

Slovakia

 

 

 

From other EU countries

102,673

54,385

23,401

From countries outside EU

25,179

23,46

11,836

Total

127,852

77,845

35,237

 

 

 

 

Hungary

 

 

 

From other EU countries

32,442

38,797

10,572

From countries outside EU

72,928

90,188

106,718

Total

105,37

128,985

117,29

 

 

 

 

Slovenia

 

 

 

From other EU countries

48,063

40,89

29,089

From countries outside EU

50,191

46,613

53,443

Total

98,254

87,503

82,352

 

 

 

 

Cyprus

 

 

 

From other EU countries

14,434

8,791

4,296

From countries outside EU

22,592

18,078

16,825

Total

37,026

26,869

21,121

 

 

 

 

Romania

 

 

 

From other EU countries

23,062

n.a.

n.a.

From countries outside EU

107,738

n.a.

n.a.

Total

130,8

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bulgaria

 

 

 

From other EU countries

907

n.a.

n.a.

From countries outside EU

24,413

n.a.

n.a.

Total

25,32

 

 

Source: Eurostat

 

 

 

Market Reports

Switzerland 2007: New Forces in Bike Market

SOLOTHURN, Switzerland – The bike market in Switzerland looks healthy: in 2007 almost 5% more bikes were sold compared to a year earlier. The growth in sales was for the most part due to cheap bicycles. But at the same time the dealer channel was able to maintain its strong position, in particular thanks to the boom in e-Bikes, whose sales are gaining real market share.

The Bike Market in Switzerland in 2007

 

Units

+/- 2006

Marketshare

 

 

 

 

Dealers

Retail Chains

Sportbikes

 

 

 

 

MTB 26“

141.811

2.8%

67.9%

32.1%

Cross 28“

13.190

1.7%

97.3%

2.7%

Road Race

13.805

6.1%

98.2%

1.8%

Junior 20-24“

28.564

5.4%

59.3%

40.7%

Total Sportbikes

197.370

4.5%

70.7%

29.3%

 

 

 

 

 

City, Trekking

 

 

 

 

City 28“

65.682

11.3%

70.7%

29.3%

City 26“

21.385

16.4%

57.4%

42.6%

Junior 20-24“

21.258

- 6.1%

29%

71%

Pedelecs

5.825

83%

n.a.

n.a.

Special Bikes

2.641

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

Total city, trekking

116.791

5.7%

62.8%

37.2%

Total market

314.161

4.9%

67.8%

32.2%

Value*

CHF 370

6%

85.7%

14.3%

*In Million CHF
 
The Swiss bike sector can look back on satisfactory 2007 sales. According to the latest figures from industry association Velosuisse, 14,875 more bikes were sold last year, an increase of 4.9% on 2006. The growth pushed total Swiss sales past the 300,000 mark. However, the sales increase can mainly be attributed to discounters, who are more and more active in the Swiss bike market and can be tracked by import statistics. The figures for the import of bicycles into Switzerland, which can be traced by country of origin, point to the conclusion that cheap bikes are becoming a strong force in Switzerland.

Until 2005, Taiwan was the number one bike supplier to Switzerland. But in 2006 the number one position was taken over by China. And in 2007 China exported already nearly twice as many bikes as Taiwan to Switzerland (131,000 versus 72,000).

The value of the imported bikes show a completely different development as the number of units; The average value of a bike imported from China dropped to CHF 139 (€ 86) while the value of bikes imported from Taiwan is increasing; averaging CHF 511 (€ 315) in 2007. The price evolution seems to be stongly influenced by the Swiss fiscal treatment of bike imports. Contrary to the anti-dumping duties of the European Union, bicycles from the ’developing’ country of China are in Switzerland completely duty free!

New Categories

According to Velosuisse, the 60,000 cheap Made-in-China bikes which were dumped on the market by discounters like Conforama, Jumbo, Otto’s starting at CHF 189 (€ 117), nowadays account for a bigger market share than the one from the ’serious’ Sporting goods retail chains like Athleticum, Coop, Ochsner und SportXX (Migros). With that a third strong ’force’ has emerged and it would be high time that these ’Throw-away’ bikes got their own category.

What also needs to be charted under their own category are the dealer– direct suppliers like Simpel, Stöckli or Thömus. They contributed to the fact that the dealer channel was able to increase its market share in 2007. After a drop in 2006, last year an increase of 0.2% in unit sales was recorded for the dealer channel while in value the increase was even higher at 0.3%. The total market share for the dealer channel in Switzerland stood in 2007 at a huge 85.7%! The average sales price of a bike at the dealer in 2007 was CHF 1,488 (€ 918); up CHF 15 (€ 9) from 2006.

