German brand Smart displays its high-end bike model at Asiabike 2012 in Nanjing. Todd Balazovic / China Daily

Top names in two-wheel brands pedaL upmarket

Chinese cyclists are getting an image upgrade as high-end bike manufacturers target the "Kingdom of Bicycles".

While it's always been a favorite of Chinese commuters, more people are turning to top-line bike brands as a sign of status, and ditching their cars on the weekends to glide around town on two wheels.

Nowhere was the new trend more apparent than at the Asiabike 2012 in Nanjing, held in late July, where dozens of the world's upmarket bicycle brands from Wheeler to Trek touted their wares to thousands of Chinese.

Occupying a booth with bikes bearing luxury logos such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, Zhou Jiannong, general manager for bike retailer Rbike, says China's bike culture is slowly changing with the rise in the number of people relying on cars for transportation.

"Ten years ago people would ride their bikes to work, but now most people are driving cars. So, more people are buying bikes for leisure, not for transportation," Zhou says.

With Rbike's Ferrari brand cycles selling for upward of $6,000 (4,890 euros) - compared with the average Chinese brand selling between 200 yuan ($31, 26 euros) and 1,000 yuan - it's clear the company is targeting the country's well-to-do.

"The whole economic model is rising quite quickly and Chinese people are very interested in brands to show their economic success," Zhou says.

"Sometimes they have the car and they want to match their bike with their brand."

As biking becomes more of a recreational pastime than as a means to get from point A to B, Chinese consumers are gearing up more for quality than function.

"People are focusing more on color, design and components," Zhou says.

And while the brand may be a famous name, Zhou argues that the components and engineering for the bikes far exceeds that of cheaper models.

"These bikes will ride smoother than most and are much more difficult to damage," he says.

While the bikes may appeal to China's nouveau riche, for the average Chinese consumers such a high price causes incredulity.

Upon seeing the price of a Ferrari bike, one exhibition visitor said: "You might as well buy a car."

Currently only 20 percent of Rbike's sales are in the domestic market, but Zhou expects them to grow.

For foreign brands such as Giant, Trek and Merida, the growth is already evident.

Giant, one of the largest foreign bike brands operating in China, reported a total of 2,000 brand stores throughout the country, with Merida reporting 1,000.

Trek and Specialize have reported growth rates between 30 and 40 percent, says Knut Jaeger, chairman of the Asiabike 2012.

The potential growth in Chinese consumers buying high-end bikes drew German car producer Mercedes Smart 8,500 kilometers from Germany to Nanjing to showcase its Smart electric bike.

While the numbers look promising, Stephane Koeppel, manager of sales and marketing for Smart's China operation, says they are taking a cautious approach to the market.

"Right now the bikes are not available in China. We are still in the early stages of testing the market," Koeppel says.

Though the price of a Smart bike in China has not yet been determined, in Germany the bikes sell for around 3,000 euros, several times that of a mid-range Chinese-made bike.

In Europe, the bikes have seen steady sales, but China is a very different market, Koeppel says.

China has a strong cycling culture and bike lanes in most major cities, so Smart is not offering anything significantly different than what is already available to Chinese consumers. Both manual and electric bikes have been around for a while and there are dozens of competing domestic brands.

But being a foreign brand in itself is an advantage, Zhou of Rbike says.

For those seeking to buy high-end bikes simply to flaunt wealth, foreign apparently is the way to go.

But for now, Smart and the dozens of others peddling high-priced two-wheelers in Nanjing just need to continue convincing Chinese consumers that the price tag is worth it.

"It's a lifestyle," Koeppel says.

Contact the writers through toddbalazovic@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/17/2012 page13)