In 2013, as befits a start-up, they started in a Viennese garage – and at the end of 2022, ten years later, they can claim: In a decade, their company has managed to achieve sales of more than 100 million euros to grow. The special thing about the woom bikes is that the running bikes and bicycles have been tailored in great detail to the small target group and are popular with parents because of their lightness. The high resale value is particularly important, after all, children quickly outgrow the small premium bikes.
The expansion into new markets in recent years is important for the record sales. The brand is represented in 30 countries in total, and more are in the works. “After an extremely successful year 2022, in which we broke through the 100 million euro sales mark for the first time and were able to bring a new strategic partner on board with the Jebsen Group, we have also set ourselves ambitious goals for the anniversary year,” says Co -CEO Paul Fattinger. “We are preparing to enter the Danish, Swedish and Dutch markets. We are expanding our dealer network in France and further expanding our market position in the USA. We are driven by constant further development in all areas of the company, because one of our recipes for success is and remains our will to innovate.”
Big investors come on board
However, the hyped children’s bicycle brand was not undisputed. A few years ago there was heavy criticism because woom bikes were largely manufactured by Taiwanese companies in Southeast Asian countries until 2021. Deficiencies in the working conditions in production in Cambodia were discovered, which did not go with the image of a family-friendly household brand at all. After that, woom bikes announced that they would relocate a large part of the production to Europe in Poland. Since January 2021, woom bikes for the European markets have come from Poland, but production for Asia and the USA will continue in Asia. But that didn’t stop growth, 400,000 bikes were sold in 2022. In the home market of Austria, the Klosterneuburg company has a market share of 50 percent.
After the two founders Ihlenfeld and Bezdeka withdrew from the operative business in 2022, large investors have a lot to say at woom bikes. In 2020, Bregal, the holding company of the Brenninkmeyer family, which owns the textile trading company C&A, has already got on board. Then in 2022, another big shareholder came along with the Jebsen Group, a brand developer with a focus on marketing, investments and sales, which snapped up 15 percent. Jebsen is heavily involved in building business in Asia.
woom: New major investor wants to bring Viennese children’s bicycles to China