大约一个月前,塔克·卡里尔发现了一些不寻常的现象。他创立的一家荷兰自行车公司用于测量日常性能的一款工具热度大增,预购、网页搜索、时事通讯注册、媒体咨询和广告点击都大幅增加。
VanMoof BV首席执行官卡里尔表示:“我们不知道发生了什么,我们还以为是统计数据出了问题。但数据是正确的。”
几周后,该公司迎来了爆炸式增长。从加拿大到以色列再到澳大利亚,世界各地的消费者都希望拥有一辆VanMoof自行车。该公司的自行车采用了独特的框架结构和宽胎设计,零售价1,998欧元(约合人民币15,539元)。
VanMoof从风险投资公司Balderton Capital新获得了一笔1,250万欧元的投资,并与中国台湾制造商信邦电子(Sinbon Electronics)合作,将产量提高到每月1万辆,是之前的三倍以上。卡里尔说,他预想中用十年才能实现的增长目标,似乎用短短四个月就能实现。
当各行各业都在全球封锁令下苦苦挣扎的时候,VanMoof的成功凸显出疫情所带来的人们的行为变化。骑行在荷兰已经是一种风靡全国的出行方式,随着人们纷纷避免公共交通,全球掀起了骑行热。人们希望骑自行车在市区出行,最好是配有电动马达辅助的自行车。
欧洲政府已经迅速封锁了公路,开放了自行车道,在容易传播新冠病毒的拥挤的公共汽车和通勤列车以外,为人们提供另外一种选择。例如,在执行封锁令后,米兰开放了一条长五英里的自行车道,以减少使用汽车,而英国承诺投资20亿英镑推广骑行。柏林树立了巨大的广告牌,呼吁公众将骑行作为短途通勤的方式。
在这种趋势的推动下,VanMoof计划2020年的收入比去年翻一番,超过8千万欧元,并且卡里尔说他已经在寻找其他投资者,为增加自行车产量提供资金。
卡里尔说:“真是太疯狂了。我们甚至无法答复所有请求。”卡里尔与弟弟泰斯在2009年创办了这家公司。目前泰斯在中国台湾。
卡里尔说,VanMoof控制了供应链,所以能够很快响应需求的变化。他说,新资金的注入将帮助公司迅速提高产量,缩短客户的等待时间。目前客户需要等待四至五周。
卡里尔说:“我们希望把客户的等待时间尽快恢复到10天。”(财富中文网)
翻译:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
大约一个月前,塔克·卡里尔发现了一些不寻常的现象。他创立的一家荷兰自行车公司用于测量日常性能的一款工具热度大增,预购、网页搜索、时事通讯注册、媒体咨询和广告点击都大幅增加。
VanMoof BV首席执行官卡里尔表示:“我们不知道发生了什么,我们还以为是统计数据出了问题。但数据是正确的。”
几周后,该公司迎来了爆炸式增长。从加拿大到以色列再到澳大利亚,世界各地的消费者都希望拥有一辆VanMoof自行车。该公司的自行车采用了独特的框架结构和宽胎设计,零售价1,998欧元(约合人民币15,539元)。
VanMoof从风险投资公司Balderton Capital新获得了一笔1,250万欧元的投资,并与中国台湾制造商信邦电子(Sinbon Electronics)合作,将产量提高到每月1万辆,是之前的三倍以上。卡里尔说,他预想中用十年才能实现的增长目标,似乎用短短四个月就能实现。
当各行各业都在全球封锁令下苦苦挣扎的时候,VanMoof的成功凸显出疫情所带来的人们的行为变化。骑行在荷兰已经是一种风靡全国的出行方式,随着人们纷纷避免公共交通,全球掀起了骑行热。人们希望骑自行车在市区出行,最好是配有电动马达辅助的自行车。
欧洲政府已经迅速封锁了公路,开放了自行车道,在容易传播新冠病毒的拥挤的公共汽车和通勤列车以外,为人们提供另外一种选择。例如,在执行封锁令后,米兰开放了一条长五英里的自行车道,以减少使用汽车,而英国承诺投资20亿英镑推广骑行。柏林树立了巨大的广告牌,呼吁公众将骑行作为短途通勤的方式。
在这种趋势的推动下,VanMoof计划2020年的收入比去年翻一番,超过8千万欧元,并且卡里尔说他已经在寻找其他投资者,为增加自行车产量提供资金。
卡里尔说:“真是太疯狂了。我们甚至无法答复所有请求。”卡里尔与弟弟泰斯在2009年创办了这家公司。目前泰斯在中国台湾。
卡里尔说,VanMoof控制了供应链,所以能够很快响应需求的变化。他说,新资金的注入将帮助公司迅速提高产量,缩短客户的等待时间。目前客户需要等待四至五周。
卡里尔说:“我们希望把客户的等待时间尽快恢复到10天。”(财富中文网)
翻译:刘进龙
审校:汪皓
About a month ago, Taco Carlier noticed something unusual. A tool to measure the daily performance of the Dutch bicycle company he had founded was suddenly registering wild spikes—pre-orders, web searches, newsletter registrations, press requests and advertising clicks were all going through the roof.
”We didn’t know what we were seeing, at first we thought the dashboard was broken,” said Carlier, the chief executive officer of VanMoof BV. “But the data turned out to be correct.”
In the weeks since, business has turned to explosive growth. Consumers from Canada to Israel to Australia are clamoring to get their hands on VanMoof bicycles, with their distinct frame architecture and fat tires that retail for 1,998 euros ($2,200).
VanMoof pulled in 12.5 million euros in fresh funds from venture capital firm Balderton Capital and teamed up with Taiwan-based manufacturer Sinbon Electronics to scale up production to as much as 10,000 units a month, more than triple its previous output. Now growth predictions that Carlier thought would play out over a decade look like they could happen in as little as four months, he said.
As businesses buckle under the strain of a global lockdown, VanMoof’s success highlights the changing behavior brought by the coronavirus. Cycling, while already a national obsession in the Netherlands, is experiencing a renaissance around the globe as people shun public transport in favor of zipping around town on bikes, preferably with an electric support motor.
Governments in Europe have rushed to close roads and instead opened up cycle paths as alternative for packed buses and commuter trains where the coronavirus could easily spread. Milan, for instance, will introduce a five-mile cycle lane to cut car use after the lockdown, while the U.K. pledged to invest 2 billion pounds to promote cycling. Berlin has erected giant billboards urging the public to switch to bikes for short commutes.
The result for VanMoof is that it plans to more than double last year’s revenue to above 80 million euros in 2020, and Carlier said he’s already looking for another investor to help fund the rush to his bikes.
“It’s is one big mad house,” said Carlier, who created the company with his brother Ties in 2009, who is now based in Taiwan. “We can’t even answer all requests.”
Because VanMoof keeps control over its supply chain, it can respond quickly to demand swings, Carlier said. The inflow of fresh funds will help ramp up production quickly, cutting back on a waiting list that now stretches out four to five weeks, he said.
“We want to get that back to 10 days as soon as possible,” Carlier said.