Image source @ Visual China
Text | DoNews, by | Mitsui, edited by | Li Kexin
01 A trendy movement that makes young people addicted
A new social currency for young people is on the rise – this time by "cycling".
With the arrival of spring, people have begun to devote themselves to outdoor sports, and cycling has become another "new trend" that dominates the circle of friends, Weibo and Little Red Book after Frisbee and Camping.
Facing the morning sun, bathing in the spring breeze, meeting with friends of three or five, riding in the shade of trees, both close to nature and exercise, why not enjoy it?
As a key position in the spread of popular culture, Douyin and Little Red Book can be described as indispensable to the spread of cycling fever.
In the Little Red Book, enter "cycling", there are about 66w + notes, related searches also appear "cycling route", "cycling equipment", "cycling wear", "cycling weight loss" and other options, the number of notes are also in 1w+, cycling wear or even more, there are 2w+ notes.
Colorful goggles, handsome helmets, tight and slim riding clothes, with the shape of the bicycle streamline, coupled with the sunshine, green trees, a perfect photo, on the social platform is liked and collected.
And the figures of these photos are mostly women, and the comment area is also surrounded by girls' voices: "Which bicycle is it", "Ask for shoes", "I am also a road lover", "Next time brush the street together"...
Judging from the vibrato and the little red book, although cycling is a sport with higher male participation, more and more women are beginning to join it.
Douyin blogger "Genius Little Fire Dragon" received 250w likes in the early days with a cross-dressing video of a cheongsam + bicycle. Although she transformed into an all-domain anchor in the later stage, her videos often share bicycle-related content.
Under her video, many netizens left messages asking about bicycle brands and equipment, and "beauty + bicycle" also showed signs of breaking the circle for a while, followed by many female cycling bloggers such as "One Watt EVA" and "47". The emergence of these female bicycle bloggers has made the niche hobby of cycling have a trend of breaking the circle.
It is undeniable that the addition of girls is making cycling begin to break the circle. Even more retirees are mainstream participants in this cycling boom.
"The main force of bicycle consumption is concentrated in people under 30 years old and retirees. In recent years, the sports of young children's balance bikes have continued to grow and develop in China, laying a good foundation for potential users of future bicycle products", a store owner of Giant told hydrogen consumption that the purpose of cycling for different groups is different, "the youth group takes commuting as the main purpose, and the retired population is mainly cycling tourism.".
Mafengwo big data shows that during the Qingming holiday, the average search popularity of "cycling" increased by more than 70%, and 64% of travelers chose to spend 1-2 days camping, cycling or hiking around the city, and "Qiandao Lake Cycling" is the most concerned cycling route during the holiday.
Why is cycling on fire in the moment? What is the magic of it that makes young people so addicted?
The epidemic is indeed a gust of wind. In 2020, affected by the epidemic, consumers around the world have replaced public transportation by bicycle travel in order to reduce human contact, and the demand for bicycle purchases in various countries has increased significantly.
According to Research And Markets data, the global bicycle market is worth $43.7 billion in 2020, and the growth brought about by the epidemic is expected to last for five years or more, conservatively predicting that the global bicycle market value will reach $82.3 billion in 2027 and optimistically expecting to reach $140.5 billion in 2027.
In 2020, the mainland officially proposed that it strive to achieve the goal of "carbon peak" in 2030 and "carbon neutrality" in 2060, and low-carbon travel has once again become a hot topic.
In recent years, the popularity of shared bicycles has made bicycles an important part of people's lives again. Office workers began to try more shared bicycles, and traveling friends also rose to ride shared bicycles. Bicycles have not only been a means of transportation for a time, but also become synonymous with fashion, and many people have posted pictures of shared bicycle riding on social media, setting off a trend of fashion movement.
Bike enthusiast Xiao Kang told us that he maintains a riding frequency of 3-5 times a week, and the average monthly total mileage remains at about 500 kilometers. "In the beginning, I rode a shared bicycle, and as I went deeper, I found that I fell in love with the bicycle, and then Bought my first road bike."
"After going to college, I often stayed up late to play games, coupled with the lack of exercise and uncontrolled diet, half a year's weight rose from 140 to 180, in order to change this phenomenon, I asked a friend to brush Chang'an Avenue at 8 pm every night, about 30 kilometers back and forth, we did not pursue speed, mainly while riding and chatting, to achieve exercise at the same time, but also to consolidate friendship." Now we have been sticking with it for 2 years and my weight is stable at 140-150. ”
In the riding notes of the Little Red Book, "healing", "decompression", "dating", "health" and "weight loss" are the keywords that appear frequently, and it is obvious that in addition to external drivers, young people fall in love with cycling, and more feel the positive feedback brought by this sport.
02 Is cycling a money-burning game?
"In the old days, Wang Xie Tang Qianyan flew into the homes of ordinary people", the foreign cycling fever has a long history.
