Expecting 100% Rise In Sales In Next 2 Years: Sukanta Das, Firefox Bikes

Cycling is one of those industries in India that perhaps is never spoken about very explicitly. It is a segment that is seen to attract either toddlers or biking enthusiasts. Interestingly, the global data demonstrates a rather interesting insight- while the global bicycle market size was USD 97.20 billion in 2020, it is expected to touch USD 147.24 billion in 2027, at a CAGR of 6.1 between 2021-2027. Much credit to the pandemic!

This crisis time only paddled the demand for bikes for daily commute purposes, as well as for health reasons. Even in India, the industry evolved at a tremendous speed, with more and more people wanting to stay fit and looking for an adventure to break from their monotonous lives. Agreeing that biking emerged as a dominant trend during this time, Sukanta Das, CEO, Firefox Bikes talks about the overall bicycle market in India.

On the challenges & opportunities in this space

Lack of safe bicycling road infrastructure, pollution and extreme weather conditions in some parts of India are the main deterrents to the mass uptake of bicycling. The pandemic-induced constraints on fitness and leisure options increased the demand for bicycles, especially in the premium segments. 

On the new trends post-pandemic  

In a socially distanced world, we’ve seen tremendous growth and adoption of biking as a choice to remain healthy. Such a rise in cycling has been caused by the growing inclination towards personal fitness, reducing environmental footprint and demand for urban mobility solutions. 

Market drivers for the growth of the Cycling Industry in India are mainly due to: 

-People becoming more health conscious since the pandemic

-The resurgence of the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) keeping most commuters away from public transport, cycling has quickly emerged as a safe, convenient and efficient alternative.

-Lack of workout options and work from home fatigue

-Recreation activity for kids after staying indoor for months

-The rise in demand for eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle alternatives

On the competition in the market (from organised & unorganised both) and the strategy to stay ahead of them

The strategy is simple- to build the best bikes that offer the best designs and technology, offer a great customer experience built on digital and unbeatable after-sales services. 

On strengthening its portfolio, expansion & export plans

For next year we have bigger plans. We are getting into new segments- like Gravel bikes which will appeal to the hardcore adventurers. We’re also bringing in new high-end premium bikes as well as aggressively expanding the entry-level premium segment by launching 6 more bikes in the upcoming year.  We are also planning to expand the E-bike portfolio.

While last year the company focused on the domestic market owing to strong demand. In the near future, we’re looking at exports to multiple countries in Southeast Asia and America. We expect our sales to go up by at least 100% in the next 2 years. While the industry grew 50% in 2021 as against 2019 firefox grew at 100% - so we outgrew the industry. We are targeting at doubling our turnover this year again. 

We are also planning to open 50 Customer Experience centres over the next 3 years and expand the retail footprint to 700 by adding more than 200  stores to the existing 500. D2C is a key focus where we have already invested in the Salesforce platform to provide seamless service to the end customer

On being an omnichannel player and its investment strategy

The key focus of the brand is on product development and investment in a D2C digital architecture so that the purchase process is swift, simple and rewarding.

Being a finished omnichannel player, we are present on Amazon, Flipkart, and other e-posteriors and furthermore have a business empowered site. We’re currently charting about 20% from online sales and we expect it to go up by 100% at least in the next 2 years.