YOUR ISSUES ARE NOT YOURS ALONE
My wife and I have just returned from a trip through Southeast Asia. It was mostly a vacation, but I thought it also would be an ideal time to do a little snooping relative to the bicycle business.
We all know the trials and tribulations the domestic market has been going through so perhaps I could do a little comparison with bicycle dealers in another country.
My travel took me to Singapore, which I thought would be a good place to do a comparison. If you’ve never had the opportunity to go to Singapore, you should put it on your bucket list. It’s a very modern city/state, very Western in its appearance with striking architecture. Singapore is very much a melting pot of Southeast Asia with a population of just over 6 million, a mix of Indian, Malay, Chinese and others.
How are Singapore bike dealers doing in 2024? I talked to three dealers when there, Hello Bicycles, The Bike Brewery, and the Bike Settlement. In short, these dealers’ experiences are not significantly different than what dealers have worked through domestically. Let’s look at each individually.
Hello Bicycle
This shop has been open for 10 years. It is a full-service shop selling new bikes, a full range of accessories and service. Hello Bicycles sells all types of bicycles but mostly city bikes, juvenile bikes, folding bikes, and some cargo bikes. It also does a small business in ATBs and drop bar product.
The primary brands sold at Hello Bicycles are Linus, Shulz, and Lekker. The store sells between 200 to 300 bikes annually. This year will be closer to the lower number.
The sales mix is approximately 50 percent bike sales, 30 percent service, and 20 percent parts and accessories. They do no business in used bicycles or rentals. None of the bike brands in the store are the major ones we know domestically. However, the manager of the store I spoke with told me he has suffered the same supply chain and heavy inventory issues we’ve experienced domestically, and those have weighed on his performance. This year started out fine, but as the year progressed sales have fallen off significantly, a double-digit decline.
The manager sees next year, 2025, as flat and doesn’t see any uptick in sales.
The Bike Brewery
The Brewery has been open for 11 years. It is a full-service shop selling new bikes, a limited range of accessories and service. The shop sells mostly drop-bar racing bikes. They also sell a few city bikes and ATB bikes, too. Their most popular brands are Cannondale and Drake. Their sales mix is 10 percent bike sales, 10 percent accessories, and 80 percent service. The store sells around 120 to 150 new bikes annually. They do not sell used bikes and do no rental business.
Supply chain and inventory from their distributors have been a continuing problem going back to the 2nd quarter of 2023. This year started out slow and has gotten worse. Their operating plan for 2025 is for a slight increase in sales but the confidence level for that is low. The biggest hit this year has been to their accessory sales. Overall, the manager feels the industry is off about 30 percent.
Bicycle Settlement
This shop has been open just over 11 years. The manager asked that I not take photos. This shop is a service only location, but will sell components to do-it-yourself customers. The manager told me he has had trouble getting timely components from certain suppliers. His service business has not declined as much as the other shops as people are having their bikes repaired or tuned up rather than buying new. The manager told me the expectation for 2025 is flat. During my visit, the shop had eight bikes in various states of repair, and I was told this was an average workload.
All three of the stores were clean, well laid out, and well-lit. Each gave off a professional and competent feeling.
One thing you may have noticed is I haven’t mentioned e-bike sales at any of these locations. I didn’t because the two stores and service location do not sell or repair them. Why?
The government regulations for importing, selling and using e-bikes in Singapore are many and rigidly enforced. The Singapore Land Trasport Authority (LTA) requires a $30 USD import permit fee for each e-bike brought into the country. E-bikes can weigh no more than 48.5 pounds and have a top speed not to exceed 15.5 mph. E-bikes must be certified to UL2272 which is a less stringent regulation than UL2271 or UL2849. All e-bikes must register with the LTA and pass an initial inspection and be inspected every two years to ensure they remain compliant.
So if it helps, many of the issues you’ve been dealing with are not yours alone.
Contact Steve Bina: steve@humanpoweredsolutions.com.