Akrovalis and Comet, Tannus distributors, participated in the webinar dedicated to distributors organized by Ciclosfera and AMBE.

The magazine Cyclosphere together with the Association of Brands and Bicycles of Spain (AMBE) have organized a series of webinars with the objective of knowing the current situation of the different profiles of the bicycle sector, to share ideas and to know the measures that are being taken in the face of the Covid-19.

After getting to know how the cyclomessengers and the bicycle storesthe third webinar was intended for distributors, of which two of the participants (Akrovalis and Comet) are distributors of Tannus.

Presented by Rafa Vidielladirector of Cyclosphere and moderated by Dani CabezasThe guests for this talk were Sergi Belmonte (Akrovalis), José Luis Pardo (Comet), Ignacio Peralta (CJM Sport) y Carlos NúñezGeneral Secretary of AMBE.

HOW HAVE THE TANNUS DISTRIBUTORS HANDLED THIS SITUATION?

Sergi Belmonte, the first to intervene, commented that since Akrovalis are facing these moments with courage, head on and treating this historic moment as a great opportunity to improve in all those things they never had time for.

Now that the world is in "pause"We have to take the positive side of it as much as possible.

Jose Luis Pardo, for his part, explained that the coronavirus has caught us all unawares and that until it does not touch us closely we do not give it the importance it requires, however, from Comet, they knew how to prepare and anticipate what was coming.

"Measures such as the telework They require a certain amount of preparation, such as having the specific software, having secure connections, activating call forwarding from the office to the home and the proportion of mobile lines, in this aspect we were quite fast".

He also analyzed that beyond the economic impact, we will see a change in social habits in addition to the fact that "the time we are spending in confinement is posing many dichotomies. The global or the local, the individual or the collective, the safe or the risk... All this is going to have a huge impact on the bicycle sector and many others".

DIRECT CONTACT WITH KOREA, TAIWAN AND CHINA

After seeing a month ago the cancellation of high caliber events such as the Taipei Cycle Show, You were more informed. Could any of this have been foreseen? - says Rafa.

Yes: we were informed, but no everything that has happened could have been foreseen.

After the cancellation of the event in Asia, suppliers and distributors were thinking first about how it would affect delivery times and then about trying to reorganize the "business" of the event.Distributor meetings"in our countries. We were still in the phase of disbelief. - Jose Luis Pardo

The first of the 7 phases through which Chinese society has passedwhich lists a research institute that has a worldwide presence.

• Incredulity
• Preparation
• Adjustment
• Acclimatization
• Resistance
• Relief
• Fear.

Until it catches you up close, you don't jump to the preparation phase, those who have jumped faster will be better prepared - Jose Luis Pardo

"It will all depend a lot on how we behave as individuals and as a society," Sergi added. 

Sergi explains that compared to Korea or China, Southern Europe is less disciplined and therefore we see that the results are different. It is worth saying that they have also been following very clear instructions, because they have been doing dress rehearsals on how to behave in hypothetical cases like this and this has allowed them to keep companies on track.

CHANGES AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Sergi remarked that it is important to be attentive to consumer demand.

"After all the crises, consumer behavior changes, companies have to be very attentive to what those changes are in order to offer the customer what he demands". Fortunately, we are fortunate that the cycling sector is somewhat counter-cyclical: it has always been able to adapt very well, and has strengthened itself in times of crisis. Just one piece of information: last weekend, at the Korea 4,500 children's bikes were sold. There are always opportunities..

"The cycling sector is a bit anti-cyclical: it has always been able to adapt very well to times of crisis" - Sergi Belmonte

THE MEASURES THEY HAVE TAKEN

"The first thing was to implement teleworking for all those who could, which was practically 100% of the personnel who did not work in logistics, apart from the extreme measures of cleanliness, hygiene and prevention", said José Luis Pardo, from Comet.

He added that they also had difficulties in obtaining protective equipment such as masks or gloves, but that if safety was guaranteed, they had to continue operating, to be there now, to support the stores for whatever is needed, to help each other, even if the situation is not the same for everyone.

"Today I see that we are in a state of collaborating and thanking each other. We have to take advantage of that to prepare ourselves for tomorrow." - José Luis Pardo

On the part of AkrovalisIn our case, the first thing has been to guarantee our workers' salaries, as well as payments to our suppliers. We have built everything from there," said Sergi Belmonte.

"We have hired another person with a more digital profile, who is going to help us deal with this situation. We are activating new markets in which we were already working, optimizing the logistic processes for offer a better service to all our partnerscreating training pills, developing digital content... It's time to do a little introspection and think about what we can do better.

BETTING ON BICYCLES AGAINST THE VIRUS

Rafa Vidiella, director of Cyclosphere, asked the question: "How can it be that in other countries they are betting on urban cycling and here we go like turtles tucked inside our shells? Maybe it's time to promote the use of bicycles".

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Sergi replied. "Right now what we have to avoiding crowds in subway cars and of train y promoting cycling or bike-sharing systems. And if there is fear of contagion, use gloves as in gas stations. It is much healthier and less risky in order to avoid contagion".

Jose Luis commented that obviously the use of the bike at this time is much better than the train or subway but that the use of the bike for travel in this country is very low and that we encounter "more problems" as we stop more police or lack of infrastructure, it is a matter of previous culture, he concluded.

YES TO THE USE OF BICYCLES, NO TO PROMOTING THEM

Both Carlos (AMBE) as Ignacio (CJM) and Jose Luis (COMET) agreed that now is not the time to promote cycling, because the message that cycling is the way to go might not be well received.

But after all this has happened. It will be then when we will have to bet on cycling mobility". - Ignacio Peralta

Carlos is also optimistic and adds that "When all this is over, people will be eager to go out in the fresh air, to exercise, to stay out of enclosed spaces... I believe that the demand for cycling will be one of the first to be reactivated".

FOR THE FUTURE

Looking to the future, Ciclosfera asked distributors for their opinion on the near future and direction of the bike sector.

"This wound is going to bleed for everyone: distributors, stores and brands," acknowledged José Luis. "It's all going to depend a lot on how long we stand still. The second thing will be the financial capacity we all have. And it also depends on market demand when this crisis passes."

In the medium and long term I see us stronger and better positioned. The figure of a distributor who delivers the product you need on time and in the right way will become increasingly relevant.

The stores have one thing going for them, which is the workshop. The bike is something very passionate, and the stores are fundamental participants in that passion". - Ignacio Peralta

Looking to the future, Sergi Belmonte bet on, "bring maximum value to the stores, providing them with all the stock they need, because the model is moving more and more towards that: that the stores have less and less stock.. We should also protect margins very well and, for the brands, promote very well in the geographic areas in which we operate. Sergi sees the future of distributors as "very technological". And he launched a final reflection: "In all this context in which we find ourselves, we will have to see how we will evaluate all the decisions we are making six months from now, when all this will have passed".

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