RETAILERS
‘GETTING MORE PEOPLE CYCLING FOR THE GOOD OF US ALL’
What key trends do you expect this year? This is a hard one as there are so many unknowns, which as usual, makes life, and business, pretty hard to predict and plan for. There are many compelling reasons for more people to start cycling; cost of living crisis, health crisis, climate crisis. However, there doesn’t seem to be a year that goes by without an ‘event’ throwing a spanner into the works. We think there’s an opportunity for e-cargo bikes to become more mainstream, especially with the expansion of the ULEZ in London and introduction of more LTNs. And as always, the women’s market is under-represented so there’s scope there. However, we believe the e-bike will continue to flourish as more people realise its potential.
What did it mean to win Best Retailer Services at the BikeBiz Awards 2022? We were absolutely delighted, and still are! The category has some dominant players with significantly larger customer
What the BikeBiz Awards 2022 judges said about GCI…
“The Cycle to Work scheme continues to be a welcome opportunity to both riders and retailers, encouraging more people to try life on two wheels, and Green Commute Initiative’s non-profit set-up is the perfect balance for both the consumers and the stores themselves.” - BikeBiz and MMB editor Alex Ballinger
“GCI - the best cycle scheme initiative available for all parties involved. The administration aspect is quick and simple with minimal commission costs to the retailer, and with no limit on value opens up the option of e-bike purchases.” - Pedal Revolution managing director Kate Warner
“Bikes should be accessible to everyone, no matter their income, and all to often cycle purchase scheme aren’t an option for those on lower wages - often exactly the people who would benefit the most from such schemes. “Green Commute Initiative’s Everyone Cycle scheme and bike pool make this more possible, and gives people the opportunity to get cycling with the added benefit of it being cheaper, greener, with mental and physical health benefits to boot. And it’s a not for profit. The more I hear about GCI, the more impressed I am.” - MBR digital editor Aoife Glass
bases from which to poll votes so it was refreshing to see the judging process updated to reflect this imbalance. We’ve always had the courage of our conviction that a fair
Cycle to Work Scheme could and would be successful. Our low commission rate for bike shops means that they
can keep more of their profits within their business, helping them to flourish. Our fast payment terms help IBDs manage their cash-flow more effectively. Plus, we help the end consumer keep more of their savings by not charging wholly unnecessary ‘ownership’ fees. GCI is signing up more clients and retailers on a daily basis as the march towards fairness presses on.
What are your upcoming plans for 2023? We are exploring the bike subscription market and will announce an exciting new partnership [soon]. We will also seek to enter into new agreements with direct-to-consumer vendors who will finally be able to exit restrictive exclusive contracts. This will give our customers yet more choice. We will also launch an API (Application Programming
Interface) to enable the validation and redemption of our vouchers at online checkouts, enabling a smoother customer buying journey. We still face challenges of persuading those that favour the market leaders but hope the message of ‘getting more people cycling for the good of us all’ will prevail.
16 | March 2023
www.bikebiz.com
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