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our reporter fang chao and shi yingjing reported from shanghai

"china's urbanization process and people's increasing attention to environmentally friendly travel provide us with great opportunities. we believe that bijen will not only become an ideal choice for consumers, but also an important force leading the trend of electric travel." bijen global said chief technologist ph. d. joerd van der meer.

behind the rush of european and american brands to enter is the huge market opportunity contained in the chinese cycling market. iimedia consulting data shows that china’s bicycle market size will be 194.07 billion yuan in 2021. it is expected that the bicycle market size will exceed 200 billion yuan in 2022, and will maintain a steady growth rate and expand year by year thereafter.

"'cycling craze' has been separated from the category of transportation and reflects more of a lifestyle and cultural approach." zhang tao, deputy chief engineer of the planning and transportation institute of shanghai urban construction design and research institute, told a reporter from china business news.

overseas first stores are intensively located in shanghai

in qiantan, pudong, shanghai, where land is at a premium, four cycling brand stores gather around the short "qianjiatan road limited time pedestrian street". the latest entrant is the dutch brand bijen.

public information shows that bijen comes from groningen, the netherlands, and has been committed to promoting environmentally friendly and efficient short-distance travel solutions since its establishment. as an innovative pioneer in the field of short-term transportation, bijen has attracted industry attention for its unique design.

(e-bike in bijen’s first flagship store in china. photo provided by the interviewee)

nearly half a month ago, on september 15, decathlon’s first bicycle specialist in asiasellstore - decathlon red maple store has opened. it is reported that the store covers all categories of decathlon cycling products. in addition, at the china international bicycle exhibition held in shanghai in may this year, decathlon introduced its professional road bicycle brand van ryse to the chinese market.

coincidentally, on may 7 this year, the italian bicycle brand basso officially announced its entry into the chinese mainland market in shanghai. public information shows that the basso brand was founded by the basso brothers in 1977. the elder brother marino basso is a famous former italian road rider. world champion and won multiple single-stage championships in three major tours.

what attracts attention from the outside world is why european and american cycling brands have opened their first stores in china in shanghai.

"bijen chose shanghai because shanghai is a very international city with strong tolerance and high acceptance of new things," li qi, head of bijen brand china, told reporters that shanghai is china's most international, economic and one of the most mature cities in development, "we also hope to introduce the cycling culture advocated by bijen to the chinese market through the city of shanghai."

in addition to the intensive "settlement in shanghai", many overseas cycling brands are also accelerating the pace of national expansion. take the american brand specialized as an example. since 2024, it has opened new stores in wuhan, chengdu, chongqing, hefei and other places. in addition, the chinese flagship store of italian brand colnago will open in shenzhen in july 2023, but since 2024, it has also opened stores in shanghai, jinan, xi'an, taiyuan and other places.

the reporter noticed that the cycling brands that have entered the chinese market in recent years are all positioned in the mid-to-high-end market. a staff member of a colnago sales store in east china told reporters that the brand's "entry-level model is a sub-top configuration, and the price is about 30,000 to 40,000 yuan." a staff member of a specialized store in shanghai told reporters that the price of an aethos model is 16,900 yuan. , and the most expensive model in its store is the tarmac sl8, priced at 99,900 yuan.

the cycling economy shows explosive growth

the continuous influx of overseas brands into the domestic market is inseparable from the outbreak of cycling craze.

"on xiaohongshu, the topic of 'cycling' has nearly 1.3 billion views, and the proportion of cyclists aged 19-30 exceeds 65%," the "2023 outdoor life trend report" shows, "from july to september 2023, night riding will it has become an explosive trend, and the topic '#夜cyclinghappiness i know' has over 85 million notes exposed. 'own, decompress, and enjoy are the high-frequency keywords related to the notes.'"

"cycling has transformed from initially meeting daily travel needs to a new social way and attitude towards life. as cycling continues to be popular, the trend of upgrading cycling equipment is very obvious, from core equipment such as road bikes to cycling with cycling glasses, cycling helmets, bicycle computers and other cycling accessories, cycling enthusiasts are increasingly equipped with more complete equipment,” the “sports consumption report for the first half of 2024” released by jd.com (hereinafter referred to as the “report”) believes. .

the above-mentioned "report" shows that compared with the first half of 2023, the turnover of road bikes in the first half of 2024 increased by 141%, the turnover of cycling clothing increased by 127%, and the turnover of cycling wear equipment and bicycle accessories increased by more than 80%. especially in the mid-to-high-end market, the year-on-year growth of cycling-related equipment is even more significant.

"generally speaking, cycling equipment requires helmets, shoes, glasses, cycling clothes, and cycling pants. this is a relatively complete piece of equipment." the relevant person in charge of a high-end bicycle brand store in shanghai told reporters, "in cycling circle, 10,000 to 20,000 yuan is just the basic cost.”

under the "cycling craze", the scale of the industry is also further increasing. zhiyan consulting data shows that in 2022, enterprises above designated size in china's bicycle industry will achieve revenue of 210 billion yuan. as people's awareness of carbon reduction and emission reduction gradually increases, bicycle travel has become more popular. in 2023, the economic benefits of china's bicycle industry will continue to improve.

not only that, the "cycling craze" has also "ignited" the investment circle. public reports show that velotric, the leading overseas ebike brand, has raised more than 100 million yuan in total, urtopia has completed a pre-a round of financing of 10 million us dollars, aventon, surpanda, etc. the brand has also received financing in the past year.

however, there are also calm observers of the current "cycling craze". li qi told reporters: "in fact, in europe, bicycles and e-bikes are more of a means of transportation for everyone and a part of their lives. it may be on this basis that we pay attention to the appearance, quality, price, etc. of the models."

"in the domestic market, many people's consumption concepts are actually misled. for example, if you ride a road bike for 100 kilometers a day, it is actually a very high-intensity exercise. excessive exercise is not good for your health. at the same time, some people think posting your riding experience on social platforms will gain a certain sense of recognition, but in fact it goes against the bike itself or the culture promoted by the brand, so i think this ‘cycling craze’ may only last for a while.”

(editor: shi yingjing review: tong haihua proofreader: zhai jun)