Brompton Bicycle has doubled its head count in North America and recruited a new dealer representative to up sales in the region.
The UK-based manufacturer of Brompton folding bikes, Brompton Bicycle, will produce over 30,000 bikes this year and expects 8% of these to be shipped to North America. Each bike is still built by hand in London.
The number of dealers has quadrupled in the last three years as use of folding bikes has increased dramatically.
Although Brompton Bicycles has been exported into the USA and Canada for 20 years, the firm has only had employees in North America for the last three years.
Ed Rae, Brompton’s North American agent, has expanded the dealership network for Brompton bikes leading to the company’s move into a new building in Oregon.
John McConaghay, Brompton’s new dealer representative, commented: “I’m incredibly excited to support a wonderful community of dealers who are helping people improve their personal transport solutions, and spreading folding bike love.”
Mr McConaghay added: “The new location is perfect for the thriving team, with a little space to grow. It’s gratifying and exciting to see Brompton move to this next level in North America.”
The Brompton consists of some 1,200 parts, over three-quarters of which are unique to its bicycles.
The firm said that it considered moving production offshore in search of lower labour costs, business rates and taxes, but these benefits would be outweighed by the consequences of losing control over quality and, ultimately, losing the confidence of the consumer.
