Merida gears up for UK market share grab

On the back of a large dealer recruitment push since the CoreBike show in January, Merida has told BikeBiz that it has optimistic plans to expand its UK presence.

Already at 73 per cent growth year-on-year, the firm aims to expand its market share and has created a line of ‘specially tailored’ UK models to help fill the current gaps in hybrid and road bikes caused by the sales success to date.

Chris Carter, marketing manager at Merida UK told BikeBiz: “The push for new dealers has been a success and we are now investing in a new member of staff and a computer system to keep up with demand and enable us to grow more. For 2010 we are doing a soft launch, as much like Specialized and Giant, we have seen sales of road bikes far outstrip expectation, so we are bringing forward our 2010 road bikes shipments with comfort and mountain following shortly after.”

Like the majority of other manufacturers, Merida’s performance has been slowed by currency fluctuations. However, margins have remained steady and RRPs are reasonable. “Being linked with Merida Taiwan is invaluable as they can offer security and consistency,” added Carter.

“Merida took a long term view when the economic trouble set in and firmly intends to be a major player worldwide.”

For those seeking a fresh supplier, the brand is still looking to recruit stockists. “We are still actively seeking dealers,” said Carter. “So if industry leading margins, excellent settlement discounts and no restrictive practices such as big sell-in orders sound attractive to you, then we would very much like to talk to you.”