When sales of cars and two-wheelers plummeted during the worst period of the pandemic, bicycles bucked the trend and, in fact, experienced a significant boom. With restrictions imposed on most outdoor activities, the only way people could maintain their health was to walk or cycle.
It was during this time that Firefox Bikes grew 2.5 times, said Sriram Sundresan, CEO, in a conversation with Mobility Outlook. The momentum has slowed down now with less spare time available for people who are now back computing between home work,
Despite this, added Sundresan, the interest in cycling is intact and demand could grow thanks to better weather prevailing over the next two quarters (January-June) and hopefully peak during the festive season.
According to him, e-bikes will power the growth of Firefox with riders now increasingly opting for this mode of mobility. “The cycle industry did not have too much happening in terms of products or in terms of excitement post-Covid. I think that it has accelerated quite a bit with new technologies such as e-bikes,” he said.
Consequently, Firefox will focus on the premium segment while working on new technologies and adapting to changing customer needs. “The top-end premium segment has already started growing. There has always been a shortage of these bikes because of supply chain constraints,” explained Sundresan.
As part of its effort to leverage these opportunities, Firefox has tied up with Cannondale, a US-based premium bicycle maker to bring its range to India by January 2023 and launch them in the first quarter. The company will introduce mountain, city and road bikes as part of the plan. “We have had workshops with Cannondale and tweaked components to suit Indian conditions,” he added.
Besides the Cannondale partnership, Firefox is also seeking help from its parent brand, Hero Cycles, to bring HNF e-cycles to India. The company had acquired the German e-cycle brand in 2020 as part of a strategy to meet the needs of Europe’s e-bike market.
Firefox now intends to launch HNF e-cycles here by Q4 FY23. To ensure that it does not wander into Hero’s Lectro range domain, the company will confine its e-cycle range to premium B2C users. “We are a premium brand and our core is about adventure, recreation, fitness and fun. We are not focused on the commute aspect of cycling,” said Sundresan.
Additionally, to offer customers “the utmost experience” with a range of e-cycles including MTBs, road and mountain cycles, Firefox wants to strike the right chord with tailor-made products. At present, its Adventron e-cycle has been used to get inputs from the market after which the company has tweaked HNF products for India.
Firefox also plans to enhance existing technologies and take them to the next level. To differentiate itself from others, it has developed CVT technology for cycles in collaboration with Enviolo.
First introduced with the Avatar, CVT works exactly like the technology in a car and changes gears automatically depending on the angle of the terrain and speed of the cycle.
Sundresan said he was upbeat about CVT’s potential in India even though price remains a challenge with the Avatar priced at INR 40,000. The talks with Enviolo are intended to look at bringing down the cost of the technology to under INR 30,000 range and bringing a shift in the market.
The mass premium segment, with offerings from INR 6,000 to INR 20,000, has seen the fastest growth in India since cyclists seek value for money. “Earlier, a rigid cycle had rudimentary brakes but now mass premium options have dual disc brakes and other features,” said Sundresan.
Keeping in mind the immense growth opportunities in this space, Firefox formed a sub-brand, ‘Bad Attitude’ in January 2022. The products here have a similar design language as their premium counterparts though some cost-cutting is in place.
“Firefox is the premium brand which represents high performance bikes while ‘Bad Attitude’ has all the qualities and learnings but is more tuned to the mass premium segment,” he explained. The range will only feature single or multi-geared cycles made of steel.
Going forward, the company aims to bring in new technologies from the Firefox brand while the range will be expanded with new cycle types such as mountain bikes. Beyond mass premium, Firefox’s market research shows an increase in demand for customisation in cycles.
Customers using the Firefox website can opt for multiple customisation options including varied paint shade and graphic design on select frames. Firefox will soon introduce the service option through its physical retail outlet called ‘Cocos’ with plans for customisation options at select multi-brand stores also underway. The company aims to expand its mass premium range to Tier 2/3 regions.
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