According to data from the latest survey of sports habits, carried out by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, cycling is the second favorite sport of the Spanish. This trend has been reflected in the sales of bicycles which, according to the AMBE (Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain), increased the turnover of the sector by 39% in 2020 and in 2021 record figures were reached again.
Some bicycle manufacturers still suffer out of stock due to lack of raw materials for a couple of years, causing waiting lists of several months or even a year. This, added to the new priorities of consumers, such as saving and caring for the environment, have given a great boost to businesses dedicated to the sale of reconditioned bikes.
This is the case of Bike Ocasión, which opened its first store in terrace (Barcelona) in 2015 and since then they have sold nearly 10,000 bicycles. The years after the pandemic have been its great push and now it plans to increase its annual turnover by approximately 30%, going from 6.2M in 2021 to 8.1M by 2022. In addition, in this last year it has doubled its workforce and They sell more than 400 bikes each month, making them sales leaders in their industry. “One of the key points of our activity is the certified reconditioning that we carry out on each bicycle, for which we need a growing team of highly qualified mechanics”explains Xavier Palmero, founder of the company.
More for less
One of the main reasons for choosing reconditioned bikes is the saving. Each customer invests, on average, €2,000 in a high-end reconditioned bicycle, which represents a saving of 30% compared to a new one, also avoiding the inconvenience of the current circumstances, due to the lack of stock in stores due to to high demand.
On the other hand, sustainability is another of the keys to the rise of reconditioned bicycles, since customers currently take into account such as the impact on the environment and the reduction of waste, when making your purchase decision. Increasingly closer to the reuse of the product, the reconditioning of bicycles is already playing a very important role in this market.
Likewise, this business has a great impact in terms of caring for the environment. “Building a bicycle costs between 125 and 300 kg of CO2, a range that depends a lot on the material and the manufacturing process. According to our own calculations, every 100 bicycles we buy saves the planet the equivalent of traveling around the world by car 3.5 times.” comments Aitor Giles, co-founder. “We want people to be able to enjoy sport and cycling without our environment having to suffer because of it, since we are capable of giving each bicycle a second life.”
The usual stimulus for the sector was seasonal purchases, people who renewed their mountain bike in spring and autumn, and a high demand for road bikes every summer. However, the new post-pandemic habits and social awareness in favor of sustainability have been a breath of fresh air for businesses like Bike Ocasión, which is already planning its expansion to other European countries.
