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THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF AN INTERNATIONAL BICYCLE SHOW

Date: 30-05-2018

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SHANGHAI SHOW #1

China Cycle 2018, well that is the official brand name for the Shanghai Show. Traditionally this show was the second of the BIG cycle shows for the year with Taipei being the first. But this year Taipei has changed their date to be Late October. So Shanghai took on a little more significance as it was the first opportunity to see our major trading partners and see what new and exciting products are on offer.

One major supplier told me that in previous years the China show has been dominated by South American and European Eastern Bloc countries, who look at price as being the most important ingredient in their product decisions. He told me this year it was interesting to see more Americans, west Europeans and yes an Australian visiting the show.

China Cycle is a massive show, this year there was an increase in the indoor display space to 6 HALLS (nearly 300,000 sq metres in total) up from 5 Halls last year. Each Hall is some where in the vicinity of 330metres long by 150metres wide. The main increase was in E-bike related manufacturers. There was 1 and a half halls just displaying e-bikes or related product. We walked up and down each aisle but it was hard yakka to keep your concentration in a maze of unknown brands and products.

Day 1

On the first morning we concentrated on the Hall with the international manufacturers (mainly Taiwan) and in the first aisle we sat down with three manufacturers, took details of new products and I thought wow this is fantastic, we are going to have a great show (to us that means identifying new & exciting products to add to our range). For the next two hours I did not see anything new or exciting! The rest of the day was spent in pre-organised meetings with existing suppliers. They are always keen to know how Australia is trading, what activities you are undertaking to progress their brand and normally present to you the years new products. Overall I would have to say in looking back on the Show there was NOT a lot of new product on offer. Maybe it is being saved for launch at Eurobike ? By the end of day 1 we had seen half of Hall 1 and half of Hall 3 in amongst our meetings.

Day 2

Started with a pre-arranged meeting with an important existing Supplier. It was very interesting but mentally tiring, as at our request, they explained every product in sequence from “top of the range” to entry level. End result, we will be increasing our range by about 20 new models to cover all aspects and levels of the market. And another 20 accessories to boot. Only one more pre-organised meeting and the remaining time to systematically see every display stand or booth and see what opportunities are there. By the end of the day we had seen all of Hall 1, half of 2, all of Hall 3 and half of Hall 6.

Day 3

Back to see the rest of Hall 6 as this was the “accessories hall”. Then the fast walk (still several hours) thru the e-bike Hall 5 and Hall 4 which was half E-bike and half kids bikes and toys and then on to Hall 2 which had a very large variety of stands and manufacturers of complete bikes and accessories. By the end of the day we had seen everything and were exhausted.

Day 4

I was back to have another intensive product range session with another of our current Suppliers. Day 4 is open to the public and closes early afternoon so it is important you have concluded your serious business.

Summary

Overall, Day 1 was busy but the next two days saw dwindling activity. The display stands are of an extremely high standard, some real effort has gone into some of the stands of the bigger brands. Definitely a “must do” for wholesalers such as ourselves in terms of keeping in contact with our suppliers and seeing whether new brands are entering the market and what existing brands are doing or seeing as important.

GIANT (pic below) definitely had the busiest stand, every day, but interestingly they did not have their marque models on display !

Intriguing Shanghai

Lastly Shanghai is an interesting and beautiful city. We stay at a hotel half way between the city centre and the Show. The Hotel is built on top of a shopping centre which is built on top of the train line. The train takes us straight to the show, so no down time (a train arrives every 2 minutes!).

One of the things we have noticed when dining at the Hotel is that Kite flying is very popular in China. Each year the kites have got bigger and they are flying them higher and higher. This year took the cake when late one evening we saw a kite flying several hundred metres higher than our hotel with full night lights flashing away !!