Cycling originated in Europe and has undergone hundreds of years of development and evolution, mainly divided into two genres of mountain bikes and road bikes, which are mainly prevalent in developed countries in Europe and North America. World-famous cycling events, three grand tour races, five classical events are held in Europe, Europe's cycling culture and heritage have a long history.
Taking the bicycle kingdom of the Netherlands as an example, the Netherlands has 1.3 bicycles per capita, and the most selected means of transportation in the daily life of the Dutch people is the bicycle, and the bicycle has long been integrated into the life of the locals. Locals generally believe that cycling is both low-carbon and environmentally friendly, but also convenient for exercise.
But in the mainland, the early positioning of the bicycle was only a tool, and with the development of productivity levels and economic levels, cycling began to gradually enter people's vision.
According to statistics, the current number of bicycles in the mainland is about 400 million, which is still the country with the largest number of bicycles in the world, and still maintains a steady growth. The change in the concept of bicycles in China is also quietly happening. Bicycles from the former "first of the three major pieces of marriage", to "poor people's fun", and now to the "green travel label", cycling will continue to be popular.
As a result, bicycle prices have also risen. In the early years, domestic bicycle brands are nothing more than Phoenix, flying pigeons, permanent, etc., the price is also about 100 yuan, and the choice of young people nowadays has become more professional bicycle brands Giant and Merida, and the price starts at 1000 and is not capped.
Born in Taiwan, Giant was founded in 1972 and has sponsored Tour de France for 22 consecutive years since 1997. Giant has a complete low-end- mid-range - high-end product line, and the types of bicycles have also achieved full coverage, including balance bikes, station wagons, mountain bikes, and road bikes.
"Giant's two hot-selling mountain bikes, ATX680 and XTC800, are the trump goods of each store, and they are basically in short supply all year round," the owner of Giant told the author.
"The ATX series is mainly aimed at entry-level consumers, with prices ranging from 1500-3000 yuan. XTC series is mainly aimed at advanced enthusiasts and quasi-professional users, the price ranges from 4000-15000 yuan. The price difference between the two cars is mainly due to the different configurations of the car, the frame, wheelset, transmission system, shock absorber and so on. ”
It is not difficult to find from the configuration table below that the larger XTC800 is lighter, bringing a lighter riding experience, and has a richer combination of transmission speeds, which can adapt to richer scenes, and the price will naturally be more expensive than the ATX680.
The pricing system of The same Taiwanese brand, Meridian, is similar to that of Giant, and the price varies depending on the configuration.
The price and corresponding configuration of the two best-selling mountain bikes XTC800 and ATX680 by Giant, Figure: Hydrogen Consumption
For cycling enthusiasts, the level of money burned by the sport varies from person to person. The threshold for participation in cycling sports is very low, but the threshold for professionalism is high. For amateurs, it is only necessary to own a bicycle and be proficient in driving.
But for the equipment party, professional bicycle equipment is expensive, and high-end limited bicycles may be hundreds of thousands. In addition to the bicycle itself, cycling clothes, helmets, lock pedals, lock shoes and other equipment are a lot of overhead, a set of top cycling clothes, helmets, lock shoes, lock pedals add up to tens of thousands of yuan, plus regular maintenance and maintenance, basically and buy an ordinary car the cost is almost the same.
Brands will also launch limited or high-end series for the equipment party. In 2021, the famous Italian brand Plum Blossom launched the V3rs model painted for the Tour de France limited to commemorate the 108th anniversary of The Tour de France, with a limited edition of 108 units, and the current market price of the vehicle is as high as 130,000. In contrast, the market price of the top model of the high-end series TCR ADV of the domestic brand Giant is "only about 30,000 yuan".
Although the price difference between the two is far, the performance difference of the bicycle is not large, both have sponsored the Grand Tour many times, and achieved excellent results, the price of the two is pulled apart, in fact, it is not the product itself, but the value behind the brand.
Founded in 1944, Plum Blossom has been sitting firmly on the throne of "one king" in Italy (one king and four queens" refers to the ranking order of bicycle brands), which shows its position in the bicycle industry. Plum Blossom only produces mid-to-high-end bicycles, no civilian and low-end production lines, once you have a Meihua brand road car, it proves that you have completed the consumption upgrade and become a senior player.
03Is cycling a good business?
9 The cycling sport that makes young people addicted also makes offline retail stores usher in the moment of the market.
On weekday morning, the owner of the Giant store was already busy, and two elderly people and a mother and son came early in the morning to inquire about the bicycle.
"Since the domestic epidemic situation improved in the second half of last year, in-store bicycle sales have been in a hot state. At least 10 units per week can be guaranteed, and at its peak, even a single day can reach 15 units, and weekends often occur from busy opening to closing," Giant store owners told me.
The two stores I randomly visited, in addition to the agent of Giant, there is also a car dealership that operates a comprehensive category. After a simple communication with the boss, it was found that the popular bicycles were also in a state of short supply.
