Relevant innovations and developments concerning the bicycle market and latest technologies for producers and specialist retailers. Or to put it another way: our look into the crystal ball.
Product data is the new oil.
Advice and sales in the bike sector are moving into the digital world. To ensure that the change works for both retailers and producers, uniform standards are needed for product data. However, its value is still underestimated.
E-bikes bring a high level of value added into the bicycle trade – and particularly into the workshop. In return, the e-biker expects a service to match. The bike workshop can thus become a mobility service provider – which doesn’t, however, always work out in practice.
Bicycle retailers are reopened in Germany since 27 April. Many stores had people queueing out the door. The strong demand for bikes and e-bikes came as a surprise to retailers. It would seem that Corona has not permanently damaged bricks-and-mortar traders.
Bicycle retailers and manufacturers recorded record turnover in May and June. Does this mean it’s a good year for the industry after all?
Barely any innovation has caused such a lasting change to the world of the bicycle as the electric motor.
Marcus Diekmann is driving digital expansion at Rose Bikes. In addition to strengthening the retail brand and product brand, he’s pursuing new distribution channels in bricks-and-mortar stores and helping other retailers with digitalisation. Is he overwhelming his employer and the whole industry in the process?
The dream of making bikes in a 3D printer has been reality for a couple of years now. There have been a number of prototypes made with the help of revolutionary printing technology. However, that’s as far as it went, until now. Currently there are a number of companies offering initial serial production.
2020 is drawing to an end. The year has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride. After the lockdown with closed stores in March and April, many bike retailers experienced record sales in the months that followed – some of them were already out of stock by the summer. Manufacturer warehouses also had large amounts of empty shelves. As such, there is a certain amount of anxiety as the industry looks ahead to 2021. What will the new bike season be like?
Digital tools that integrate virtual content in real situations expand our perception and can be a rich and meaningful addition to the natural senses. This is also something that bike retail can benefit from – for both sales and service.