BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Jeremy Miles, managing director of Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative, is to announce ambitious plans for the business at an event in Edinburgh on Thursday to mark the start of the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives.
Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative was founded in 1977 and has an annual turnover of recorded turnover of £11.5 million. In 2001 is expanded from its single site via takeovers and new openings. It now has shops in Aberdeen, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.
The cooperative – which is owned by 150 member workers – sold 20,000 bikes last year.
Miles wants to increase turnover to £20 million by 2017, and increase staffing to nearly 300.
He told The Scotsman: “There are a lot of changes going on at the moment, there are a lot of private equity firms coming into the cycling industry. The traditional bike shops that everyone would think of are finding it quite difficult and are disappearing.
“The real opportunity is in places like London, Birmingham and Bristol."
