BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
British bike brand Forme has suffered the loss of a batch of unreleased e-bikes, which were stolen while in transit.
Forme, owned by Derby-based distributor Moore Large, announced the theft on Friday, 1st July after the bikes were taken while being shipped from an assembly supplier to HQ in Derby.
The stolen bikes were all high-end, Bosch-equipped e-bikes, and were all brand new models not yet available at Forme retailers, the brand said.
Head of brand and communications at Forme, Lee Flanaghan, said: “This theft of e-bikes is really sad news for both our retailers and end consumers. This delivery of e-bikes was already pre-sold to dealers and in many cases, reserved by end consumers who were no doubt looking forward to taking delivery of their new e-bike in time for Summer. We can only apologise for the disappointment this undoubtedly causes.”
Forme said the thieves “cherry-picked” the higher value models, as not everything on board the lorry was stolen.
Models taken were both from the leisure and e-MTB collections, including Alport, Black Rocks, Shottle, Peak Trail and Repton models.
Forme is stocked by more than 300 retailers in the UK, and offers a range of bikes covering all categories from balance bikes to full suspension e-MTBs.
Moore Large is one of the largest suppliers and distributors of bicycles and bicycle accessories. They are brand owners for some of the fastest-growing brands in the world of cycling, such as Forme, Cuda and ETC.
In addition, Moore Large acts as exclusive UK representatives for an extensive number of high-profile and market-leading retail brands including Tern, WethePeople, Lake, O’Neal, Box, Alpina, Kenda, Jagwire, OnGuard and many more.
Read more: Share your experience: Has theft impacted your cycle business?
Last month, a theft from a bike shop in Gloucestershire resulted in the loss of £30,000 worth of bikes.
In the early hours of Saturday, 21st May, thieves broke into a store in the town of Nailsworth, between Bristol and Gloucester, and escaped with five Riese and Muller brand electric bikes.
Police were called to the store, located in George Street near the town centre, at around 12.45am after a window was smashed by the thieves to gain entry.
The burglary is believed to have happened at around 12.30am, as five bikes with a combined value of more than £30,000 were stolen.
