FEATURE
‘IF WE ARE TO ACHIEVE THE GOVERNMENT’S TARGET OF 50% OF ALL JOURNEYS IN TOWNS AND CITIES BEING WALKED OR CYCLED BY 2030, WE NEED TO EQUIP THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION NOW WITH THE LIFE SKILL OF KNOWING HOW TO CYCLE.’
percentage of kids cycling dropping from 27% to 21% in the past five years and nearly an 8% fall in children cycling for fun or fitness since the end of the pandemic.” James Symes, CEO and co-founder of kids bikes subscription provider Bike Club, also noted how hard parents have been hit by the cost of living crisis throughout the last year. “So, it comes as no surprise that spending on non-essential family purchases has had to scale back accordingly,” he told BikeBiz. However, Symes said the desire to get children active and to enjoy family activities outdoors has “not diminished”, and so the Bike Club expects to see parents shopping around more and shifting spend on kids bikes away from other times of high expenditure, such as Christmas. “We anticipate demand moving even more to the summer months and to key retail events such as Black Friday or spring sales,” he said. “Against this backdrop it makes complete sense that we’re seeing parents abandon outdated purchasing habits and seeking more value-driven propositions such as monthly bike subscriptions with the option to exchange as children grow.”
Buying vs renting Launched in London in 2017, Bike Club enables parents to rent premium lightweight bikes for their children, and then allows them to exchange the bike for a larger size as the child grows. It’s clear to see the appeal for parents - renting a kids bike has a lower upfront cost compared to buying, and having a subscription offers flexibility for children who are still growing. And in 2023, the subscription provider saw growth in order volume for the eighth year in a row in the UK, and significant growth year over year across all its markets. With the addition of Spain and Austria to its existing UK and German operations in 2023 and with more markets planned, Symes said the brand is expecting further growth in 2024 as consumers look for more affordable ways to buy kids bikes. Last year, Bike Club also announced that subscriber demand for its range of refurbished bikes is now outnumbering demand for its new bikes - in the first half of 2023, at least 55% of the bikes selected by new and existing subscribers every month were refurbished rather than brand new. Symes said: “We expect to see consumers continue to
10 | May 2024
www.bikebiz.com
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