THE BIG INTERVIEW
I think confidence is far more important than being comfortable. Maybe somebody will tell me that riding a bicycle is not that comfortable to them, but for me, of course, riding a bicycle is very comfortable.
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normality return to the trade without the benefit of a crystal ball. While she does think the end is in sight for eye-watering shipping costs, the congestion at ports and the shortage of lorry drivers in the UK are not so simple to solve.
The future for Giant Despite the uncertainty, Tu says Giant has plenty in the pipeline for the coming year. Alongside the continued focus on e-bikes, Giant has also carried out its own research into the human physiology, with designs to make the traditional bike as efficient as science can make it. “Besides the e-bike and e-cargo,” Tu said, “I still want to
women ‘don’t question yourself if you are offered a position or offered a job. That means you are overqualified for that job, so just take it and work on it and do not have any doubt about your abilities or about yourself.’”
Cause for concern While the Giant umbrella saw an enormous boost in revenue during the pandemic (up 55% in Q1/2021), Tu said she has serious concerns about the future, owing to the astronomical lead times caused by the coronavirus pandemic and, in the UK, a shortage of lorry drivers exacerbated by Brexit. She said: “I think cycling is such a good sport for mankind, so I think cycling will flourish for the rest of the world. But I am very cautious about some of the numbers. If we don’t change the business model, nobody can afford to operate in this business.” Tu’s concerns centre around the enormous delivery times
from factories in Asia to the European and US markets, which mean money is not changing hands at the usual rate, forcing up the cost of bikes. She added: “The longer the times, you will require more cash, more cash means more interest, so nobody can afford it. So we’ve got to change this business model in order to be able to give the consumer affordable bicycles.” But Tu said she wouldn’t like to guess when we may see
28 | April 2022
develop the traditional bike. “We have been studying how people function on the bike itself, how we can combine the manpower and the machine more efficiently. This at Giant we call ‘cycling science.’ “We think we will work even harder, try to recruit more people because more younger talent makes cycling more enjoyable to the consumer.” This will include the release of a new and long-awaited Giant bike (which we can’t yet reveal any more details about).
‘You can ride anywhere’ At the end of our conversation, we returned to talk about women’s cycling, and the message Tu tries to share with her staff: “I’ve seen the sales revenue for Liv actually increase more than three times, so that means Liv is very well accepted by the women and I’m very glad that Liv can bring the joy to the female consumer. “Hopefully we can start to continue this trend and make
women more feel more comfortable, not only comfortable, but more confident on the bike. “I think confidence is far more important than being comfortable. Maybe somebody will tell me that riding a bicycle is not that comfortable to them, but for me, of course, riding a bicycle is very comfortable. But I also want them to feel not only comfortable, but more confident to ride as far as you want. You can ride anywhere you want to go – that is the most important thing.” ■
www.bikebiz.com
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