Winter 2023 issue of Cycling Industry News goes live
Looks like we made it… it’s the end of 2023 and there’s just time for the Winter 2023 issue of Cycling Industry News, complete with a 2024 wallplanner for your workshop/office/warehouse/delete as applicable, for all print magazine subscribers.
The industry has not exactly been short of trials and tribulations this year, but we’ve focused our latest mag upon the positives and the future of the industry, hoping to give you a steer on new thinking, fresh opportunities and ways to bolster bike businesses, including:
• Bike shops need to develop multiple revenue streams: That’s the contention of one of our interviewees…
• Brave new world: Leasing in the bike trade is already here, but could it become a lynchpin for the market?
• CIN goes one-on-one with ZyroFisher’s new CEO, we hear all about the changes and future of the heavy weight distributor
• Marketing 101: Separating marketing from business strategy? That’s a common mistake argues one interviewee
• We despatch one of our correspondents to Lyon, France for a tour of Eovolt’s HQ
• Distribution structure: Could the industry’s existing distri¬bution structure do with some revision as the market faces new challenges?
• Cycle infrastructure expert: Why you can’t cut and paste infrastructure solutions from overseas and how even Amsterdam is seeing kids back away from cycling
• What brings bike shops to trade shows? Our exclusive market data reveals all as we approach show season.
Take a look at the issue online here.
From the Editor – Difficult questions
THIS IS the kind of year that has asked some difficult questions of the industry and the people within it. But the good news is that the cycle industry is one of those sectors that is not afraid of rolling up its sleeves and having a (probably heated) debate about the solutions.
One issue that has hit businesses of all sizes is cash flow. It’s here I’d like to point you towards one particular feature in this magazine, an interview with Peter Claxton, a bike shop owner of some years.
He hits on a few points that resonate, not least that bike shops need to have a diversified income stream. Bike sales drying up? Well at least you’ve got that regular yoga/boxing/baby class using that extra space you don’t need twice a week and helping pay the bills. It’s a compelling argument, to have different streams of revenue to mitigate lulls in trading. It might not be how bike shops have traditionally been run in the past, but that leads to another point…
Retail has changed massively in the last couple of decades, and it’s when the market dips that it gets harder to avoid acknowledging it, if you haven’t already.
It’s probably unrealistic to expect bike shops to be in a bubble where things don’t have to change. Big chains like Boots are downsizing, Argos no longer has standalone stores, Wilkos is virtually dead, retail parks continue to thrive while high streets are having an identity crisis… yeah but the bike industry is different, right? Yes, but not that different.
The bike industry is contending with its own challenges, like whether cycle to work is still working properly, fighting misinformation about eBike fires, diversity and a bunch more too. And there are plenty of other fundamental questions that threaten to upset the status quo, like does it make sense for bike shops to pay for demo fleets? Or whether there is a future where bike shops can act more like automotive style retailers for big bike brands?
We’ll continue to help push the discussion along here at CIN because the future remains bright for the cycling industry, it’s just a question of how we get there.
Contact the team at [email protected]
