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people and do the logistics which is a big investment,” he explains. “We can facilitate that for the brand.” One that Veloroo partners with is Temple Cycles. “Temple has a clear mission and brand ethos to build a product that lasts. They believe a product should last a lifetime, and so do we. I think that is something anyone within the industry should be behind,” says Hudson. “Ultimately with the struggles of Brexit hitting a lot of UK brands, they wanted to serve their European customers as efficiently as they service their UK based ones. “No customer wants to receive their bike from the UK or
outside of the EU and then get stung with the import tax bill on top. The other option is for brands to adjust their price significantly and to swallow some of these costs, however this eats into margins that are already tight. Just a mess, really.” For Temple, Veloroo is the brand’s official European partner and manages all the orders that come through for Europe.
This is done by having EU warehousing, fulfilling orders, alongside the shop-in-shop concept in Berlin and Munich. It makes it easy for people to see, test ride and buy Temple products. This is then being supported with aftersale care in servicing and warranty from the store locations.
“It’s just way more cost and time effective because brands can ship out without import tax risks to customers and long delivery lead times,” says Hudson. “If a brand wants to test a European market for a couple years before they go all in, we are giving an option where they can.”
German purchasing habits The appetite for cycling in Germany is very different to the UK because the infrastructure is in place for it to be a transport solution. “Particularly in the city, it’s always about being practical,” explains Hudson.
“It’s a mode of transport first and then it’s everything else
after that.” According to Hudson, the sale of bikes in Germany now
is quite reliant on purchasing schemes and e-bike leasing options.
An example is JobRad. This allows an individual to get their bike of choice without any upfront payment, with the condition that they’re a German resident or are employed by a German company.
“They’re essentially Cycle to Work schemes and they are huge in Germany, bigger I would say than Cycle to Work in the UK,” says Hudson. “From our store, for example, almost 40% of people want to purchase through one of these schemes.” Brands that are not registered in Germany are unable to sell their bikes through these schemes as it has to be processed through a dealer. This is another avenue where Veloroo could facilitate sales for a UK-based business.
Setting up with Veloroo Each brand looking to start with Veloroo would receive a tailored service to suit different needs. “First of all, we would need to figure out what their demands are,” says Hudson. “So what kind of volume of stock that they want to house, what they expect to try and push and how many demo bikes they want in store. We [also] feedback from the local market on what bikes and models we think would do well here. “For example, a full suspension MTB would perform better
in Munich than they would in Berlin. Different bike types will excel in different cities and locations. This is where we use our local market expertise to advise brands. “We also organise a service/warranty agreement, so that if any European customers have problems we can deal with the warranty and it doesn’t need to be shipped back to the UK.” With a wealth of experience in the UK and a truly unique
customer experience in Germany, Hudson and the team at Veloroo look set continue on an upward trajectory – and many businesses look set to benefit by joining the journey.
18 | March 2024
www.bikebiz.com
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