BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Bike Club, the subscription provider of kids’ bikes, has agreed to acquire Bicircular, a Barcelona-based bike subscription platform for children in Spain.
Founded in London in 2016, Bike Club enables parents to subscribe to bikes for their children, and then exchange the bikes for larger sizes as their children grow.
Bicircular was Spain’s first platform for children’s bike rentals, making it possible for Spanish parents to rent rather than buy bikes to match the needs of their growing children.
Under the terms of the deal, Bicircular’s subscribers will join Bike Club’s community of parents and riders and become customers of the combined company.
Gabriel Medina, founder and CEO of Bicircular, also joins Bike Club in a senior leadership role to guide and execute the business development strategy as country director for Spain.
Following the announcement, Medina said: “For several years, Bike Club has been the ‘one to watch’ in the family cycling market, creating a new way for parents to finally source bikes for their children on terms that suit their preference for ‘access over ownership’ while never compromising on the quality and selection of bikes on offer.”
As circular economy businesses that use and reuse materials to reduce waste, Bike Club and Bicircular share a mission to improve sustainability in the European family cycling market.
Almost 100 kg of CO2 is emitted every time a new child’s bike is produced.
Bike Club’s bikes are rented and refurbished up to six times, ensuring utilisation of each bike is maximised during its lifetime, while the requirement to manufacture new bikes is significantly reduced.
James Symes, CEO of Bike Club, said: “In founding Bicircular, Gabriel has been resolute in his ambition to build a business that not only serves a community of parents with a better way to source bikes for their kids, but one that puts the Circular Economy at its heart.
“Cycling is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it is also one of the worst offenders among family leisure pursuits for poor sustainability. At Bike Club, our team and our customers want to combat this. We bring bikes back to life over and over again, costing parents and the planet less in the process and getting more kids cycling from an early age.”
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This acquisition forms part of Bike Club’s fast-growth strategy in mainland Europe.
Bike Club selected Germany to launch its first non-UK operations in Autumn 2022 on account of the country’s well-established family cycling industry and culture.
The company has also announced that in its first six months, Bike Club provided 5,000 bikes to kids across Germany and broke its first year German sales target.
Symes added: “Bike Club’s fast adoption in Germany and the market position Bicircular gained in Spain both support our conviction that the family cycling market is ripe for disruption in countries throughout Europe.
“We’re in a strong position to act fast on the accelerating pace of consumer demand for kids’ bike rentals, particularly as the cost of living continues to rise across the continent. Giving customers the chance to choose between buying for good and subscribing for as long as you need it is more important than ever.”
