Accell Group strengthens operations in Asia

Posted by By Gary Roethenbaugh at 6 February, at 10 : 39 AM Print

European bike producer Accell Group NV, which owns brands such as recently acquired Van Nicholas, alongside Koga and Lapierre amongst others, has strengthened its operations in Asia with the appointment of a senior executive for its offices in Taiwan. As the company pointed out, the Asian organisation of Accell Group is becoming increasingly important in order to seize opportunities in the region, both in procurement and sales.

Regarding procurement of bicycle parts, Accell Group intends to further structure and expand its activities in Asia. As for sales, the company primarily focuses on the top-end segment of the Asian bicycle market. Revenues are still limited, but expectations are that demand for premium priced bicycles will further increase in the coming years due to the strong growth in prosperity in this part of the world.

In order to effectively exploit these opportunities, Accell Group has appointed Uwe Kalliwoda as President of Accell Asia. His office will be located in Taiwan. Kalliwoda is one of the founders of Ghost Bikes, a German subsidiary of Accell Group. As CEO of Ghost Bikes, Kalliwoda has undertaken business in Asia for many years.

The Taiwan office is responsible for Accell Korea (sales), Accell Australia (sales), the company’s Shanghai office and high end frame manufacturing in China and focuses on the marketing and sales of Ghost, Lapierre and Koga bicycles solely for the top-end segment of the Asian market. In addition, the procurement of bicycle parts for Accell Group’s European assembly operations is managed partly in Taiwan.

These operations in Asia have a total staff of 200. Accell Group already has an operation in China (Shenzhen) since 2005, which primarily focuses on sourcing and quality control of the company’s procurement business in China, and Vietnam.

www.accell-group.com

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