BIKE24 advances expansion in southern Europe

• Spanish company BIKE24 SUPPORT ES S.L. founded
• Around 50 new jobs are to be created in the warehouse and shipping areas
• Search for local logistics centre site in the Barcelona area has started
• Further online shops in national language planned for the French and Italian markets

Dresden, 31 May 2021 - After the successful launch of its online shop for the Spanish market last summer, BIKE24 has now founded a subsidiary in Spain. In addition, the company is planning to soon set up a logistics centre in the Barcelona area to increase the supply to Spanish and other southern European customers. The e-commerce platform for cycling, which is one of the leaders in continental Europe, is thereby pushing ahead with its expansion in the promising southern European markets. In addition to its presence in Spain, it is currently preparing country-specific online shops for France and Italy.

"We saw the great potential of the Spanish market directly after launching our Spanish-language online shop at the end of June 2020," says Andrés Martin-Birner, co-founder and CEO of BIKE24. "In the third quarter, we achieved a rise in sales of over 90 percent compared to the same period a year earlier, and in the fourth quarter the increase was even bigger at 150 percent. Given the promising results, we are now taking the next step and establishing our own logistics presence in Spain."

BIKE24 founded the subsidiary BIKE24 SUPPORT ES S.L. at the end of May to further expand its business in Spain. The unit will also operate the local logistics centre with warehouse, shipping and returns departments for which the company is currently searching a site in the Barcelona area. Over the next 18 months, around 50 new jobs will be created there. The first employees for the Spanish-speaking customer service department will start work at the beginning of July. BIKE24 will not only supply customers on the Iberian Peninsula but also in other southern European regions from the new site. In the coming year, country-specific online shops for France and Italy will be launched as part of BIKE24's European expansion.

"Spain, France and Italy with a combined market volume of 4.6 billion euros are highly attractive, structurally growing markets and we see a lot of potential for future growth there," Andrés Martin-Birner explains. "The countries are not only among Europe's big cycling nations also thanks to well-known races like the Tour de France or the Giro d-Italia: They also have large communities of cycling enthusiasts who get on their mountain or racing bikes in their spare time."

Bicycle use is also becoming increasingly popular for everyday trips in many regions of southern Europe. In Spain, annual bicycle sales increased from 750 thousand to 1.26 million units from 2011 to 2019. Online retail already plays a major role in Spain with a market share of 24 percent in 2019 of total retail and an ongoing upwards trajectory.* And just as in many other parts of Europe, broad-based cycling initiatives ensure that the infrastructure in major cities like Valencia, Barcelona or Madrid will improve significantly in the coming years. The resulting comfortable and safe cycling path networks should make the switch to this climate-friendly mode of transport even more attractive for many people.

With its extensive product portfolio focused on the premium segment, BIKE24 addresses not only cycling enthusiasts but also these who rely on green mobility in the region. The bestsellers here include products from the parts, accessories and clothing segments, and online purchasing of bicycles and e-bikes has increased in recent years as well. The product ranges of the country-specific online shops largely correspond to those of the German one where BIKE24 offers the broadest and deepest product portfolio in the industry with 77,000 items from over 800 brands.

*Source: Statista
 

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About BIKE24
BIKE24 is one of continental Europe's leading e-commerce bike platforms. The online retailer with a focus on the premium segment is the central contact point for the fast-growing community of bicycle enthusiasts and thus promotes green mobility. Founded in Dresden in 2002 by CEO Andrés Martin-Birner, Falk Herrmann and Lars Witt, responsible for Legal & Own Brands, the company has quickly developed into one of continental Europe's leading companies as well as a globally active online retailer in this fast-growing market. The online shop offers customers 77,000 products from more than 800 brands. This gives BIKE24 the widest range of branded products in the sector in continental Europe. The online bike platform is already present with three local webshops in Germany (BIKE24.de), Austria (BIKE24.at) and Spain (BIKE24.es) in continental Europe. In addition, the international shop (BIKE24.com) supplies customers all over the world.