Bikes Mean Business

If cycling was a modest way to commute some years ago, it certainly isn’t any more. And that’s because cycling has taken on the additional dimension of contributing to healthy living. And as lifestyles veer top rating. The story of Bike Studio serves as an example.

- Amit Singh

At times, it’s just a glaring gap that needs to be noticed. As it stands, it was the great disconnect between the Indian bicycle market and the global trends as well as lack of premium in-store experience which prompted Rohit Kalra, Managing Director, LA Sovereign Bicycles, to launch his initiative ‘Bike Studio’ in 2015. The idea was to passionately fine-tune the overall customer buying and ownership experience, which leads to pride of owning a bicycle. As Rohit puts it, the Bike Studio retail initiative was majorly targeted towards breaking the great misconception about bicycle purchase behaviour.

“There was a great misconception that customers are not willing to spend more than Rs 2,000-3,000 on a bicycle. However, we were of the firm belief that customers do appreciate quality over price. Today, there is huge demand for premium as well as imported bicycles,” he points out. With increasing customer awareness towards health and wellness, and increasing disposable income, price acceptability of the customers has been increasing. That’s the reason Bike Studio has posted impressive growth from a single outlet in 2016 to over 18 as of February 2019.

The company caters to a broad range of customers, including kids and teenagers as well as professional bikers and fitness enthusiasts. “While kids and teenagers form the largest buyer group with demand for entry-level and mid-range bicycles, the demand from fitness enthusiasts opting for mid to premium range bicycles is growing the fastest,” shares Nitin Ghai, Country Head, Franchise, LA Sovereign.

AN ENTREPRENEURSHIP FORMULA