Recession pushes bike sales up by 20%

Over half of specialist bike shops reported sales growth in excess of 20 per cent in April 2009 compared to April 2008.

The cycle retail industry still has a little way to go to catch up with figures published by the booming food industry, with ASDA claiming a 41 per cent increase in sales and Tesco growth of 30 per cent. But while the British public seems to be eating its way through this recession, a good proportion of us seem to be cycling through it too.

Of the rest of the 273 independent cycle retailers polled by the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT), a further 22 per cent experienced some kind of sales growth while only 19 per cent experienced a drop on last April’s figures.

Based on these figures the cumulative underlying sales increase for independent bike shops for the year to date now stands at a very healthy 9.9 per cent, according to the ACT’s research.

April Fact File

• 51% of retailers reported core sales up by more than 20% in April 09 vs. 08
• 12% of retailers reported core sales up by between 10% - 20% in April 09 vs. 08
• 10% of retailers reported core sales up by between 1% - 10% in April 09 vs. 08
• 8% of retailers reported core sales down by between 1% - 10% in April 09 vs. 08
• 9% of retailers reported core sales down by between 10% - 20% in April 09 vs. 08
• 10% of retailers reported core sales down by more than 20% in April 09 vs. 08

The ACT says 27 per cent of retailers reported sales shrinkage in April compared with 24 per cent in March, but these retailers only accounted for 20 per cent of total sales volumes. The most significant trend is the continued growth of around 75 per cent of the market.

The figures were derived from 273 independent cycle retailers and workshops throughout the UK, ranging in size from annual turnovers of £50k to £2.5m.

A full breakdown of the results can be found here