Business is booming for British bicycle-maker Brompton - but it’s cyclists in Asia who are snapping up its nifty folding models in their droves.
In a world where outsourcing has become the norm, London might not seem the most obvious place to mass-produce bicycles. But that is where Brompton manufactured 36,000 bikes last year -- and it shows no sign of slowing down.
“We’ve been growing for the last eight years at about 20 per cent a year. That means we’re doubling the size of the business every four to five years,” managing director William Butler-Adams told AFP.
Casually dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, the 38-year-old does not look like the average high-flying executive -- but many bosses would be envious of his figures.
A quarter of a million Bromptons have been sold already and the company has a turnover of 20 million pounds (HK$242.8 million) and net profits of around 2 million (HK$24.3 million).
But their bikes don’t come cheap. Retailing at 900 pounds on average and beloved by trendy urbanites in cities across the globe, they are assembled to order in the firm’s sprawling west London factory.