Evolving Sports Distribution seeks to grow retail network with e-Bike trio
The team behind Evolving Sports Distribution has been plugged into electric bikes for the long-haul. Here CI.N details a move beyond retail into distribution that will see this specialist seed a trio of brands nationwide…
For those who missed evolving sports distribution launch, how long have you been trading and what goods do you now offer?
Evolving Sports Distribution is the wholesale division of MTF Enterprises LTD, a UK business which has been trading in electric bikes for 17 years. After several years of planning, ensuring we have the right people and products in place, we launched Evolving Sports Distribution in 2021. We currently have two electric bike brands – Crussis and Dallingridge – and have recently become the UK distributor for AMcargobikes, a Danish eCargo bike manufacturer.
As our Evolving Sports name suggests, this line up will continue to grow. This year Lee Page joined the team as trade sales manager; he brings with him a wealth of cycle industry knowledge backed up with 20 years’ of sales and management experience. With Lee’s passion for all things bike, and his determination to provide the very best service to our dealers, we see a bright future ahead for the business and our retail partners.
Talk us through the trio of brands and what each offers the bike shop stockist?
Dallingridge is our own brand, with the bikes designed in the UK. We aim to provide refined quality and value for money, leveraging our industry partner relationship. The bikes have been in development for the past two years ensuring the best available parts are brought together to produce a strong, reliable and extremely competitively priced range of bikes. Crussis are a Czech company that have been making e-Bikes since 2012, gradually establishing a successful presence in many Western European countries.
Since becoming the UK distributor in 2020 we have since seen a strong following for the brand, offering a range focused on e-MTBs, sporty hybrids, town and city e-Bikes. AMcargobikes, founded back in 1992, has an incredible 30 years’ experience in the cargo bike market. All the bikes are assembled at the in-house factory in Veksø, Denmark. We are hugely excited to be bringing AM eCargo bikes to the UK market at a time when we are all looking at how we can reduce our environmental impact.
How’s business been since you started and what gaps have you to fill nationwide for stockists?
Business has been strong across our first 12 months. We’ve seen great numbers from our dealer network during a very challenging trading period, which has been a hugely encouraging start for the business. A continued increase in e-Bike and e-Cargo bike demand will see our team playing a critical role in the future success of our retail partners. On that note, we are actively looking for new dealers, throughout the UK. With growing numbers of bike shops embracing e-Mobility, we are extremely well placed to work with businesses looking to offer their customers an effective and efficient ‘getting from A to B’ range of e-Bikes and e-Cargo bikes.
Supporting retail partners with a proactive team ensures we are adaptable and quick to meet customers’ needs. Our flexibility and adaptability representing a massive advantage in the ever-changing marketplace, which is pretty much the perfect segue into conversation about our supply chain relationships.
The first question many will ask in the current climate is how reliable is your supply going forwards?
The benefit of 17 years’ of experience is that we’ve established excellent partners in Taiwan and Europe, building long-standing supply chain relationships, with which comes a degree of stability. These relationships enable us to closely monitor our supply chain, making planned adjustments and updates to suit our needs. Naturally enough, the events in past 18 months have thrown up many challenges, however, our experience of working with European and Asian factories, plus suppliers means we’re in healthy position with current stock holding and have more product landing in next few months.
The distributor is backed by industry experience, including that of retail staff – does this experience give you something other distributors may not possess?
We’re proud to be one of the most experienced e-Bike businesses in the UK. In the 17 years we’ve been selling electric bikes we’ve seen them transform from unsightly heavy machines into the slick high-tech products available today. As a business, our competitive advantage is best summed up as a collection of knowledge and experience, combined with our long-standing supplier relationships. This depth of experience enabled us to create our own Dallingridge range of electric bikes.
As a UK business we know what works in the UK and we know our supply chain partners extremely well. This combination made it possible for us to produce a product that works perfectly for an underserved section of UK market. Dallingridge eBikes have a styling that wouldn’t look out of place on higher end models, offers a price point accessibility which few can touch, and delivers a quality of product which we’re truly proud of. The advantage of having such strong supplier relationships is that we can source components direct from manufacturers, making our price point incredibly accessible, whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on quality and durability. We source motors from a Taiwanese manufacturer who supplies to a host of well-known brands across the cycle industry, and our batteries come via a similarly well-known and respect ed source. As a result, we’re able to offer a two-year warranty for motor and battery, also the same two-year warranty for drivetrain components, and a five-year warranty for the frame.
We see Dallingridge e-Bikes as an excellent product choice for IBDs expanding their offering on the shop floor with a sub £1,500 bike that will be suitable for most customers’ needs without compromising on style or function.
Some retailers will understandably worry about stocking cargo bikes. What is the opportunity here, in your view?
The e-Cargo bike market is in a very exciting place right now. Look in any direction and you’ll see opportunity. In the UK there is clearly a shift towards a more European approach to cycling as practical transport. In this context the potential of e-Cargo bikes is huge, and, encouragingly, the UK media coverage has also been very positive. The fact the businesses are also exploring fleet options for e-Cargo bikes is also a great endorsement of the capability of such bikes. Collectively we’re seeing a mindset change from the public, and from businesses, with people contacting us daily, asking about possibilities and what the cargo bikes can do whether it be a credible solution for the school run to replacing a small work van.
Now, from a retail perspective, not every store will have the space for more than a shop floor display e-Cargo bike. Understanding that hold stock may be a challenge, this year we will introducing a drop ship option for our dealers, helping remove storage space challenges whilst supporting shops who invest in giving shop floor space to e-Cargo bikes I’d also add that an e-Cargo bike is definitely a traffic stopping, head turning, footfall generating, talking point. We’ve seen branded cargo bikes appearing outside of bike shops acting as an attention grabber, and retailers’ feedback that this approach is very effective.
Shops will be keen to understand the backup structure; are you carrying local spares and what motor brands feature on your bikes?
Having been in the electric bike business since its inception in the UK we totally understand the importance of carrying spare parts and always hold stock ensuring we can get bikes back on the road as quickly as possible. We also have an in-house tech team to answer dealers’ questions.
What terms have you put in place for accounts?
We are keen to grow lasting relationships with our dealers and as such understand every store is an individual; businesses will have different challenges, and specific needs relating directly to their customer base. We look to tailor packages that work best for each store, with an arrangement that works best for the dealer and us. To guarantee exclusivity of area we ask for an initial buy-in of four bikes. Full credit terms will be available upon application. To support accounts, this year will see an extensive marketing campaign; expect to see a lot more of us in print online and instore. This marketing will all be targeted at driving additional footfall to our dealers. In addition to this, we will also be working on helping stores with their own local events, focused upon building awareness and increasing sales. Beyond this you will also see an Evolving Sports stand in the not-too-distant future.
How can shops book a sales representative visit?
Our sales team are happy to come out and showcase the range and talk through options, exploring how to become a dealer. Critically, this helps us gain a better understanding of the dealer’s business. Retailers can also book a visit by calling our sales line, which is 0208 0161 829.
