Published
Dec 5, 2016
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London set for cycle store boom as mayor announces new investment

Published
Dec 5, 2016

London’s growing number of cycling stores could be set for a boom with the UK capital’s mayor today announcing a £770m investment over the next five years designed to boost the number of people cycling in the city.

London's cycle stores could boom following new investment in cycling in the city


The £154m per year spend is roughly double that of the previous mayor and follows an election commitment of Sadiq Khan to prioritise cycling.

While the measure is largely aimed at reducing congestion and pollution and boosting health, the rising number of cyclists in London has already contributed to a mini cycle store boom. And cycle schemes in other cities have been shown to have a directly beneficial effect on specialist store turnover as well as visitor traffic to other stores.

Cycling UK said that when a high quality cycle lane was rebuilt in late 2008 on 9th Avenue in Manhattan, retail sales increased by up to 49% in the immediate area, compared to 3% borough-wide.

More than 2m people in the UK now cycle at least once a week with sales of cycles and related products rising fast. This has led to expansion in the number of stores offering cycle clothing and accessories as well as a number of high profile openings.

Last month Swiss specialist Assos opened its first international flagship London’s West End, not far from rival Rapha, the UK-based company that is rumoured to be in the sights of luxury giant LVMH. Rapha itself has seen growth of more than 30% annually for over 10 years.

Also last month, high-end e-tailer Omnium opened its Omnium x The Cycling Store pop-up shop in SE1, near the Elephant and Castle tube station. It remains open until December 13.

The markets for both bikes and for the parts, accessories and clothing (or PACs) that go with them have been expanding but growth in the PACs sector has outstripped that of bikes themselves.

Last year Mintel said PACs growth was 28% from 2010 to 2014 and the number of women taking up the activity is growing.

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