German bicycle shops to re-open next week

Bicycle shops are among the retail categories which are allowed to open again in Germany. 

BERLIN, Germany – The re-opening of bicycle shops in Germany as announced last night by the federal and state government comes as a big relief for the bicycle industry. As Europe’s largest e-bike and bicycle market the restart of retail will be an important indication on how sales will develop when shops will be allowed to open after the Corona crisis in other European countries.

The re-opening of bicycle shops in Germany is part of a larger scheme to lift bans for retail businesses which were set at the outbreak of the Corona crisis. For now a limited number of retail categories are allowed to open their business again, including bicycle shops. They are allowed to re–open this coming Monday, 20 April 2020, but there are rules they have to adhere to. It is not allowed to open retail shops simultaneously in order to make sure city centres don’t become overcrowded. The only exception for re-opening the retail is made for the state of Bayern in the south of Germany. Here all shops will only open a week later, on 27 April.

Big differences throughout Europe 

Whether only bicycle shops or workshops are allowed to be open during the crisis varies per country. For example in the UK bike shops have been designated an essential service under the UK government’s latest coronavirus control measures allowing shops to be open for repairs for bikes and other services. In France all bike shops are closed while in the Netherlands it is up to the retailer whether they open or not. Also in Germany retailers were allowed to be open for repairs. 

According to industry insiders the re-opening of retail in China resulted in a substantial increase in bicycle sales.

Quarantine measures due to the Corona pandemic have increased online sales, although the impact on bicycles sales in Europe is still unknown. According to industry insiders the re-opening of retail in China resulted in a substantial increase in bicycle sales, more than in other sports retail categories. This is a hopeful fact. “Bicycle factories in Europe will soon start receiving parts and components again from China as the production is starting up over there. This will result in high levels of stock now that production has stopped in Europe,” said CONEBI President Erhard Buchel in an interview with Bike Europe.

Eurobike in September 

The German government has also decided to stretch the ban for large events with audiences on site to August 31st, 2020, because of the high infection risk they pose. Whether this will influence Eurobike’s decision to continue on the show dates in early September as scheduled is unknown. On April 8th, Eurobike show manager Stefan Reisinger expressed his concerns on the possibility of organising the event from 2–5 September. He announced optional alternative dates in late November. Eurobike will take a final decision on the 2020 show dates in May.