Dealer USP's

Despite the fact that the average value of a bike sold at the dealer stood in 2007 at world record levels; dealers need more to commercially survive. This has all to do with the fact that the average dealer in Swizerland sells less than 200 new bikes per year. In order to survive they desperately need their workshop business as well as P&A sales. This is confirmed by the latest figure from Velosuisse; with a CHF 360 million (€ 220 mn) turnover, Service/Spare Parts and Accessories account for almost the same earnings at the average Swiss dealer as his sales of new bicycles.

As in other European countries, the Swiss bike market is getting a much-needed boost from booming pedelec sales. With 5,825 pedelcs and e-Bikes sold, a sales increase of 83% was recorded last year. Dealers who have been specializing in e-Bikes over the last few years can look forward to a bright future.            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Market Reports

Italy 2007: Healthy Market but Room for Improvement

MILAN, Italy – The Italian bike market grew again in 2007. Domestic consumption rose by 2.4% and this stimulated bike production as well as bicycle imports. Imports of complete bicycles increased by 8.2%. Italian exports rose although the average value of exported bicycles suffered: € 90.19 per bicycle compared to € 100.70 in 2006.

Italian Bicycle Market 1999 – 2007 (in units)

Year

Production

Export

Import

Domestic

consumption

2000

3,250,000

1,752,345

224,450

1,722,105

2001

2,650,000

1,411,791

445,819

1,684,028

2002

2,350,000

1,419,193

453,951

1,384,758

2003

2,550,000

1,588,963

471,550

1,432,587

2004

2,600,000

1,554,246

631,036

1,676,790

2005

2,400,000

1,343,286

820,736

1,877,450

2006

2,418,000

1,238,810

764,119

1,943,309

2007

2,520,000

1,357,991

827,080

1,989,089

Source: ANCMA

According to statistics from ANCMA (National Association for the Bicycle and Motorcycle Industry), the Italian industry produced a total of 2,520,000 bicycles, a substantial increase of 4.2% on the total for 2006. Bicycle exports finally increased after three years of decline: they were up by 9.6% to 1,357,991, while imports of complete bicycles also increased to 827,080 units.

No doubt the nice weather helped the bicycle business a lot in 2007: the overall situation in the Italian market was positive but improvement is still needed. The domestic market continued to grow to a very healthy and stable 1,989,089 units sold. When we look at the figures for the last six years (see table), the domestic production of 2,520,000 units is surprisingly positive although the average value of exported bicycles declined heavily.

Nevertheless, 2007 was a positive year in general. The main reason is not just the growth in numbers exported: a total of 1,357,991 bikes crossed the Italian border compared to the 2006 total of 1,238,810 units, an increase of 9.6% and a reversal of the negative trend which started in 2005.

More worrying for the Italians is the increase of bicycles imported by 8.2% to 827,080 units. Because of strong competition in EU bike markets, the average value of the exported Italian bicycles went down by 10.4% to € 90.19 (2006: € 100.70 and 2005: € 93.48) suggesting that Italian bicycle production is still very lively but a lot of the exports are made up of bikes for children and juveniles. The average value of imported bicycles coming into Italy also went slightly down, by 2.6% to € 94.22 (2006: € 96.76 and 2005: € 84.26).

Production, Consumption

The continued increase in domestic demand was not the main reason for the push in home production. After many years of decline from the peak of the mountain bike boom, Italian industry output went down to 2,400,000 in 2005 but recovered to 2,520,000 in 2007. But this increase is based mainly on exports in 2007, which went up by 9.6% to 1,357,991 bicycles.

Italian Bicycle Production by Category (in %)

 

2005

2006

2007

MTB

35.0 %

33.5 %

25.0 %

City, sport

17.5 %

18.0 %

20.0 %

Children 10-24”

43.5 %

44.5 %

51.0 %

Road bikes

4.0 %

4.0 %

4.0 %

Source: ANCMA

Domestic consumption continued to recover as well since 2002, after decades of gradual slowdown. Deliveries of complete bikes to the various distribution channels totalled 1,989,089 units in 2007, an encouraging 2.4% up on the 2006 figure of 1,943,309 bicycles.

The mountain bike is used mainly for leisure but the big decrease in the figures for the production of this category (630,000 units - down 22%) shows that the Italians are losing touch in the production of this type of bicycles. The 2007 figures show that the share of MTBs in the production of Italian makers came down from 33.5% to 25%.

City and Sport bikes (including hybrid, trekking and comfort models) represent only 20% of the Italian production but the amount has increased substantially to 504,000 units in 2007. Road racers, very important for the Italian industry, showed a slight increase in production to 101,000 bikes which represents a stable production share of 4%. Children and youngster bikes are the biggest category with 51% (1,285,000 bikes) up from 44.5%. These latter figures show that the Italian industry can keep up nicely against the Far East production.

