BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The second part of BikeBiz’s 2011 retrospective kicks off with…
May
l Team Green Britain Bike Week got an IBD-boosting spin with a Retail Partner Programme
l The European Handmade Show gets cancelled
l Decathlon signs up to Cyclescheme
l Brooks launches is own cycle clothing brand
l ETRA elects a new president
l Phillip Darnton becomes executive director of Great Britain’s Bicycle Association
l CTC membership hits a record high of 67,058.
June
l Scammers hit the headlines with multiple attempts to con distributors with false orders from bike shops, for pick up
l Clarks opens a UK service centre
l Red or Dead and Raleigh team up for a fashion-conscious range of bikes aimed at young women
l Hertz gets into e-bike rentals
l Josh Hon leaves Dahon to create a new folding bike brand, revealed to be Tern later in the year
l Specialized goes green and joins the carbon recycling ranks
July
l Cycle to Work scheme is made subject to VAT
l ITV4 reveals big gains in viewers with its Tour de France coverage
l Newcastle’s Scratch hire bikes launch
l A Liberal Democrat MP presents helmet compulsion bill for child cyclists
l The Made in Britain marque launches
l Transport for London opens two new Cycle Superhighways
l Brompton gets into apparel for the first time with the launch of its Oratory jacket
August
l Tesco brings bike shop in a shop concept to another 16 stores
l Bobbin Bicycles pedals its bike line to other retailers
l Small businesses struggle to get credit from banks
l Sustrans launches Free Range Kids, aiming to curb parents’ fears of letting their kids on a bike and out of their sight
l Riots blight retail, with bike shops among those targeted by rioters
l The Dahon fall-out continues, with the firm taking out an injunction against Dahon
September
l Eurobike and Interbike record rises in exhibitors and visitors, proving we can’t get enough of them
l Advocacy organisation Cycling Embassy of Great Britain is created
l Pashley revives the GB parts business
l BikeBiz Awards 2011 see Madison, CSG UK, Brompton and nine others win the 13 awards, voted for by the trade
l Victoria Pendleton launches Cycletta series, aiming to boost female cyclist numbers
l Herne Hill Velodrome re-opens
October
l Cycle Show celebrates its tenth anniversary at the NEC, Birmingham
l Chain Reaction Cycle’s flagship physical store opens in Belfast
l Decathlon reported to have 100 stores planned for the UK over ten years
l Average price of a bike revealed to be £242 (in 2010)
l Distribution for new folding brand Tern taken on by Evans Cycles
November
l Best Buy reveals it is to close its 11 UK stores, 18 months after it opened its first, in Essex
l Ultra Motor goes into administration
l Two Storck concept stores are opened in the UK
l The latest bid to make wearing helmets a legal requirement for children in the UK fails
December
l Multiple pro-cycling organisations team up to support a Summer of Cycling for 2012
l Fat Face owner Bridgepoint buys Wiggle
l The DfT scraps a number of cycle rules, including the need for all new bikes to be fitted with a bell upon leaving the shop
l There’s more on all of these stories, and many more, on www.BikeBiz.com
