Yandex Market began producing city bicycles under its own brand in China

In the face of a reduction in the supply of imported bicycles and rising prices, online platforms are launching their brands in this category. Thus, Yandex Market began producing city bicycles in China under its own brand. Consumers today are looking for affordable bicycles among local and Chinese products, but competition in this segment is already high, market participants point out.

“Yandex Market” has launched its own trademark (private label) for urban bicycles, Raskat, a representative of the site told Kommersant. According to him, the line includes four sizes and eight colors. The bicycles are made in China, the frame is made of aluminum, each model has ten speeds. The cost of bicycles on the site starts from 26.9 thousand rubles. The planned production and sales volume of Raskat is not disclosed in Yandex Market.

Yandex Market noted that they are launching a bicycle brand before the high demand season, which peaks from April to June and remains high until the end of September. In the second quarter of 2023, sales of bicycles on the site increased 1.5 times year-on-year, more than 70% of demand was for models for the city, the company says.

Co-owner of the CityCycle store Vladimir Losinsky says that in the face of a shortage of bicycles from well-known world brands and a decrease in demand for models in the middle and high price segments, consumers are looking for more affordable alternatives among local or Chinese brands. According to him, the supply of bicycles from such brands as Specialized, Trek, Giant, brands of the PON holding (GT, Cannondale, Schwinn, etc.) either stopped completely or switched to long logistics, which seriously affected prices.

Wildberries told Kommersant that the number of bicycle brands on the site decreased by 61 brands over the year. Sales in this category were up 1% year over year in 2023, while the average price was down 3.24%. The company does not have its own brands of bicycles. Ozon did not provide a comment.

Kommersant’s interlocutor on the sporting goods market says that in recent years the volume of the Russian bicycle market in physical terms has been declining. In 2021, he estimates that about 3 million units were sold in the country. bicycles, and in 2023 – approximately 2.55 million units. According to Kommersant’s interlocutor, the dynamics may be associated with the development of rental services, to which part of the demand has transferred. CityCycle notes that the demand for bicycles is also influenced by the redistribution of spending among some consumers to other needs.

According to Vladimir Losinsky, there may already be high competition in the bicycle category where Yandex Market is entering. He points out that chains such as Sportmaster, Kant, and Trial-Sport have their own brands. As Mr. Losinsky notes, there are no problems with supply in the economy segment, only prices have increased due to the devaluation of the ruble and the increase in the cost of bicycle production in the world.

Felix Asmolov, director of the planning and analytics department of the Desport network, says that prices for bicycles produced in Russia are rising due to rising costs of components, international and local logistics, and labor. He also notes that there are already enough existing local brands like Stark, Stels, Forward, and the niche for new bicycle brands may be mainly in the technological segment. Desport, according to the top manager, produces a range of almost all types of bicycles in Russia and plans to further expand the category.

Yandex Market has recently been actively launching private labels in various markets. Earlier it became known that the company will begin production of adult and children’s clothing in the mid-price segment under the Tame, Muted and Humanform brands (see Kommersant on March 27). The site also has private label equipment, household goods, tools, etc. General Director of Infoline-Analytics Mikhail Burmistrov says that private label marketplaces, first of all, allow them to differentiate their assortment and experience less difficulty when competitors monitor prices. According to his estimates, now in certain categories private labels can be among the top five in demand in the online market. As the expert expects, the trend towards the creation of private label marketplaces will continue, but will be limited to key categories.

Anatoly Kostyrev