The negative side of the rise in consumption was the continued increase on imported bicycles. In fact they went up by 8.2% from 764,119 to 820,736 units; which represents the highest import amount ever. The import level of 224,500 units in 2000 seems to be unreachable in the future.

The Italian situation may be proof that the anti-dumping duties on imports of complete bicycles from China and Vietnam should not be abolished. Nevertheless they are still in such a price bracket that importers continue to bring them into the country in great numbers, perhaps bypassing some of the import controls. The average price of imported bicycles decreased slightly. The price went down 2.6% to € 94.22 compared to € 96.76 in 2006.

These figures are considered an indication that the anti-dumping measures to protect the Italian bicycle industry seem not to be working. As stated last year it is very important to have a strict control on all unfair practices. This job has to be taken seriously by the various European customs.

Parts and Components

Italy is one of the few European countries with an extensive bicycle component industry. Although in 2005, the situation turned for the worse, it improved dramatically into positive figures in 2007. The Italian ISTAT statistics bureau shows that the export value of Italian-made components climbed significantly by 15.1% from € 369.22 million to € 425.02 million in the year 2007, and even recorded a good gain of 4% in the quantities exported.

But not every thing that glitters is gold. The change in the industry has been very profound, leaving lots of casualties along the way. The manufacturing of large amounts of different components has been reduced basically to the very healthy and high-value product categories of saddles, wheels and Campagnolo products. The famous Italian road-racing frames are still keeping in shape but other components are more or less succumbing to Far-East competition. The voluntary liquidation of the famous Italian company ITM is the latest example of the way the bicycle components industry in Italy is moving.

Italian saddle makers recorded an overall 7.8% export increase in 2007 in value to € 72.2 million, but that meant a 3.3% decrease in quantity. Even the anti-dumping duties on saddles did not stop the concentration of Italian saddles into the high value segment.

Statistically, there was a big recovery in the export of components from Italy in 2007: by 15.1% in value and of 4% in volume. But these numbers are somewhat misleading since lots of components or parts are made abroad. That is why imports increased also by 15.2% in value and 1.8% in volume.

On the other hand, high value products like wheels are doing well. Although they are not specifically separated in the statistics, some of their segments, e.g. rim exports, recorded a fantastic recovery of 39.5% to €10.1 million.

A very positive development is the huge export increase in cranksets and chain wheels. The statistics show this segment grew by 119%: from €14.351 to €31.49 million. Cranksets were up by as much as 129%! These latter figures mainly show the outsourcing of some production and the import of some of these components. That is why the import of cranksets was up 246% to €19 million.

The records of the export of gears for group sets are similar: plus 49.5% in value to € 16 million and plus 81.8% in units. These figures represent the trend towards high priced products but also the recovery of some of the old market situation (exports totalled € 19.8 million in 2005). In this case the import of gears was also up by 56.3% in value and 12.6% in volume.

The export of Italian made forks (minus 29%) and lights (minus 53%) continue to decrease and will eventually reach insignificant values. These are examples of how the Italian production is collapsing. Rightly the Italians call to keep the protection measures, but it remains to be seen whether these could help the ailing parts of the industry.

Helmets

Italian helmets have a good reputation all over the world. From 2004 on, it was no longer economically feasible to produce helmets in Italy in the low-price segment. In fact the Italian suppliers making budget products closed their doors in 2005. The remaining Italian suppliers concentrate on products for the mid- and high-end market segment.

“The general market situation was positive in 2007 for us. The total sales increased just a bit and only the sales mix was a bit different,” explained Gianluca Solani, ANCMA’s helmet expert. The total deliveries of Italian helmets increased slightly in 2007 to 2.96 million units from 2.95 million units; 0.8% up on the 2006 total. Exports to the European market increased by 0.7% to 1.47 million. But exports to the market outside Europe, although still low, was the main driving force with an increase of 10.2% to 0.36 million units. The Italian home market shrank a little: a decrease of 1.6% to a total of 1.15 million units.

ANCMA

With home consumption of bicycles up 2.4% in 2007, the Italian industry association ANCMA is not satisfied. “It is difficult to convince our leaders about the importance of the bicycle for the future of the country” complained Pietro Nigrelli ANCMA´s responsible for the bicycle sector. “Nevertheless we shall continue working hard” said Nigrelli.

 

 

 

 

France 2007: Market Breaks Price Trend

PARIS, France – The French bike market was dominated for years by supermarkets and the very cheap bikes they sell. That is changing fast. As distribution switches to channels that are able to sell bikes at higher prices, the attractiveness of the French bike market is growing.

