Read CyclingIndustry.News’ latest digital magazine online

CyclingIndustry.News’ sixth print edition of 2022 is now live and available to read online and download here.

Beginning this edition, the topic of conversation for our regular retail panel is ‘to what degree does sponsorship of riders, signature products and event presence have a ripple effect on sales and consumer influence’.

This is followed by our usual snippet from CI.N’s annual Market Report. Focussing on wage structures for mechanics and front of house management staff at retail, the year-to-year comparisons shown make for interesting reading and tend to show a trend of wages rising faster at the upper end than the lower.

Reporting from cycling haven Girona, the CyclingIndustry.News team made the trip to this year’s Sea Otter Europe with a view to understanding just how important this event has become to the European calendar. Head to page 14 for a deep dive on a bustling event.

Sticking with trade shows and visitors to Eurobike earlier in the year may well have noted the emergence of the Hyena eBike Systems brand, now supplying motors to numerous top tier labels globally. Starting on page 18 CI.N explores the brand’s under the radar progress and the next stage for an innovative Taiwanese business.

Economist, well-known cycle trade rep and occasional CyclingIndustry.news columnist John Styles furthers the data analysis in this edition with a message review of hundreds of online bike retail stores. His angle is to discover whether businesses are prioritising tools to make sales conversion easier at a time when consumers are reigning in spend. See page 20 for that insight.

Next up, the age old question on just how much progress the bike industry is making on attracting women to cycling is explored in detail with four industry experts. Read the takes of Rachel Burnside, Frank Aldorf, Mary Wittenberg and Tomas Van Den Spiegel in a long read from page 26.

On to the subject of cycle tourism and journalist Jo Beckendorff brings a territory report from Japan, exploring how one region has aligned its business to offer an immersive and complete cycling experience for visitors.

Our second magazine interview with an electric bike OEM draws on Bosch CEO Claus Fleischer’s broad overview of the marketplace and the challenges the industry faces to stay on a growth path. Check in with Claus on page 38.

There’s plenty more in this 68 page edition too, so keep scrolling for:

• Profiles with Nalini, Abus and Spokesafe
• Marketing strategy guidance from Advntr Media and business coach Emma Cole
• An assessment of who in the industry lays greatest claim to being ‘the bike world’s Patagonia’
• Our ‘Ask the Boss’ interview with Vaude’s Gernot Moser

From the Editor – Loyalty that lasts and lasts

When Yvon Chouinard, the Founder of Patagonia, announced in September the ground-breaking move that he would sign over his company, divide into two and channel all profits to the planet via a charitable trust, the reaction online was immense. Virtue-signalling it is not to sign away an estimated $100 million per year of profits, to go further than ever to address the ever-worsening climate crisis.

He, like most of us in the bike world, came to found his company through passion for the outdoors and the life it had given him. That passion was never without considering the negative externalities of doing business and so the company became known to be a pioneer in sustainability and carried that message up and downstream.

Chouinard ultimately is said to have become “horrified to be seen as a billionaire” and has long espoused the value of putting profit back toward the original vision to enjoy and preserve nature. When we start out in business everybody wishes to be successful, but success is measured in more than money. More than ever, as we look into the future, that’s something on which to reflect.

Now, I, as editor of a trade magazine, am not going to tell you to stop making money. That would be suicide on my part. What I am going to reveal is that I am not a shopper of things. I rarely buy things and when I do it is of necessity rather than want. It’s a simple life, when you have a bike that’s built to last and a world unexplored, all that’s really required is a decent mechanic thereafter.

Built to last is one thing that creates brand loyalty. Once you’ve worn technical fabrics that provide comfort and durability, you never will shop fast fashion again. The market has education of the masses to do here and somehow we need to have people try to understand the value in paying more to get more use from a product… ultimately, paying less over time.

Another thing that creates brand loyalty is understanding, without ambiguity, what a company stands for and that it is more than just being a cash machine for its owners. For this reason, I have always chosen the Patagonia brand above others when I have come to shop for clothing. The youth of Generation Z, should their limited funds permit it, have been shown to have a higher sensitivity to such things and with each generation’s passing, this message gets stronger as the urgent need to improve the planet’s fortunes resonates.

These are things for the bike business at large to consider and they have real circular value. Why did we enter this business, was money truly the only motivation and what good are we doing to inspire others in future to follow and improve upon the tyre prints left?

I want to end this column with a very special introduction to our team that likely needs no introduction, our new head of sales, Frazer Clifford. If you would like to reach out for commercial opportunities or catch up, you can contact him by email here.