BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Following the commencement of the voting process for the BikeBiz Awards earlier this week, we’ll be highlighting each and every finalist from our list of expertly-curated accolades.
The final decision will be placed in the hands of those that know best – professionals that work within the industry day in day out and prosumers with a passion for cycling.
The online vote will close on Friday 16th August at midday and the results will determine the 2019 BikeBiz Awards winners.
Today, we’re showcasing the distributor awards: Bike Distributor of the Year and P&A Distributor of the Year.
Bike Distributor of the Year
Chicken CycleKit – Chicken CycleKit was a third-generation family run business and was founded in 1919, 2019 being its 100th anniversary. A recent management buyout from long-serving directors of the company signifies the next steps in its business and heralds the start of the new stage in the long-term plans for the company. Its heritage and tradition work seamlessly with state-of-the-art products and processes. Its strong traditional values (loyalty, unwavering commitment to quality, reliability and stability) underpin a thoroughly modern offering across the board.
CSG – Cycling Sports Group is recognised as one of the most significant global suppliers of bicycles and accessories. Founded on 1st October 2009 by Dorel Industries Inc, Cycling Sports Group UK is proud to present a truly unique and powerful portfolio of cycling brands to the UK market, continually striving to evolve its business through the very best products and service standards. CSG was established in 2009 along with the introduction of American bicycle brand Cannondale joining a portfolio including Charge, GT and Mongoose, and a range of accessories. Today its brands also include the innovative Fabric parts which are warehoused at its head office in Poole, Dorset.
Hotlines – Hotlines is a distributor of premium goods to the cycling industry in the UK and worldwide. It prides itself in providing quick and efficient service and expert product knowledge. It is the exclusive UK distributor for many of the leading brands within the cycling industry. It also distributes its own brands Nukeproof, Ragley and Brand X dealer direct worldwide. Hotlines is a group of passionate industry professionals with a shared interest in providing quality products and premium customer service. It also shares a passion for cycling and is driven each day by a desire to improve the cycling experience for consumers and its valued dealer base.
Moore Large – The Moore Large bicycle division portfolio consists of global leading brands within its category, Tern and Wethepeople BMX, alongside house brands Forme and Cuda. Further to exceptional product, one of the key driving factors to its success is a clear vision to build the UK’s largest British multi-category bicycle brand with Forme with a defined, IBD focused, distribution channel. It is a forward-thinking distributor with customer service and family values at its core and currently deals with almost every major IBD nationwide.
Raleigh UK – Raleigh is one of the world’s oldest and best-known bike brands. Established in 1887 in Nottingham, England, it’s still based in its home town. It’s renowned for its iconic bikes such as the Burner, Grifter and Chopper, as well as cutting-edge bikes like TI-Raleigh Tour-de-France-winning 753 steel frames. Its bike design and wheel building still happen at its head office in Nottingham and it is a tradition that will continue for many years to come. It is now part of the Accell Group, a European-based company who owns a collection of bicycle and accessory brands throughout Europe and North America.
Silverfish UK – Silverfish UK is massively proud of what it has achieved on behalf of its bike brands – especially Yeti, a brand it now represents exclusively in the UK, Germany and Austria. Mondraker is another standout success, nine years on it’s sharing the warm glow of award-winning bikes and World Championship DH and XC success. It has taken brands to events across the UK and Europe including Fort William, NEC Cycle Show and ArdRock Enduro. Its dedicated demo fleet supports dealer events, and it also provided incentives to IBDs to run their own demo fleets.
Sportline – Sportline as a company has been working tirelessly over the last couple of years to bring a complete range of bikes that really work for bike shops. Across Adventure, Genesis, Saracen and Ridgeback it now has a bike for every customer and continues to invest and develop in its products to offer something for everyone.
Volt Bikes – Volt specialises in one thing, and one thing only: designing and manufacturing the very best e-bikes around. It all started back in 2010, in rural Buckinghamshire, and has now moved from its family garage to its beloved London Bridge showroom and never looked back. And ever since, it’s been its mission to pair elegant cycle design with boundary-pushing technology – revolutionising the UK’s e-bike scene and changing the game for cyclists.
P&A Distributor of the Year
Bob Elliot – Bob Elliot & Co Ltd started in 1985. Bob started by selling all around the country from the back of a van to shops and has expanded greatly over the years. This soon took-off and Bob bought himself a building to start distributing from in Atherton, Lancs. From here, the business has grown from strength to strength. Its current premises are a modern building in Chorley, Lancashire which doubled its previous floor space to ensure it can continue to expand into the cycle trade market.
Extra UK – Extra UK prides itself on offering an excellent portfolio of exclusively distributed market-leading brands including Topeak, Fizik, Crank Brothers, Brooks, Clif and most recently Abus and FFWD. In the last year Extra UK has also added up and coming brands Squirt, Tubolito and M2O as it constantly looks to add innovation and quality to its existing range. All of Extra UK’s logistical needs including order processing, packing, prompt delivery, invoicing and more are taken care of by our long-term partner who is an expert in their field. This leaves Extra UK free to focus on sales, marketing and customer service.
Madison – Madison is the biggest P&A distributor and it remains committed to helping local bike shops up and down the country, particularly with Freewheel.co.uk which will hopefully revolutionise the way people buy and interact with their local bike shops.
Raleigh UK – Raleigh UK is leading the way in parts and accessories distribution by offering total support to the IBD network. Its partners have free delivery Monday to Saturday, the ability to order up to 9pm for next day delivery and the option of sending product directly from Raleigh to the consumers address. Its future plans include IBD-focused promotions that add real value and generate footfall for its customers.
Silverfish UK – Silverfish a range of premium P&A brands in the UK including Fox, Michelin, Knog and Race Face. It is also proud to have helped exciting new brands such as Backcountry Research and Skratch Labs break into the UK market. The complexity challenges of P&A are many but it has worked to master these and prides itself on offering IBDs the products their customers want, when they want them. Next day and free delivery options are a given but where it excels is in its overall support package.
The Cycle Division – The Cycle Division imports and distributes bicycle parts and accessories to independent bicycle dealers throughout the UK. The Cycle Division has been trading since 2001 and it is a team currently totalling 17+, not including sales agents, however, some of them have been in the business for many more years. The brands it is proudest to push are Sturmey Archer/Sunrace, RavX, Finesse, Schwalbe, Weldtite, Oxford and our own generic brand D2O.
Upgrade – Upgrade continues to offer UK riders the best possible products at competitive prices, either from its own in-house brands (DMR and Kinesis UK) or from any of the other brands that it distributes (Lezyne, ISM, Pivot, Reynolds etc) and all with great service, from the moment you initially place an order right through to after-sales service and when necessary warranty issues and returns.
ZyroFisher – ZyroFisher represents more than 50 of the world’s best cycling brands, including market-leading innovators such as SRAM, Tacx, Giro, CamelBak, Cateye and Bell. Utilising its years of experience from delivering the UK’s most prestigious portfolio to market, it provides market expertise that benefits its customers and its brands. It has an established reputation for delivering innovative market strategies and outstanding customer support to its wide-ranging customer base.
The 11th annual ceremony is returning to the Cycle Show at the NEC Birmingham on 12th September, in conjunction with the exhibitor after-party.
Citrus-Lime has been confirmed as an event partner for this year’s Awards. The EPOS and e-commerce specialist will also be sponsoring the Best Independent Bike Dealer Award for 2019.
For sponsorship and promotion opportunities, please contact Richard Setters.