The Bike Market in France (in units)

 

2005

2006

2007

Total sales

3,760,200

3,527,700

3,527,600

Production

1,529,000

1,192,000

1,130,000*

Import

2,464,000

2,193,000

1,826,000

Export

422,000

217,000

232,000

One of the channels that is able to sell higher priced bikes is the sports department store; exemplified by companies like Decathlon and Go Sport. They, and in particular Decathlon as Go Sport is financially struggling, were the big winners in the distribution battle of 2006 and they were able to repeat that in 2007. Half of the 3,527,600 bicycles sold in France in 2007 were distributed through the big sports stores; up 2% compared to 2006.

Stable sales

Bike sales in France in 2007 ended up at exactly the same level as in 2006. During that year sales dropped 6.2% in units compared to 2005 while in terms of revenue the French market decreased 4%. In particular value-wise the French market was able to recover last year. In terms of value bicycle sales recorded an increase of 5.8% according to the French industry association Tous à Vélo. The 3,527,600 bikes sold realized € 876.5 million (compared to € 828.4m in 2006). The average price of a bike sold in France last year stood at a respectable € 248.46.

In addition to those 3.5 million bikes, of course, lots of parts and accessories were also sold in France and repairs were made to bicycles. Those activities brought in total revenue of € 553.5 million; up a good 5.5% on the 2006 total. Adding up bike and P&A sales leads to the conclusion that the French bike market in 2007 was worth a total of well over 1.4 billion euro.

Most industry insiders are convinced that this figure will see further growth over the coming years. They regard the public bike rental projects that run in several cities (of which Vélib in Paris is the most renowned) as great incentives for bike sales. Through projects like Vélib people get to know the qualities of biking in cities and after a while will buy their own instead of hiring one.

Production

However, despite such optimistic views about future bike sales, the current situation in the French industry is not all well. Production dropped a big 22% in 2006 as the supermarkets lose interest in selling bikes. The drop continued in 2007 but was less big compared to a year earlier; only 5.2% to 1.1 million units. This is also expressed in the supermarket share of unit sales which again dropped in 2007 to 26.5% (was 28%). Value-wise the supermarkets accounted for 10% of French 2007 bike sales while the average price at which they sold bikes was just € 95.33.

The number one bike supplier to supermarkets in France is Cycleurope which is also the biggest French bike producer. The company, owned by a Stockholm-based holding company called Grimaldi Industri AB, operates two production facilities in France. One of the two, the Machecoul plant, has been sold to the local government under a leaseback scheme. The other main supplier of supermarkets in France was Cycles Mercier. This subsidiary of the Accell Group announced in September 2006 that it was to stop its supermarket business due to, as a Accell Group spokesman put it, ‘price madness' in France. In 2007 Mercier’s production activities were integrated with those of the other French producer owned by Accell; Lapierre. This bike manufacturer focuses entirely on the dealer market.

B’Twin Village

The future of bike production in France, however, looks quite bright. In particular because of Decathlon's announcement that it would take bike production into its own hands, starting in 2009 with production in Lille. The French sporting goods and bicycle giant is currently busy equipping its new facility. However, it is said that there are delays in starting up production. The 200,000 square meter B’Twin Village is to open next year with planned production of just 70,000 units. It is unknown why the French giant is behind schedule.

The bicycle assembly plant will bring employment for some 300 people when it is up and running at capacity. The plant will be part of Decathlon’s ‘B’Twin Bicycle Village’.

Decathlon is by far the biggest bike seller in France. Sales in 2007 are estimated at about 1.4 million bikes. For the whole of Europe Decathlon is said to have sold 2.4 million last year. The sporting goods retail giant currently operates 405 stores in Europe and had 2007 sales close to € 4.5 billion.

Import & export

Bike import into France dropped quite substantial in 2006 and 2007 with respectively 11.0% and 16.7% to under the 2 million units level. Taking into account that production dropped in these years and also taking into account that Decathlon managed to grow its sales to 1.4 million units on its domestic market and in view of the fact that all of its bikes are imported, the drop in the number of imported bikes seems strange.

After a drop in export of about 50% in 2006, the French bike makers managed to increase their export with 7% in 2007.

When putting all the figures in perspective, which is by adding up production and import numbers and distracting the export figure; then the 2007 domestic delivery (or sales) figure stands at about 2.7 million units. Comparing this to the 3.5 million 2007 sales figure quoted by Tous à Vélo, means that about 800,000 bikes must be in the ‘pipeline’ or are stocked in France. 

More youngsters on their bike?

That something is definitely changing in France is perhaps best illustrated by 2007 sales by category. City bike sales increased by a remarkable 35.5%! Of course the total of about a quarter of a million city bikes is not yet huge, but the trend is there. Is this the result of the numerous public bike rental projects? The indications are there that they indeed are a great incentive for bike sales.

