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Led
by innovative products and a concentration on quality, backed up by the
industry's
"A-team," the Taiwan bicycle industry bounced back in
2004 and
2005,
according to industry experts, with the strong emphasis on cultivating
the
IBD network paying off.
Taiwan's bicycle industry saw a strong rebound in 2004,
says the latest
news
from 2005. The Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association (TBEA)
reports a
10.5
percent increase in bicycle exports in the nine months to September
2004,
with a value of US$485.4 million, up 19 percent over the previous
year.
The TBEA also reported unit prices increased, with an average
unit
price
of US$154.50 in 2004, up from US$143.33 in 2003. Exports totaled
3.1
million
units to September, 2004.
The two major Taiwan exporters, Giant Manufacturing and
Merida Industries,
also
saw a very strong year, both posting double digit growth.
Giant president Tony Lo said Giant's Taiwan production
was up 27.9 percent
in
2004 over 2003, to a total of US$278.5 million. Overall output,
including
Taiwan,
mainland China and Holland, was US$668.9 million, up 16.5 percent
in
2004
over 2003.
Merida president Michael Tseng, said the company posted
record output, up
by
23.9 percent to US$165 million in 2004. December sales were a
record, at
US$22
million.
Export growth has proved to be very healthy, with Giant's
Lo predicting
exports
from Taiwan of 4 million units in 2004.
As the main outlet for Taiwan's bicycle makers are the
independent bicycle
dealers
(IBDs), especially in the key United States market, the Taiwan
industry
formed the A-Team in 2002, whose future direction and strategy
was
focused
on "Three New Ideas -- New materials, new functions and new
purposes."
Its goal is to develop high quality bikes with the aim of
capturing
the global high end bicycle market and to combat the low quality,
low
price trends evident in makers elsewhere. The A-team also launched
the
"International
No Motors Campaign" in Taiwan to help shape Taiwan into a
cycle
friendly country and actively popularized the slogan "Think
Bicycle,
Think
Taiwan" to the world. After three years of effort, the A-team
initiative
is paying off, with bicycles in Taiwan showing innovative ideas
and
high caliber styles.
This was evident in the TBEA Innobike Awards, which is
a showcase for
Taiwan's
latest innovations in bicycles. The 2004 awards gathered the elite
from
the bicycle manufacturing industry, introducing numerous cycle
accessories,
forks, stems and seat posts, wheel sets, transmission parts and
brakes,
among others.
Some of the innovative designs are the Generation e, an
interactive bike
for
mother and child. Try to imagine the scene, with a mother riding,
carrying
a child on her bicycle. The mother needs a low center of gravity
so
she
can get off and on more easily -- the cancellation of upper and
lower
tube
construction and the hydraulic stamping technology make it possible
to
serve
that specific purpose. Meanwhile, the distance between the seat
and
the
lower tube in enlarged, and the width of the stems, so that mothers
of
various
figures can easily adjust the height of the seat and the handle
bars.
This bike also has a solid back seat, suitable for a child.
In an innovation in the lucrative mountain bike category,
the All Terrain
Bike
is the highest quality in this category. Its back wheels maintain
low
bounciness
on any rugged roads, which means that back wheels can bounce with
the
same amount of force at any time. The ordinary style of back absorber
doesn't
have this function, because when the beam ratio is between 2.5
to
2.9,
it becomes greater at lower vibration levels. In this case, the
rider
won't
feel comfortable on slightly rugged roads, not to mention very
rugged
ones.
However, All Terrain bikes equipped with a linkage mechanism and
back
absorber
can maintain a 1:1 beam ratio at any time, so the rider will feel
more
comfortable with this bike, compared to ordinary bikes. This All
Terrain
mountain bike is ideal for all kinds of land forms and sells at
the
price
of US$3,100 with high quality disk brakes.
The International Cycle Design Competition, sponsored by
the Department of
Industrial
Technology in Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taipei,
has
become an important link for the A-team design environment, with
the aim
of
keeping Taiwan number one in the worlds's cycle industry. This
competition,
international in scope, is important to the Taiwan bicycle
industry,
looking at implicit traits among consumers, such as their shopping
habits,
and preferences in art and fashion, to form them into an industrial
product.
In all, the Taiwan bicycle industry realizes it can't compete
in what is a
downward
spiral towards the bottom of cheaper prices and poorer quality
--
it
must produce a premium product, which can sell at a better price.
For
this,
the A-team's cultivation of the IBD market is vital.
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