According to the author's understanding, the current mainstream bicycle stores are divided into three types: official flagship stores, franchise stores and agency stores. The flagship store is directly operated by the brand (represented by the brand trek in China), the goods are relatively complete, there are professional technicians, and a variety of services can be provided; the franchise store is a store where individuals apply to join the brand, and they need to pay the franchise fee, which can have the distribution rights of the brand car, but the franchisee should bear the profit and loss (mainly giant and Merida); the agent store mainly operates foreign brand bicycles, mainly for high-end users, and most of them are regional first- or second-level agents of multiple world-famous brands.
From the exchange with the owner of giant stores, it was found that the "threshold" for wanting to operate a bicycle shop is not low, and the industry has its own "unspoken rules".
Most of the owner of the car shop is a car shop professional technician or a former cyclist, the mainstream way for external personnel to enter the bicycle industry is still the two roads of technicians and riders, the dealer and agent relationship network in the industry is intricate, the channel of supply is the need for long-term cooperation to establish, due to the increasing saturation of the industry, it is not friendly for the entry of new people.
However, once there is a condition to open such a store, from the market situation of the past two years, it will basically not lose money, and even the source of profit is considerable.
The author understands that bicycle sales are not the only source of income for car shops, and the income of car shops also includes: maintenance and repair services, club operations, etc. Taking Giant as an example, the agent's price is generally about 4-60% off the official guide price, which is actually one of the main sources of income for car stores.
As for maintenance and repairs, this is the most profitable part of the car shop. For example, cleaning maintenance after riding on rainy days, regular maintenance and mechanical commissioning, although these are all that ordinary people can do, but considering the limitations of the place and the cost of time, people generally choose professional technicians to complete.
A small maintenance of about 200 yuan, a large maintenance of about 400 yuan, some large car stores will also provide fitting services (tailor-made bicycle parameters suitable for me), this part of the service is mainly for advanced enthusiasts and professional users.
Regarding the operation and maintenance of the club, the main purpose is to stabilize the customer base, hold regular cycling activities or small competitions, continuously expand the customer group, do not stick to short-term benefits, and focus on long-term business (member change and other business).
After the author's research and combined with his own car purchase experience, the author believes that the basic operating model of the bicycle industry is converging with the automotive industry. With bicycle sales as the main body, combined with maintenance and other services has become the development model of mainstream car stores. At the same time, many dealers are also trying to use Internet channels to expand their business territory, so that car stores are no longer limited to regional sales, but look at and serve the whole country.
Taking the author himself as an example, the author bought a road car at the beginning of last year, and at that time, he did not choose an offline physical store, but chose to find a bicycle blogger with 20w fans online to buy. The author paid attention to the blogger in 2019, the blogger has been sharing the relevant knowledge of bicycles on Douyin, including purchase, maintenance, care, etc., and will also shoot riding-related small paragraphs from time to time to popularize bicycle knowledge, so he chose him when changing cars.
Giant and Meilida have opened douyin to promote cycling culture, picture: hydrogen consumption
The author believes that this is also one of the models of online operation monetization in the bicycle industry: shooting short videos, promoting cycling-related culture, allowing more people to participate in cycling sports and immediately enriching their customer base, and then providing reference opinions when customers buy bicycles, and regularly open live broadcasts to communicate with fans or recommend bicycle accessories.
The blogger is mainly engaged in high-end bicycles, according to the author's observation, his daily shipments are very considerable, and there is often a phenomenon of car friends queuing for 3-6 months. It can be seen that the demand for high-end bicycles in China is very large, and the industry prospects are also very impressive.
The hot consumption of bicycles does not mean that the industry is safe and worry-free. After all, bicycles are still a traditional industry, and the continuous emergence of new things is very likely to become a spoiler in the bicycle industry.
The overlapping business of shared bicycles and traditional bicycle shops is mainly in the field of ordinary bicycles, but the general professional bicycle shops mainly sell mountain bikes and road bikes, in fact, the two are completely distinct. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people buy ordinary bicycles, but the number of mountain bikes and road bikes is increasing year by year, the traditional bicycle industry is the part of the erosion of shared bicycles, road bikes and mountain bikes with their unique performance and their own fashion attributes, in a short period of time is irreplaceable for sharing bicycles.
The nascent electric balance bike and electric skateboard may become the biggest competitors in the mountain bike and road bike market. Electric balance car and skateboard is mainly aimed at users are urban office workers, personalized appearance can meet the inner needs of buyers, the power of the motor not only ensures the speed of commuting, but also to avoid the sweating problem of summer commuting, convenient folding function allows users to carry around, and easily switch various public transportation, commuting efficiency greatly improved.
At present, the electric power skateboard has not yet been fully recognized by the state and is in a gray area of three disregards. Once it is recognized by the national road safety, it will inevitably have a huge impact on the bicycle market.
But there is no doubt that with reference to the mature markets in Europe and the United States, the prospects for the development of cycling culture in China are still clear. Perhaps in the future, not only young people, but also a popular movement in which men and women of all ages can participate.