Cycling industry still 'appealing' to investors, despite turbulent post-Covid period

The cycling industry may have experienced one of its most turbulent periods in recent history, but it still represents a great opportunity for investment, according to one business expert. 

After the UK cycling boom during the global pandemic, the post-Covid period has seen brands suffer major losses or go out of business, bike shops hit by the subsequent cost of living crisis, and other areas of the industry affected. 

The demise of the cycle retail giant Wiggle - although later reborn - epitomised the danger the sector found itself in. 

Nevertheless, Dr Gordon Fletcher, associate dean of research and innovation at Salford Business School, told Cycling Weekly that he believes the sector still represents a major attraction for investors. 

"That's the appeal, isn't it, in a one sentence nutshell," Fletcher said, as he explained that the industry’s ability to reach all corners of society was what made it such an attractive proposition.

"It’s the idea that there is an entire sector if you like, I was struggling for a word because I was going to say sport, but then of course, it's not just a sport, it's a commuting device, it's a leisure device, it's something that can take many different forms and reach different people."

"For example, the associated kit that goes with cycling all adds to the commercial interest of it," he added. "Because it means that there's a commitment from consumers. 

"But equally, because those consumers are such a wide range of people, it means that you've got many different things that you can go for in terms of individual products, but you can potentially pivot within that sector, relatively easily. 

"And you can pivot towards luxury items or away from luxury… It does make it quite fascinating, because there's so many moving parts to all of this."

Inevitably, cycling always generates discussions around sustainability, particularly relating to transport. Fletcher explained that the rise in popularity of e-bikes, along with urban bike hire schemes, were two particular areas that are likely to generate further interest due to the ability to target commuters across the country. 

"If you think in the last four, five years, the advent of electric bikes has gone mainstream," he said. "That's an entirely new sector, or an entirely new product in one way, that adds to the bigger sector. It hasn't necessarily diminished another part of cycling. 

"But what you could argue is actually the biggest opportunity, particularly in the UK, is that I don't think anyone would look at the UK and describe the country as a nation of cyclists. So there is still more opportunity in the sense of who might be able to take up cycling from the point of view of it being a commuting device. 

"You could argue that there is much more capacity there for people to use cycling for much more day to day, mundane purposes, but that's still all opportunity from an investor's point of view."

He added: "I think that's how cycling then moves into different agendas, because it's also the fact that it leads into discussions about sustainability, even an electric bike is far more sustainable than an electric car for instance. 

"People are conscious of the fact that, depending on where you are in the UK, there's relatively poor health in the community and obviously cycling can contribute to turning that around. So it reaches out into different aspects of agenda, sustainability, public wellbeing and people's health. 

"From an investor's point of view, if they can see that an initial investment is improving wellbeing and can also be profitable for them, then they will consider it and they will look at it. And I think that's one of the interesting things as well with this because it does reach out into what are important concerns across wider UK society. 

"So you can look at cycling from different angles, and each time you look at it, they will be quite appealing to the right sort of investor."