Another remarkable development in the sales by category is what happened last year with non-MTB Child Bikes. That segment grew 14.7% to about 670,000 units. Are more youngsters in France getting on their bike to school? Or is that conclusion premature?

Sales in other segments remained quite stable, apart from MTBs. Adding up 26" and 20-24" MTB sales in 2006 and 2007, an 8% drop becomes apparent.

Electric bikes do not yet have their own sales category. However, Tous à Vélo says in its report on 2007 bike sales that nearly 10,000 e-Bikes were bought last year; a big increase from the 6,000 in 2006 and 3,900 in 2005.

Bike Sales per Category (in units)

 

2005

2006

2007

26” MTB

1,300,000

1,102,100

1,047,200

20” – 24” MTB

732,400

711,000

620,100

Child Bikes (non-MTB)

587,000

582,600

668,300

Trekking, Hybrids

498,000

499,500

493,900

Road Race

186,000

184,800

199,400

City Bikes

173,000

171,600

232,500

BMX, Bi-Cross

148,500

133,600

122,700

Toy bikes

133,300

142,500

143,500

Bike Sales per Distribution Channel 2007 (in %, units and in million euro)

 

In units

In value

Sport Department Stores

50% (1,765,900)

38% (€ 331.9)

Supermarkets

26.5% (927,300)

10% (€ 88.4)

Independent Dealers

11.5% (410,600)

24% (€ 212.1)

Retail Org. Member Dealers

12% (423,800)

28%(€ 243.9)

Source: Tous à Vélo, Conseil des Professions du Cycle

 

 

 

 

 

Market Reports

Denmark 2007: Bike production is decreasing

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Despite bad summer weather and an equally poor autumn, bike sales in Denmark continued on an upward trend in 2007. Luckily the spring was perfect which gave sales a firm boost during the first half of the year. As in many markets, the influence of the weather on bike sales in Denmark remains tremendous; even in a market where the bicycle is used for transportation on a large scale and not only for sports and recreation.

Danish Bicycle Market 2003-2007 (in units)

 

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Production

127,661

143,070

143,066

114,270

106,573

Import

*502,833

approx.

437,000

*577,503

approx.

428,000

*553,680

approx.

455,000

*636,518 approx. 470,000

*648,955 approx. 490,000

Export

79,705

86,223

98,423

56,639

42,273

Domestic

consumption

*550,789

approx.

485,000

*634,350

approx.

484,847

*598,863

approx.

499,643

*691,149 approx. 524,631

713,255 approx. 554,300

Source: Danske Cykelhandlere/Danish Statistical Bureau
*The import figures from the Danish Statistical Bureau are incorrect. Danske Cykelhandlere approx. figures.

In Bike Europe’s 2006 report on the Danish bike market, this trade journal already pointed to the similarities between Denmark and Holland. In particular to emphasize the impact that bike usage has on bike sales. In Denmark as well as in Holland bikes are commonly used, in particular for shopping trips, taking the kids to school, commuting or touring the countryside.

The striking fact is that in 2006 as well as in 2007 bike sales in both countries grew almost equally. Is that coincidence? Or does it show that widespread bike use in a country results in a yearly sales increase of about 6%?

Half million barrier

2007 was the second year that the Danish bike market broke the half million unit mark for domestic consumption (indicating the number of bikes delivered to the distribution channels). With the total number somewhat above the 550,000 units, one could even optimistically say that it is now growing towards its next milestone: the 600,000 mark.

With a total population of about 5.5 million Danes that would be a record breaking number for the whole world and is an indication that the Danes like the Dutch are bike crazy. Maybe it's better to state that people from the two countries really understand the benefits of bike usage and that the most Europeans still have to discover them.

According to Erik Oddershede, director of the Danish association for bike dealers ‘Danske Cykelhandlere’, 554,300 bikes were sold last year; up about 30,000 and 5.7% compared to the 2006 total. As in other years the official figure, from the Danish Statistical Bureau, presents a much higher number for total sales. It claims a total of over 700,000 new bikes were sold last year.

According to Erik Oddershede that figure is incorrect due to incorrect import figures. Rather than 650,000 bikes being imported in 2007 in Denmark, the true figure is more like 490,000. Previous years’ statistics made clear that each time the Danish Statistical Bureau presents overly high import figures. It is also unclear what this official figure is based on.

The figures for bike imports into Denmark from Eurostat (the EU data bureau that gets its numbers from custom documents) indicate that the Danish Statistical Bureau figures are each time about 70,000 units off the mark. These Eurostat statistics also show a yearly re-export figure for bikes of about 70,000 units. Subtracting the two figures from the total import figure brings the total bike import to the figure that is estimated by the Danish bike trade.

