Supply shortage, demand surge leads to bicycle shortage

If you’re thinking of buying a new bicycle, you might have to wait months before you get your hands on it, with one retailer saying its stocks are being put under major strain by a perfect storm of supply and demand issues.

Stocks at 99 Bikes have been put under strain, with the retailer saying consumers are opting for more expensive bikes. Picture: 99 Bikes.

A supply shortage and demand boom has led to six-month delays on bike shipments, meaning empty shelves could be a common sight until the end of this year.

The country’s largest cycling retailer 99 Bikes’ digital leader Owen McLeod said the combined impact of lockdown driving consumers to embrace cycling, combined with manufacturing delays in China, have caused the crunch.

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“It was around mid-March when lockdown started happening,” Mr McLeod said.

“We saw a massive spike in demand within the course of a couple of days.”
99 Bikes is 48 per cent owned by travel giant Flight Centre, with its chief executive Matt Turner the son of Flight Centre founder Graham Turner.

Tennis player John Millman picks up his bike from 99 Bikes CEO Matt Turner in Brisbane in March, when demand began to surge. Photo: Glenn Hunt / The Australian

“Demand went through the roof, supply is a long way away,” he said.

Manufacturing was suspended in China for four weeks during the height of that country’s pandemic lockdowns.

“That’s when we realised there was a big supply issue,” Mr McLeod said.

He said 99 Bikes was “struggling with stock,” especially in the popular $400 to $600 price bracket, and consumers were opting to purchase pricier bikes.

“They’ve all been snapped up in store,” he said

“There are some options available and we see customers still buying bikes, but we’ve actually seen people move up to a higher range of bikes.”

Mr McLeod said 99 Bikes had tripled the size of its next shipment to compensate.

“Come October November, we have 70,000 units of bikes landing in the country,” he said.