Hero Cycles confirms direct-to-consumer strategy at new range launch

Hero Cycles launched its new range of bikes for the UK and European market under the new ‘Insync’ brand in Manchester yesterday.

The Insync range of 75 new bikes is the first designed by Hero’s new design team operating from the £2 million Hero Cycles Global Design Centre in Manchester, which opened in January 2017 following Hero’s investment in the Manchester-based distribution house Avocet Sports Limited.

Three-time BMX world champion Shanaze Reade and international free-rider Patrick Robinson showcased the new Insync range to an audience of industry leaders at Old Trafford football ground yesterday.

Avocet Sports Limited’s CEO Sreeram Venkateswaran said: “Today marks a fundamental change in our approach to the market. Launching Insync is a hugely exciting moment for Hero Cycles, the moment when we truly arrive in the UK and European bike market.

“Hero has taken the brands of Viking, Riddick, Ryedale and DeNovo and totally redesigned the range to operate under the new Insync masterbrand which is very much aimed at the family and leisure market. The big change is that we now have a very talented team of passionate and technically astute bike designers taking Avocet and the brands to another level. The Viking, Riddick, Ryedale and DeNovo bikes are now better engineered and better made than ever before.

“Launching Insync is the beginning of a journey for our new design team, as a company we are very ambitious to create the best bikes for our market sector. Consumers can expect to see lots of design innovations and improvements as the Insync brand grows. Insync’s launch sets us on an upward trajectory.”

“With the backing of Hero Cycles, we’ve been able to produce a range of bikes that catapult these brands into a whole new league in quality,” Venkateswaran added. “The twist is quality at a competitive value and price. It is precisely because we own our supply chain and operate four manufacturing centres it is much easier for us to make bikes to the highest standards, passing the saving to the consumer. The new Insync range can be a real industry disruptor.”

Hero has also made a fundamental change to its sales strategy by deploying a new multi-channel approach to support the new Insync range. Mr Venkateswaran commented that Insync will be available to consumers through the traditional Independent Bike Dealer sales channel, along with a new direct to consumer sales approach. This will take the form of a new online sales platform launched in partnership with THG Ingenuity, the proprietary technology platform of leading online Beauty and Wellbeing business The Hut Group.