Distribution

How are e-Bikes doing in Denmark? Are they as popular as nowadays in Holland? According to Danske Cykelhandlere sales more or less started in 2007. And it was a slow start. However, that changed at the beginning of 2008. Erik Oddershede reports on a huge interest from consumers and press.

“Also the suppliers saw the possibilities and started to have nice looking e-Bikes in their ranges. I expect the sales of e-Bikes in 2008 to be around 8,000 units, but expect it to be much higher in 2009. I am not sure that we can reach the tremendous sales numbers of the Netherlands,” claims the Danish dealer association director.

That sales of such bikes are expected to grow in 2009 also have to do with a wide offering not only at dealers but also at supermarkets like the Bilka chain. Bilka offers e-Bikes under the SCO brand name in its 15 stores. These are City bikes with fenders, luggage carrier and lighting system sold for DKK 6,999 (€ 940).

So, how successful the about 450 Danish bike dealers are with their e-Bike sales, is not yet quite clear. What is certain is the fact that dealers in Denmark are doing OK. They are year after year (but only in small steps) getting a tighter grip on their market. Currently Danske Cykelhandlere estimates the IBDs market share to stand at somewhat over 60%.

Switching to bike production in Denmark; that dropped significantly in 2006: by over 20% to about 115,000 units. That drop wasn’t recovered in 2007. On the contrary, bike production again decreased; this time by 6.7% to 106,000 units.

The only big bike maker in Denmark is Kildemoes Cykelfabrik A/S; a subsidiary of Cycleurope AB. Annual production of this bike maker stands at about 115,000 units. The decrease in bike production is related to the big drop in exports shown in the 2006 and 2007 figures for the Danish bike market.

Danish Bicycle Sales by Category 2007 (in %)

Classic Dutch bike

25%

City bikes (internal gearhub)

38%

MTB's

9%

Racing bikes

10%

Trekking bikes

8%

Children bikes

9%

e-Bikes

0,5%

Others

0,5%

Source: estimates Danske Cykelhandlere

 

 

 

 

 

 

Market Reports

Canada 2007: Mass Retailers Continue To Rule The Market

MANITOBA, Canada - The decision was made by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) in December of 2007 after an exhaustive review. In officious language it was announced in the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Canadian Government, that the Special Import Measures Act of December 9, 2002 concerning importation of certain bicycles from the Peoples Republic of China, and Chinese Taipei would be continued. A further review would be made at some future date.

IBD Supplier Bicycle Sales 2006 (in units and in CAN$)*

 

Unit

Sales in Can$

26 inch Bikes

184,451

88,066,713

Youth Bikes

59,522

8,440,126

Road Bikes

31,078

31,636,313

Hybrid Bikes

65,426

19,875,938

Tandems

334

226,001

Miscellaneous

515

231,026

Total

341,326

148,476,120

Source: Bicycle Trade Association of Canada, BTAC

* Estimated sales based on data capture of 65% of IBD bicycle suppliers

** At wholesale

What this all meant was that bicycles with a wheel diameter of sixteen inches and larger, and with an FOB price from China or Taiwan of a value less than CAN$ 225.00 (€ 141.85) would continue to be assessed additional duty. The amount of the additional duty averaged out at about 30%, but would depend upon which factory was making the bicycles. However, despite the renewed additional duties the mass merchants like Wal-mart continue to offer ultra low priced bikes and with that control over 75% of the 1.3 million sold annually in Canada.    

Mixed feelings

After more than a year of meetings, written submissions by interested parties, and speculation in the Canadian Press, nothing much had changed. One thing that did change however, was that the order that had lead to additional duty on frames from both China and Taiwan was cancelled.

The result of the CITT ruling was met with mixed feelings. The Canadian manufacturers were satisfied, especially with the decision to exempt frames from the order as they were able to take advantage of inexpensive aluminium frames manufactured in China, which they were not equipped to make in Canada.

The importers of bicycles were not pleased and saw the decision as an attempt to protect the domestic manufacturers and the somewhat less than eight hundred jobs in Canadian factories. They pointed out the health benefits of cycling in a country with increasing incidence of obesity and other problems of a society reliant upon the automobile for transportation, and where schools were placing less emphasis on physical fitness. Was not the bicycle going to do its part in combating global warming? Bicycles were good things and should be made something that everyone could afford.

Different supply channels

A closer look at the structure of the bicycle market shows that there are two completely different supply channels. The mass merchants such as Wal-mart, Zellers, and Canadian Tire Corporation, sell bicycles and other sporting goods along with a whole range of other products, ranging from clothing, food and toys, to garden centres and automotive repairs and parts, to pharmaceuticals and maybe a restaurant. Bicycles are put on display racks in the spring, sold very much on their price, to attract customers into the stores, and are sold off at clearance prices at the end of summer to make room for the skis and skates and other winter goods.

