With bicycle sales soaring across the UK since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, e-bike manufacturer Ampler today reports a year-over-year sales increase of 88% over the first 5 months of 2020.
Whilst the pandemic has had a tragic hit on the world, there is hope for the future with seeing how cities take action towards a greener and healthier future. Although the estimated general growth slowed down once the pandemic hit, Ampler was lucky to have a business model that could quickly adjust.
Their growth comes as the popularity of bicycle use as a daily transportation method soars across Europe, as space for motorists becomes reclaimed in cities such as London, Berlin and Paris by newly installed cycleways and government supported schemes to encourage sustainable travel. Their direct-to-consumer business model has proved robust at a time when bike retailers across the UK closed their doors after lockdown.
Ardo Kaurit, Co-Founder and CEO of Ampler said, “Being a direct sales company, we don’t have a middle man, which means our bikes can be ordered from the safety of one’s home. We built and moved into a new assembly factory in November 2019, which has increased our production rate and enabled us to have all bikes fully stocked for the cycling season, shipped directly to people within 7-14 days.
“We are happy to hear that bikes are becoming more popular in the UK, and it is reassuring to hear that the UK government is encouraging cycling and healthier modes of transport by investing in more cycleways and urban cycling routes. We’ve seen a big demand in Germany and the Netherlands over the last few months, and we hope that the UK will follow suit!”
Ampler was fortunate to be able to ensure everyone’s jobs in the team and even continued to hire for open positions. Kaurit added, “There have been people in our team whose daily work has disappeared or changed, but we found other tasks for them.”
The company employs a total of 64 people, a quarter of whom are in Germany.
Ampler aims to become a role model for environmental sustainability for the cycling industry. Beyond substituting cars for e-bikes in traffic and choosing to work with suppliers with good work and environmental practices, Ampler is developing a game plan for becoming a responsible and environmentally sustainable company.
The first action is undergoing a thorough audit of the supply chain and daily operations to understand the true environmental impact. This will be turned into a map for what needs to change, showing the areas where Ampler could improve the most. Through a continuous cycle of measuring, learning and improving, Ampler hopes to show the rest of the industry the pathway for becoming environmentally sustainable.
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