BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
The first half of the year saw a significant rise in the number of finance applications for cycle sales and accessories, as witnessed by V12 Retail Finance.
H1 2015 saw a 64 per cent rise compared like-for-like with 2014. This led to £38.55m worth of lending being approved for customers using instalment finance in store and online – an increase from £23.1m over the same period in 2014.
V12 is part of Secure Trust Bank Group and has been providing point of sale finance systems to retailers operating in the sports and leisure industries for more than 20 years.
The business said it operates an online and in-store ecommerce service that uses paperless processing systems, has digital e-signature capabilities and electronic identity verification to speed up the process for customers. It provides unsecured, fixed rate and fixed term loans of up to 84 months with a maximum loan size of £25,000. Typical loans are around the £940 mark and are repaid over a period of 18 months, with 30 per cent of customers spending more than they normally would have done if finance had not been available.
Matthew Barton, national account manager at V12 Retail Finance, said: “The fact that 58 per cent of our customers said they would delay their purchase or not make a purchase at all highlights the importance of offering finance to help drive sales upwards. Over the last few years our cycle finance proposition has seen increased levels of activity influenced by the success of British cyclists in the Tour de France, the Olympics and Paralympics. We have been working with household names in the cycle industry to enhance the way their consumers purchase goods, by enabling them to spread the cost of their purchases.”
Clients of V12 in the cycling industry include Evans Cycles, Tredz and Sunset Cycles.
Cardiff’s Sunset Cycles was established in 1988 and operates a bicycle shop in Cardiff with an online presenc too.
Jason Brace, director at Sunset Cycles, said: “We’ve been working with V12 for quite some time now and they’re extremely good at what they do. The team clearly understands the industry we operate in and have delivered a number of tailored finance packages that make it easier for our customers to make a purchase.
“Not only does the interest free credit help to increase footfall, but it also allows customers to get their hands on much more desirable products at affordable prices. By constantly introducing innovative lending solutions, we are seeing customers buying better quality products, which is having a direct impact on our sales.”
