China News Service Client, Beijing, June 10 (Zhang Xu) Following the mask, toilet paper, and ventilator, bicycles have become the products pursued by European and American citizens or corporate organizations.
According to foreign media reports and cross-border e-commerce data, bicycle shops in the United States are in short supply and low-priced bicycles are sold out. The European market also appeared to be snapped up by Chinese bicycles. Why are Made In China bicycles so popular?
Chinese bicycles sold in Spain are almost sold out. Data from AliExpress
Demand for overseas bicycles soars
With the gradual resumption of work in Europe and America, the demand for bicycles that can avoid the accumulation of people is increasing.
According to NPD data from the market consulting agency, in March, sales of basic adult bicycles (called leisure bicycles in the industry) in the United States increased by 121%, electric bicycles increased by 85%, and commuting, fitness bicycles and children's bicycles increased by 66% and 59%.
In Europe, bicycles are also selling well. Italy has approved a subsidy of up to 60% of the selling price of bicycles to consumers who buy bicycles, with a maximum subsidy limit of 500 euros; French business owners receive government funding to provide transportation subsidies of 400 euros per person for commuting employees; the British government Earlier, it also announced that it would spend £2 billion on additional bicycle and pedestrian space to relieve the crowded public transportation system in large cities.
On May 17, local time, the first weekend after the French "opened", the public chose to travel by bicycle. China News Agency reporter Li Yang
Against this background, China's bicycle exports have skyrocketed.
According to Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform AliExpress, compared with the same period last year, May this year, the Spanish market bicycle sales increased by more than 22 times, Italy, the United Kingdom also increased by about 4 times. Sales of electric scooters have also increased substantially. Among them, Italy has increased nearly 9 times, Britain has increased nearly 8 times, France has increased about 3.8 times, and Spain, which has a large body, has also increased about 2.8 times.
On the AliExpress platform, a reporter from ChinaNews found that the Chinese bicycles sold to Spain were almost sold out, with only 53 pieces left in stock, with prices ranging from US$7600.89 to US$14113.21, with a minimum of approximately RMB53977.
The surge in orders has flooded the Chinese bicycle market with a large number of new players.
According to data from Tianyan, there are currently more than 510,000 businesses in China that include "bicycles" and are in business, surviving, moving in, and moving out. In terms of geographical distribution, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Fujian are the places with the most concentrated distribution of bicycle-related enterprises in my country.
Subject to industrial and commercial registration, from January to May 2020, my country's new bicycle-related enterprises reached more than 50,000, an increase of 41.08%. Among them, the growth rate of related companies in March was 135.36%, which was the highest growth rate of bicycle-related companies in my country since this year; the number of related companies increased by 15,000 in April, which was the month with the largest number of related companies since this year.
Bicycle concept stocks plummeted after soaring
The hot sales in the European and American markets have spread to the domestic market, and A shares have set off a "bicycle concept stock" earlier. As of last Friday (June 5), Shanghai Phoenix had three consecutive daily limits, and Xinlong Health had two consecutive daily limits. However, after the consecutively rising Zhonglu shares received a daily limit on June 4, the stock price had a callback on the 5th, a decline of 2.8. %.
The three bicycle companies have different proportions of overseas sales. Xinlong Health's 2019 annual report shows that the company's bicycle parts and accessories in 2019 achieved revenue of 1.167 billion yuan, accounting for 59.35% of the company's total revenue. The company's revenue accounts for more than 60% of overseas sales.
The announcement of the abnormal fluctuation of stock transactions disclosed by Zhonglu shares on June 1st shows that the company's export revenue in 2019 was 28.235 million yuan, accounting for 4.83% of the company's annual operating income; and the abnormal fluctuation of stock transactions disclosed by Shanghai Phoenix on the evening of June 4th The announcement shows that in 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, bicycle exports accounted for 17% to 18% of total bicycle sales.
In the face of rising stock prices, listed companies have to give risk warnings. Shanghai Phoenix said on June 4 that the company's exports to the US and EU countries accounted for less than 1%.
As of June 9, the bicycle index chart. Data source: Wind
Facts have proved that bicycle concept stocks are not durable. After the opening of this Monday (June 8), many bicycle stocks ushered in a sharp decline, Shanghai Phoenix intraday limit, Xinlong Health and Zhonglu shares fell more than 5%, and the Wind bicycle index fell 5.15%.