About 78% of bicycles in Canada are sold through the mass merchants. It has been increasingly noticeable that the mass merchants do not have as large a section for bicycle parts and accessories as they did a few years ago. The bicycle of today is becoming more specialized from a servicing point of view. The evolution of better gearing, braking, and suspension systems and the complexity of parts necessary for these bicycles create something as a headache for the non specialist bike store.

A visit to a Canadian Tire Store shows bicycles supplied under the Supercycle house brand, which are either imported or manufactured domestically, Schwinn bicycles made in China or Taiwan by Pacific Cycles, supplied through Dorel Industries Inc. in Montreal, and Raleigh bicycles from Raleigh Canada. The majority of bikes sold by the big chains are mountainbikes or children’s bicycles.

Canada is a good country for mountainbikes, the long cold winter is very hard on the road surface and a mountain bike will deal with the cracks and potholes which appear as the snow melts. Many Canadians own a cottage close to a lake and a mountainbike is the answer for getting around on the rough tracks and gravel roads of cottage country.

Dealer

A visit to an independent bicycle dealer will show a very different picture. The owner or manager in charge realizes that to be successful he must offer a full range of bicycles and parts and accessories, many of them will also have a comprehensive range of clothing for racing, touring, and commuting. There is a well equipped repair department with certified mechanics and specialist tools ready to provide service and repairs for the customers.

The dealer will provide information to the buyer on the different makes and types of bicycles available, help him to decide on the most suitable model for his needs, and see that the bicycle is not only the correct frame size, but that it is also set up correctly and in good working order before the customer gets out on the road. There will usually be a free of charge check and adjustment offered after a few weeks. Service is the name of the game, and the dealer wants his customer to return to his store for future purchases. Bicycles range from highly expensive racing bikes for both road and mountain bike racing, through sport and recreational hybrid or trekking bikes, and town or comfort bikes.

Trek has a very trendy lightweight commuter bike, the Soho, complete with disc brakes and a fancy coffee cup mounted on the down tube, a perfect machine for going to Tim Horton’s, Canada’s favourite coffee and doughnut shop. Tim Horton’s are also a major sponsor of Canadian athletes, including the national cycling teams.

There is also a niche market for single speed messenger style bicycles. Who needs the complication of multiple gears while speeding on a short trip through the city traffic? Children’s bicycles do not form a very big section of the mix, and only the more expensive models are carried.

Canadian Dollar

The Canadian dollar has strengthened over the last year to be on par with the US dollar, which means that imports from the USA  are now a good buy in Canada, consequently Trek and Specialized are seen in increasing numbers, and the recent take over of Cannondale by Dorel promises to make them a bigger part of the equation. Electra Bikes are making a good impression with their flat foot technology, the shallow seat angle, the relaxed frame design, and the forward mounted chainset, together with balloon tyres, make a comfortable riding machine, which appeals to both the young riders wanting to look cool as they cruise to the local hamburger joint, and the older rider going for a little outing in the park.

The bright lime green Electra Townie made from 6061 aluminium tubing is surprisingly light in weight for such a solid looking machine and is good value at CAN$580 (€ 365). Giant Cycles continue to be one of the leaders of value for money bicycles in Canada, as they are in many parts of the world.  Domestic manufacturers and suppliers such as Raleigh, Procycle, Devinci, and Norco continue to hold there own with the IDB’s in spite of the increasing presence of USA brands. Imports are primarily from China with the mass merchants, while Taiwan still has most of the better imports with the IDB’s. The increase in oil price is affecting the freight cost of everything, and it is estimated that the cost of freight on a bicycle from China will increase by three to four dollars.

E-Bikes

Electric bicycles are slowly appearing in a few IDB’s, and Canadian Tire is showing two Schwinn models made by Currie Technology of Chatsworth, California under license from Pacific Cycles and Dorel Ind.. The future for these machines is still to be determined, but the increasing price of gasoline is giving them a chance for good publicity. Politicians continue to promise more and better bicycle paths, and the reduction of taxes on bicycles, but meanwhile they are very busy with other matters, and the Canadian market continues once more to wait and see.

Published @ 21-07-2008

 

 

 

 

Facts & Figures

Market Reports

Austria 2007: Rising Bicycle Sales

VIENNA, Austria – Good news from Austria: After several years of flat bicycle product sales the market picked up in 2007. For the first time since the year 2000, more than 400,000 bicycles were sold. According to Statistik Austria/Eurostat Austrian bicycle sales in 2007 reached an estimated 430,000 units.

