In early May, due to the slowdown of the European epidemic situation, various countries have “unblocked”. But at this time people still have taboos on public transportation such as buses and subways, and bicycles have become a popular means of transportation.
On a cross-border e-commerce platform, bicycle sales in Western, French, Italian and other markets rose across the board, and Spain directly rose 22 times, and even tens of thousands of “local tyrant”-class electric vehicles were sold out. In response to the surge in orders, many bicycle factories in China are urgently recruiting workers and working overtime 24 hours a day. The orders are still queued up to one month later, and more bicycle manufacturers are already planning to expand their factories to increase production lines.
Such a scene seems familiar. Mask machines, non-woven fabrics, ear straps… they were all highly sought after due to the outbreak, and their prices rose suddenly, but as the fight against the epidemic entered the second half, they gradually cooled down after falling back in demand.
Seeing that the bicycle tuyere is suddenly coming like many “predecessors”, those players who are pouring in, it is also time to understand that while keeping up with the demand boom, it is also necessary to maintain a necessary rational thinking.
Europe’s bicycle purchase boom
“Actually, bicycle sales have been growing since the beginning of the closure.” Vickie, who lives in France, told Zinc Scale that due to traffic restrictions during the closure, many people chose to use bicycles for travel, but excessive demand was difficult to obtain in special periods. Satisfied, “At that time, neither the e-commerce platform nor the physical store could buy the goods.”
The subsidy for buying bicycles in France can be up to 400 €
When the bans on the closure of cities around the country were lifted one after another, various industries began to recover, and bicycle sales ushered in a peak.
In the past few days, Vickie is considering whether to follow the trend to start an electric bicycle. “Now the government has introduced a subsidy policy to buy bicycles. The state subsidizes 33% of the cost, and the maximum can be reduced by 400 €. For an electric bicycle of 1200€, only 800€ is enough.”
Not only that, France also provides users who buy bicycles with more intimate logistical support-at the maintenance point near the user’s home, it will provide them with free maintenance services. Vickie admits that she was driven by the subsidy policy and logistic services to buy a car.
In addition to France, the relevant policies introduced by countries such as Italy and the United Kingdom are not too much.
It is reported that Italy has approved the provision of a subsidy of up to 60% of the price of bicycles to consumers who buy bicycles, with a maximum subsidy limit of 500 euros; the British government will also launch a bicycle voucher worth 50 pounds each, and launch a tax-free bicycle purchase plan, Encourage more people to ride to work by saving money.
Undoubtedly, these measures have become the strongest driving force for European people to buy bicycles. Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress data showed that sales of electric vehicle products in May increased substantially year-on-year, with the most significant increase in Europe, with nearly 900% in Italy, 750% in the UK, 380% in France, and Spain also increased by 280 %. The growth of bicycles is also very obvious, Spain exceeds 2200%, Italy is close to 500%, and the UK is 380%.
Affected by the wave of bicycle purchases in Europe, China has a complete bicycle industry chain from parts to vehicle assembly, and annual exports of bicycles account for 70% of the global market. The export volume of bicycles and electric vehicles is also rising.
According to relevant media reports, not only are mainstream products around 7,000 yuan in short supply, but high-end products over 10,000 yuan in price have also been sold out. Many Chinese bicycle factories are urgently recruiting workers and working overtime 24 hours a day, but still can not meet the huge demand of the surge. The related orders have been arranged one month later. Even, a considerable number of bicycle manufacturers are already planning to expand factories and increase production lines.
“Sales in the European and American markets began to increase by 20% in March and April. The first batch was sold out within a week. The second batch was sold out before the second batch was shipped. The third batch has already added 200%.” Said.
Crazy influx of Chinese sellers
Under the wind like a bicycle, it is a collective carnival of bicycle manufacturers and related industrial chains.
“The goods originally prepared in overseas warehouses were sold out within a week. The second batch was ordered on the road, and in the third batch we had 3 or 4 times more stock.” Bruce Lee, founder of the electric scooter brand Janobike It is revealed that since the resumption of work in March, the sales of its brands have continued to increase, with a month-on-month increase of up to 30% and 40%.
