Premium e-bike maker BESV has celebrated its tenth anniversary at Eurobike. We visited the BESV booth and spoke with Armin Van Hoogstraten, a senior consultant to the firm.
BESV’s parent company, Darfon, recently took over German-based distributor GROFA. The move comes as BESV anticipates the majority of its upcoming growth will come from the European market. BESV’s Taiwanese arm commenced business in 2014, expanding into Europe in 2020. “Today, we have an Asian product line tailored to that market and a range tailored more to Europe,” explained Armin Van Hoogstraten, a senior consultant to the firm. The acquisition of GROFA builds on a four-year relationship between the various firms. “We realised a better grip on the distribution side would be very beneficial. GROFA is a company with a 120-million euro turnover. Darfon is publicly owned, so growth is very important”.
The deal was also driven by Darfon and BESV’s desire to gain increased access to the firm’s European dealer networks, along with increased diversity and revenue. Currently, the firm’s sales are split 50/50 between European and Asian markets. “In the next two to three years, we expect this to change to 80/20, with growth being much more in the European market, something that we’re reflecting in our product line-up.” This has seen an increased focus on sports and leisure options. “After ten years, the Darfon group has grown to include frame manufacturing and bicycle assembly, a battery division, and the BESV brand”. Its latest deal means it begins the next ten with control of its distribution channels.