On June 9, Shanghai Phoenix led the decline again, with a drop of more than 7%, Xinlong Health fell more than 4%, Bafang shares fell more than 3%, Zhonglu shares fell 2%, and only Wing On Bank rose slightly by 0.11%.
Regarding the recent sharp rise and fall of bicycle concept stocks, Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, told Zhongxin.com that the recent panic buying is more of a temporary demand. Unless people’s travel structure changes bring continuous demand, otherwise Investors should not blindly chase hot spots.
The bicycle industry is still in transition
The surge in demand for bicycles in Europe and the United States can make domestic bicycle manufacturers have a good life? The answer does not seem optimistic.
Shanghai Phoenix once brought a large number of orders for bike sharing, setting a peak in revenue, and soon fell into a trough. In 2019, the company began to transform, through remodeling its brand image, launching modular models through technological innovation, and strengthening the construction of online sales channels, etc., that year turned into a profit, but due to the epidemic in the first quarter of this year, its performance declined significantly.
Zhonglu shares holding the gold signboard “permanent bicycle” has been losing money for 12 years. The annual report shows that in 2018, OEM (OEM) bicycles and electric bicycles contributed nearly 70% of the company's main business revenue, and the gross profit margins of these two were 10.99% and 4.38%, respectively. The annual revenue of self-produced bicycles and electric vehicles is only 11.03 million yuan, and the gross profit margin is -54.27 percent.
On June 6, local time, Toronto, Canada, young people riding bicycles show off their skills on the streets. China News Service reporter Yu Ruidong
Due to the weakening of its main business, Zhonglu Co., Ltd. has carried out several cross-border measures, such as purchasing facial mask companies, doing high-altitude wind power generation projects, etc., and sharing bicycles, but it turned out to be counterproductive. The 2019 annual report shows that among its four companies, Zhonglu Industry, Shanghai Permanent, and High Altitude Wind Energy all suffered losses to varying degrees in 2019, with net profits of -5108.04 million yuan, -88.52 million yuan, -267.404 million yuan, only Intranet achieved a profit of 38.381 million yuan and an investment income of 10.7266 million yuan.
The encounter between the two old automakers is also a microcosm of China's bicycle industry. Affected by factors such as saturation of demand and the popularity of shared bicycles, the growth of my country's bicycle industry has fallen into a bottleneck. In 2019, 12.49 million bicycles were sold nationwide, a year-on-year decrease of 23%.
Chen Junbin, chief analyst of CITIC Securities Manufacturing Industry, pointed out that at present, my country is the world's largest bicycle exporter, with output accounting for about 50% of the world, but the export volume and bicycle prices have also reached the platform period.
Source: CITIC Securities
According to the "Analysis Report on the Economic Operation of the Chinese Bicycle Industry in 2019" released by the China Bicycle Association, China's bicycle export volume, amount and average price all declined year-on-year. In 2019, bicycle exports reached 52.511 million, down 11.4% year-on-year; the export value was US$2.85 billion, down 12.4% year-on-year; the average export unit price was US$54.2, down 1.2% year-on-year.
Regarding the future of my country's bicycle industry, the China Bicycle Association believes that the task of "stabilizing exports" is still arduous.
At the same time, domestic bicycles are hardly high-end in the industrial chain. Compared with the selling prices of thousands of dollars of foreign brands Trek and Specialized, the average selling price is less than 1,000 yuan.
CITIC Securities Research pointed out that two-wheeled vehicles are an important means of transportation, with annual global sales of 230 million vehicles and a market space of 80 billion US dollars. At present, the traditional two-wheeled vehicles have entered the stock, but with the upgrade of consumption, the electric bicycles with good riding experience are expected to reach 20% in the growth center of the European market in recent years.
Whether the successful transformation can seize the high-end market is regarded as a challenge by industry experts.
Jiang Han told reporters from China News Service that my country's bicycle industry had previously experienced the temptation to share bicycles and blindly expanded production capacity. However, due to the lack of core competitiveness, the manufacturers' lives were not easy. "To improve the competitiveness and profitability of the Chinese bicycle industry, it is necessary to strive to be in line with international standards, while deeply cultivating vertical areas, such as sports bicycles, to enhance the brand image and build a reputation." (End)