Issue 73 | February 2012
EDITORIAL
NEWS 4-5 MYSTERY SHOPPER
SPONSORED BY FOCUS ON…
Cycle retail chains expand despite increasingly tougher times on the High Street, while the ACT rebrands...
CAN YOU THINK of a single industry that retails a product that benefits from government incentives or maybe even subsidies? Let’s see... there’s the electric car industry. Buyers of an electric powered automobile can expect a discount to the tune of 25 per cent. Wow. If only the cycle industry had something like that, eh? The lucky
BikeBiz’s own incognito reporter investigates the retailers of Nottingham
12 CORE BIKE 2012 REVIEW 33
The brands, the new products, the exhibitor debuts, the seminars and the free lunches. We report on all the goings on at Whittlebury Hall this year
ICEBIKE PREVIEW 29
Madison’s show extravaganza returns in Feb. For a hint of what to expect, read on...
OUTDOORS Our new and improved Outdoors section kicks off this month
FOLDING BIKES 53 REFLECTIVE GEAR EXPO PREVIEW 25
Fisher’s house show takes place at Sopwell House this month. We take an early look...
blighters. Some kind of incentive for buyers, maybe looking to spread the cost of a bicycle over one to three years? Of course, the cycle industry does benefit from its very own incentive, and has done for over a decade now. Consumers can get up to a 40 per cent discount through cycle to work (take THAT electric car industry!) and they can spread the cost over a year and up to three years. We’ve all heard the regard the cycle to work initiative is held in by the industry, even those of us who’ve had little first-hand experience of it. How many have pointed to it as one of the key reasons behind cycling’s current popularity? But maybe the time for the scheme to really shine is at hand, now while household spending is being reined in?
Cycle to work has played a crucial role in bike retail over the last decade, but it could really do the business during these austere times.
OK, as we all know, cycle to work has taken a bit of a 59 HELMETS GUIDE PEOPLE NEW PRODUCTS
BikeBiz takes a look at some of the best helmet options available for retailers to stock
2pure and Cycling Sports Group UK swell their numbers with fresh-faced recruits
62
Homit makes a noise with its bike alarm, while Yeti’s SB66c also attracts retail attention
SPOKESMAN EVENTS 74 OFF TRACK 84 MARKETPLACE 75 86
BSO sellers have been after a slice of the bike retail action since the 1800s, writes Carlton Reid
64 LETTERS 50 SPONSORED BY 67 70
Who will be the proud winner of our Star Letter Prize from Oxford Products? Find out on page 68
knock. Two rule changes in little over one year has worried, confused and taken a bit of the fun out of the it. Thing is, those have now been taken into account and we still most definitely have a worthwhile initiative. Has cycle to work been eroded? You could argue so, and it’s temping to moan about the changes to cycle to work, but, in the final analysis, we’ve still got cycle to work in our corner. And if we’re not getting the best of it then maybe it’s time to think again about how we approach it. One distributor chief was chatting to me about the subject at one of the recent house shows. He spoke glowingly of one local retailer that has been banging the cycle to work drum to potential customers more or less continuously in the form of radio adverts. It’s not a perfect initiative. Of course it isn’t. But even the
original version’s definition of market value was enough to confuse the minds of our greatest intellects. But as the market tightens up, particularly in the middle
range, it’s time to use the tools we have on offer – whether it’s cycle retail finance or cycle to work – and it’s also time to shout about them to the bike buying public. They can save petrol and get their hands on a (decent) bike without straining their wallet. Who wouldn’t be happy about that?
Jonathon Harker, Editor
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88