Wiggle’s 2015 turnover tops £100 million in the UK

Online cycling specialist Wiggle, which merged with rival Chain Reaction Cycles earlier this year to create the WiggleCRC business, says its turnover in the UK topped £100 million in the UK in its latest financial year.

In the 48 weeks to 3 January 2016 – covering around 11 months’ trading, rather than a full year – the company recorded total sales of £178.1 million, compared to £178.8 million in the previous 12 months.

The accounts are the last that Wiggle will file before its figures include those of Chain Reaction Cycles the merger between the businesses that received regulatory clearance in June, and which had been announced in February.

The value of Northern Ireland-based Chain Reaction Cycles at the time of the deal has now been revealed as £73.1 million, reports Cycling Industry News.

> Wiggle and Chain Reaction merger cleared

Wiggle’s turnover in the UK in 2015/16 was £100,852,000 million, 4.2 per cent up on the previous full-year figure, despite the longer trading period in 2014/15.

Sales elsewhere were said to be slightly down, however, due to the strength of the pound, something also noted by Chain Reaction Cycles in its latest accounts.

The collapse in sterling’s exchange rate against the euro and US dollar following the 23 June vote to leave the European Union is likely to have boosted both online retailers’ overseas sales.

However, higher prices in the UK, and the economic uncertainty facing the country following the referendum, may well offset any benefit of increased sales abroad.

Chain Reaction Cycles, meanwhile, posted turnover of £136.4 million in 2015, down from £153 million the previous year, says a Sunday Times report.