Vello cuts distribution in favour of dealer direct

Austrian electric bike brand Vello is another to announce a move from distribution toward a dealer direct model, following a path already carved out on mainland Europe.

Calling to a close a deal with About the Bike to distribute the brand, the electric bike catalogue will now be sold into shops via a proprietary B2B ordering system facilitates easy transactions for retailers, with long payment terms and low minimum order quantities.

To support the effort to expand its footprint, Vello will continue to build its marketing activity in the UK to support retailers and growth, including regional-specific activations and exhibition attendance too.

The strategic pivot sees the brand follow what’s apparently proven to be a successful go-to-market strategy in both DACH and French territories for the brand whereby sales have grown year-on-year.

Vello co-founder Valerie Wolff explains: “The UK presents a very exciting growth market for our brand and one where we are ready to build on market share as we already have done in other countries in Europe over the past several years. We’ve taken a reserved approach in this territory to date but we’re ready to react now to the increasing demand for electric bikes, especially in the e-Cargo sector with our hugely exciting new SUB.”

The brand recently launched its latest model to the range, the Smart Utility Bike, or SUB, which is a low weight, minimalist and versatile electric cargo bike. Weighing 24kg for the titanium model or 28kg in chromoly steel, the SUB is able to take a total system load of 210kg, making it a viable replacement for the car. While its standard bike length (180cm) means that it can still be taken on the train too.

New for 2023 is an version of the Vello Bike+, the brand’s most popular bike in the range due to its innovative fold and self-charging capability thanks to an in-built KERS system.

Trade enquires can now be directed via email here.