This is not alone. Electric car brand Sheng Milo’s orders on AliExpress in May also doubled compared to April. He Chong, the company’s chief of operations, said: “Workers work overtime to 12 o’clock every day, and orders are still scheduled for a month.” Guo Zhenhe, the head of AliExpress of bicycle brand SAVA, is even more reassuring. “Since April, orders have increased by 30% month-on-month. Above, the production capacity is tight, and the goods can be shipped within 3 days after the order was placed. Now we have to wait at least one week.”
Sheng Milo orders surge
More importantly, the excessive orders not only benefited many existing bicycle brands, but also led to a large number of new faces in the Chinese bicycle market.
Relevant industrial and commercial registration data show that from January to May 2020, my country’s new bicycle-related enterprises reached more than 50,000, an increase of 41.08%. Among them, the growth rate of related companies in March was 135.36%, which was the highest growth rate of my country’s bicycle-related companies from this year to this year; the number of related companies increased by 15,000 in April, which was the month with the largest number of related companies so far this year.
At the same time, such a consumer boom is also a great boost and stimulus for cross-border e-commerce platforms and bicycle and electric vehicle related industrial chains.
Li Kai, head of the sports category of AliExpress, a cross-border e-commerce platform, bluntly stated that many overseas offline stores were closed due to the epidemic, and consumers had to choose to shop online. “In order to ensure smooth logistics during the epidemic, AliExpress The Spanish overseas warehouses were urgently expanded to ensure the continuous service of overseas warehouses in France, Belgium, Poland and other countries.”
On the other hand, the popularity of electric bicycle sales has also cleared obstacles to the development of its core components, lithium batteries. It is reported that not only the power battery giant CATL, digital lithium battery overlord ATL and BYD, the three major power players, have begun to compete for the market share of lithium batteries for bicycles. A large number of cylindrical battery companies that have broken down in the field of new energy vehicle power batteries also Have joined the battle.
Followers need to think rationally
It is not difficult to find that the consumer frenzy from Europe is sweeping the entire Chinese bicycle market at a speed that is visible to the naked eye. This is not the first time that the scene of the industry has been driven by the outbreak of demand during the epidemic.
The most typical case is the mask that runs through the entire anti-epidemic time.
During the anti-epidemic period, the national demand for masks doubled their value, and it also led to the explosive development of epidemic prevention and control related industries such as mask machines, melt-blown cloths, and ear straps. Among them, the most obvious is the mask machine that has risen from 200,000 yuan/unit to 500,000 to more than 100,000 yuan/unit, and the meltblown cloth that has increased from 100,000 yuan/ton to 750,000 yuan/ton.
However, with the reversal of the domestic epidemic situation, the production and marketing of masks have been normalized, the demand for mask machines and melt-blown cloths has dropped, and their prices have begun to plunge.
The latest data shows that the price of meltblown fabrics below level 80 has dropped back to several thousand yuan per ton, and even so it is difficult to harvest orders, although the major brands of mask machines such as Yuda and Tuostar have maintained at 500,000 yuan per unit. Other brands have taken the lead in returning to the normal price of 200,000/unit.
“Let’s live in a luxury house first, and then go to the rooftop.” Yi Yu said that the masks and the related industrial chains were ups and downs. Compared with masks that have multiple purchase needs, bicycles tend to be a one-time consumption behavior in the short term for most families. In other words, the current outbreak of purchase demand is likely to benefit only the group of people who initially entered the game like a mask.
For those non-professional followers, if they rush into the market because of their current interests, they are not as good as the core competitiveness of fame, technology accumulation and other core players, such as Janobike, SAVA and other professional players with deeper background, even if they can catch It is also difficult to last for the first pot of gold, and the followers who are slightly backward may also be directly shuffled out of the game.
For those brand manufacturers who have expanded their industrial chains due to short-term demand, when the epidemic situation is completely reversed, the bicycle market will be changed from the seller’s market to the buyer’s market, and then it will no longer be the quantity, but the quality, price, technology and so on. A comprehensive comparison of angles.
To some extent, when faced with this type of consumption trend, following the trend has become an instinctive choice for incoming players, but beyond instinct, what they should do is to maintain some necessary rational thinking. Perhaps the only way to survive is whether they are in good or bad conditions, a better way to survive.