The Electric Cycle Company has sold and repaired many more bikes than usual during the Covid-19 lockdown.
This upturn in trade has led to them recruiting five new members of staff, and they have donated £1500 to North Edinburgh charities.
Sales of electric bikes have increased by 80% compared with the same period last year, leading them to believe they are the busiest e-bike retailer in the country.
Neill Hope, MD of the Electric Cycle Company, said: “Nobody could have foreseen Covid-19 occurring and the resulting demand for bikes. For obvious reasons, people have not wanted to use public transport during lockdown. They have also been avoiding non-essential travel by car. The streets have been much quieter and folk are definitely feeling more confident about cycling on the roads with family for their limited daily exercise or to get to work or to the shops.”
“Our new customers are not only getting to grips with the many health and financial benefits of cycling for both commuting and exercise, but also quickly realising that e-bikes make the whole physical process even easier and more joyful than traditional cycling, despite the larger initial investment. Edinburgh, with its many steep hills, is the perfect city for an electric bike.”
Since 23 March 2020, 80% of bike sales at ECC have been to those buying their first e-bike, with the majority of e-bikes being sold in the £2000 – £3000 price bracket. There has been an even split of male and female customers with an age range of between mid 20’s to the over 60’s. However, there has been a marked increase in younger women, especially health workers from the NHS, using the UK Government’s Cycle To Work Scheme or the Scottish Government backed Energy Saving Trust eBike Loan scheme to help with their bike purchases.
Despite offering free bike servicing to essential frontline workers from the start of the Covid-19 Lockdown (with any required parts being sold at cost), ECC’s service sales have increased by as much as 200% on the same period last year; with a current waiting time on bike servicing of two weeks. This far outweighs the regular spike in servicing sales in January and February, when clients are often referred to in house as the ‘New Year’s Resolution Customers’.
Realising that many people have been suffering significantly during the lockdown, the ECC team wanted to do their bit to help out. Following a recent online poll through Facebook and Twitter, ECC have just donated £1500 to three local charities, giving back to a local community that has nurtured the business over their last ten years of operation.
Neill added: “To assuage our guilt that the business was doing so well out of the most horrible situation, we wanted to give back to the North Edinburgh community with a charitable donation. Sharing £1500, Edinburgh Food Project, Cyrenians and Street Soccer Scotland were the three charities our customers voted for in an online poll. This is in addition to our continued annual support to Kids Love Clothes, Granton Youth and St Columba’s Hospice.”
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