Editor's note: For a feature in Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Retail Editor Ray Keener spoke with 14 leaders on the supplier side of the industry. Ray spoke with leaders of major bike brands, component suppliers, e-bike startups, accessory makers and more. We will be running sections of that article online this month.
BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — It’s been a hectic and unprecedented several months for our industry and many others. Fortunately for our companies and retailers, hectic has meant managing demand rather than fighting for survival.
Now that the season is waning, inventories are catching up (in some cases) and suppliers are catching their collective breaths, we reached out to a cross-section of suppliers and service providers to get their take on the future.
John Nedeau, VP OEM Sales, SRAM
Our OE customers are planning for the boom to last for sure. Orders continue to grow beyond any prior planning guidance. Our OEs are catching up to demand in waves. First, replenish retail inventory including pre-sold bikes, then sell in inventory associated with spring/summer sales. Customers are seeing this trend sustaining well into 2021.
SRAM is responding by adding capacity as fast as practical. Our lean initiatives in the last three years have allowed us to respond more nimbly through the crisis and now to the unprecedented demand. We are hiring, but the challenge is with shop floor workers being in high demand within the bicycle and electronic industries in Taiwan.
We’re not changing our product mix, but there’s definitely an emphasis on equipment for bikes selling under $1,500 – which has us lifting capacity for the associated componentry for those bikes.
We are experiencing balanced growth across the spectrum of price points and application, both MTB and road. Our road business, with the wireless AXS products, is targeted at the above $5,000 retail price points and has been consistently exceeding plans.
