Brompton signs deal to get its bikes into Cycle Republic, Tredz & Halfords

UK-folding bicycle brand Brompton is to begin a long-term partnership with Halfords.

The move will see it launch into Cycle Republic’s 21-store chain, including via click and collect, and two Tredz stores in November. Brompton will open a mini-store within Cycle Republic’s Manchester Piccadilly branch in December.

From April 2019, Brompton will also be available in select Halfords stores.

It’s not the first time that Brompton has worked with retail chains. The famous folding bicycles are currently retailed from Cycle Surgery and troubled retailer Evans Cycles, which – incidentally – is reportedly in talks with Halfords to buy it out. Pundits will no doubt speculate that Evans’ precarious position may possibly have been a consideration in this new deal with Halfords.

The official press release also highlights Brompton’s balance of sales, with the vast majority of its sales exported (75%, into 47 countries) compared with the UK, where “there is huge cycling growth potential”. Prior to this deal, it is believed that Brompton bicycles were available from approximately 190 stores in the UK and Ireland. Brompton’s partnership with Halfords is in addition to all existing retail partnerships. 

The group operates 452 Halfords shops and 24 ‘Perfomance cycling stores’.

Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycle, said: “We want to change the way people live in cities and we are making progress with over 500,000 Bromptons being ridden in cities across the world, but there is more we can do. We are teaming up with Halfords, Cycle Republic and Tredz to help us reach a wider audience, to engage and inspire them to get back on a bike and remember the delight and freedom of cycling. The Halfords Group have the scale and ambition, with our support, to mobilise modal shift in our cities; to encourage people out from under the ground, out from their cars and back on a bike to rediscover their city.”

Graham Stapleton, CEO of Halfords Group, added: “Partnering with an iconic British brand like Brompton seems a natural fit, given we share many of the same ambitions and values.  More people are taking up cycling in cities, but we know more can, and should, be done if we are to reap the benefits that cycling can unlock. Using our scale and ambition we can help Brompton’s mission of changing the way people live in cities, break down those barriers and encourage more commuters to get pedalling.”