NEWS
CYCLE SHORTS
Tour cuts through Festival of Cycling
The Dare2b Yorkshire Festival of Cycling, taking place July 4th to 6th, will see the 2014 Tour de France go through it on Saturday 5th at Harewood House in Yorkshire. Full details on
www.festivalofcycling.org
London to ban ‘unsafe’ HGVs
Transport for London and London Councils have hardened their stance on HGVs – those not fitted with pedestrian and cyclist safety features will be banned.
ASA U-turns after controversy
The Advertising Standards Authority withdrew its controversial ruling stating a Cycling Scotland advert was wrong not to feature cyclists wearing helmets and riding only a little distance away from the ‘parking lane’.
Specialized pulls out of Eurobike
The US brand has withdrawn from the Germany-set show and will be spending its cash on dealer events instead, it transpired last month.
Tesco plugs into e- bike market
Shortly before we went to press Tesco revealed it was entering the electric bike market with an exclusive bike range promising ‘more speed, less sweat’.
Bikesoup launches ‘game changing’ marketplace
New investment is seeing the site ramp up its offer to High Street retailers competing with industry giants. The investment came from fashion entrepreneur Touker Suleyman. Bikesoup was established in 2010.
Vulpine expands
Following speedy growth, two year old brand Vulpine is searching for management types and more stockists.
For breaking news visit:
www.bikebiz.com
4 BIKEBIZ FEBRUARY
Cycle to work popularity rockets
Records broken as stats from 2013 come in ‘We hope this could be the start of a long-term cycle boom’
By Jonathon Harker
THE NUMBER of employees participating in cycle to work last year smashed 2012’s number and toppled the previous 2010 record. The encouraging statistics have led C2W operators to speculate on a long-term cycling boom in the UK. Figures released by the
Cycle to Work Alliance – representing the largest C2W operators in the country (Cyclescheme, Cycle Solutions, Evans Cycles and Halfords) – demonstrated a 16.4 per cent increase in scheme uptake compared to 2012, representing 164,317 employees in the last year.
Q4 2013 saw an 11 per cent year-on-year
increase in scheme participation compared to figures for the final quarter of 2012. Cyclescheme director Daniel Gillborn told
“There’s a huge enthusiasm for the
cycle to work scheme among employers.” Charles Ashwell, Halfords
BikeBiz: "We are delighted with a record year for the Cycle to Work scheme. With these results, growth is being led by the IBD network which proves that employees favour the personal service, expertise and product choice of local stores that cannot be replicated in large national retailers." Mark Brown, head of B2B Services for Evans
Cycles: “The latest cycle to work figures underline that the scheme remains a popular benefit for both employers and employees.
I’m confident this popularity will continue, as we see various factors coming together now and in the future. These include the ongoing interest in cycling at all levels, in terms of commuting, family and sport. Three stages of the Tour De France in Britain this summer certainly won’t hurt. Then we’ve got the ongoing promotion of healthy living and wellbeing, with employers in particular now increasingly leading the way in terms of supporting their employees in this area. We’ve also got the maturing of the scheme itself, becoming a recognised employee benefit which is easily accessible and administered by employers of all sizes.” Halfords corporate sales manager Charles Ashwell commented: “It is extremely
Orbea hails ‘just in time’ delivery
SPANISH MANUFACTURER Orbea has launched what it says is the answer to IBDs’ bike stocking conundrum. ‘Just in Time’ will tackle the problem of long lead times for specific models that result in lost sales and – on the other hand – minimising excess inventory headaches for dealers, Orbea said. Following years of refinement, the
manufacturing process sees a new scanning and planning system that ensures the correct components are added to the correct frame, and gives advanced notice of possible component shortages. “This system allows us respond better to
dealers demands all year round,” explained business development manager Ramon Mendiburu. “The dealer can see on our B2B what bikes are built and ready to ship, as well as the exact number of frames available to be built to any required specification. When the dealer places the order for a specific model, the appropriate components are selected and are joined up with the frame at the production line.” According to Orbea, sales in the UK and
Ireland have been growing significantly over the last couple of seasons, with much of the growth being credited to the improved year- round availability. “Under normal circumstances, almost any model can be delivered to the dealer in two to three weeks and sometimes faster,” Mendiburu. “As with any supply chain, there
will be occasional glitches caused by an oversell in a given model, or a delay in a component arriving from a supplier, but they rarely result in a delay of more than a couple of weeks – generally it works pretty well.” The Just in Time
times to production models. Orbea have manufacturing and assembly
process covers higher value bikes in excess of £1,500. For higher rotation models in the £300 to £500 range, Orbea always keeps a supply always in stock to allow for immediate dispatch. This system also permits Orbea to offer a custom-build service, with customers able to specify crank lengths, bar widths, wheels, and many more options, with similar lead
“We can react quickly to the demands of specific localised markets.”
Ramon Mendiburu Mendiburu. Orbea in the UK and Ireland can be
reached by contacting Renny Stirling (UK)
rstirling@orbea.com or Damian Hackett (Irl)
dhackett@orbea.com
BIKEBIZ.COM
facilities in four countries; at HQ in Mallabia, Spain; another facility in Portugal; in the United States and in Kunshan in China, where they handle distribution into Australasia and South America. “Having a global footprint such as we do means that we can react relatively quickly to demands of specific localised markets,” explained
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