Stock levels improve but Tandem Group held back by bike availability

Annual results from the Tandem Group have spoken of steadily improving bike inventory when compared to last year, but the group remains short of adult bicycles against ongoing demand.

Ubiquitously felt pressures on bicycle distributors are no less severe on London-listed Tandem, who spoke of strong performance on kids’ bikes brand Squish, for which better stock levels exist; this brand was in fact up 31% in turnover terms versus the prior period. Overall the bicycle division revenue was just 3% ahead of last year, illustrating how the supply of adult models has become a priority focus for distributors.

Should the business secure better bike stocks as we head through 2022 then there will soon be a much larger warehouse footprint within which to host units. On December 23rd planning permission was formally granted for the firm’s new warehouse. This plot will now add additional solar panel capacity to power the business, as well as new EV chargers.

“The business continues to experience global logistical challenges, which are still impacting upon the supply of goods from the Far East to the UK. Despite this, our order book remains materially ahead of the comparative position in the prior year,” wrote this morning’s statement.

The RNS statement added: “2022 has begun more slowly for the Group, with some customers delaying orders into future months. However, we remain confident that we have secured the strongest wheeled toy licences and have some exciting developments planned for the year.”

eMobility goods were flagged as the firm’s key growth prospect in the near term, having added 70% like-for-like revenues on goods like the Li-Fe scooters.

The outlook on this segment offered: “We expect our eMobility business to continue to expand in 2022, given the growing consumer trend towards these types of products. We are therefore investing further in this particular sector, and have plans to refurbish our onsite shop at our Castle Bromwich premises.  This will focus on our eMobility offerings such as eScooters, eBicycles plus a new range of eMotorbikes and eMopeds, whilst continuing to offer our electric golf trolley and mobility scooter range of products. The shop refurbishment is planned for completion in Q2 2022.”