Austrian Bicycle Production, Exports and Imports 2007/2006  

 

2007

2006*

Production

148,000**

140,000**

- Exports

115,000

100,000

+ Imports

355,000

330,000

Domestic delivery

388,000

370,000

+ Sold overstock

42,000**

10,000**

Total bicycle sales

430,000**

380,000**

* All 2006 numbers differs from the ones published in BE 5/2006 because they were recalculated by the mentioned sources.
** Estimated
Source: Statistik Austria/Eurostat, Arge-Zweirad

“The year 2007 marked the end of a long dry spell,” says a Arge-Zweirad note about bicycle sales in Austria. Actually it wasn’t such a big surprise. In our last Austrian market report covering 2006 sales, we predicted a bright future outlook. This was based on the better overall mood and economy that led to a forecast of total bicycle sales of around 410,000 units for 2007.

Domestic Delivery

All the same, the estimate of 430,000 units is also a relief. According to Helge Fellner, marketing director at Austrian Shimano importer Thalinger Lange GmbH and spokesman of Arge-Zweirad, the 2007 bicycle season started early “due to the mild winter”. Business was great until May. After a weak June and July, sales picked up again. “Fall was weak again but not enough to harm the good overall performance,” says Fellner.

All in all, Arge-Zweirad believes there was a 13.2% increase in complete bicycle sales and a 7 to 10% increase in parts and accessory sales in 2007 (compared with 2006). Moreover there is a clear trend toward high-value product brand sales. MTBs in particular saw higher value sales. And the all-important trekking bike – the biggest piece of the Austrian cake – revived to 'normal' levels in terms of unit sales. On the other hand road bike sales came down to earth after years of extraordinary increases.

According to Statistik Austria/Eurostat, 2007 home production increased (compared to 2006) 5.7% up to 148,000 units. Exports were 115,000 (up 15% – mainly by Austria’s market leader KTM Fahrrad GmbH) and imports 355,000 units (up 7.6% – see also chart 1).

The basic and widely used formula of “home production minus exports plus imports = domestic delivery” would have yielded 388,000 units. As in previous years, Arge-Zweirad explains the gap between this amount and the mentioned total sales of 430,000 units with “overstock from the previous years in various distribution channels”.

This means that a total of 42,000 bicycles (= 430,000 minus 388,000 units) in stock must have been sold through the IBD, sporting goods chain and/or mass merchant distribution channel. Compared with the previous year, overall unit sales increased by 13.2% and overall value sales by 16.8%. The total value of sales in 2007 reached € 237.57 million, says Arge-Zweirad.

Distribution channels

According to the industry association, in 2007 the nation’s strong sporting goods chains kept a majority stake of 59% of bicycle unit sales and 50% of sales value. IBDs reached a 28% stake in unit terms and a 47% stake of value. The third player on this field – mass merchants – reached a 13% unit and only a 3% value sales market share.

Market share by total turnover (= complete bicycles, part and accessories, bikewear) is estimated by Arge-Zweirad as follows: sporting goods chains 52%, IBD’s 40%, mass merchants and others 3% and e-commerce and mail order suppliers 5%. The sporting goods chains’ bicycle product sales are divided between Intersport (approximately 55%), Hervis (20%), Giga Sport (14%), Sport 2000 (11%).

Mobility beat sports categories

For market share by bicycle category, see chart 2. Arge-Zweirad also gives some details about the development of each category compared with the previous years. While the so-called mobility segments of trekking- and citybike showed a strong 19 and 16% unit sales increase, mountainbike and ‘offroad’ (= MTB lookalikes) reached an 11% increase each. Kids/juvenile bike sales showed a 9% and road bike unit sales went up by just 2%.

According to Arge-Zweirad there was only one 2007 price category with shrinking sales compared with 2006. It’s the bicycle sales price range € 300 to 450 (minus 10 to 15%). All other segments below and over this decreasing price range experienced stable or increasing sales. Increasing sales are reported by the entry-level sales price range up to € 150 (estimated 10 to 15%) but also by € 450 to 600 (15 to 20%) and € 600 to 750 (10 to 15%) as well as from the top price range more than € 1,500 (up to 5%).

Due to the good sales year in 2007, the current overstock situation is better than expected. Therefore the Austrian bicycle biz is expecting a further “positive development”. But as always it’s also a question of weather conditions at the season’s opening in spring. Nevertheless the overall mood is positive.

2007 New Bike Sales by Category (in %)

MTB

33%

Offroad*

12%

Trekking

30.5%

City

5.5%

Racing/Road

3.5%

Kids-juvenile

15.5%

* Offroad = MTB lookalikes – but not made for ‘real’ trail activities
Source: Arge-Zweirad