Accell Group N.V. appointed the founder of Ghost bicycle to oversee its operations in Asia from an office in Taiwan.


 

The Asian organization 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 exclusive bicycles will further increase in the coming years due to the strong growing 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 (AAT). Kalliwoda is one of the founders of Ghost Bikes, a German subsidiary of Accell Group. As CEO of Ghost Bikes, Kalliwoda has already done business in Asia for many years.


The Taiwan office is responsible for Accell Korea (sales), Accell Australia (sales), 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 bicycleparts for the European assembly operations is managed partly in Taiwan. These operations in Asia have a total staff of 200.


Accell Group already has a business establishment in China (Shenzhen) since 2005 which primarily focuses on sourcing and quality control of our procurement business in China and Vietnam. This organization has a total staff of 15.



Accell Group is active internationally in the mid-range and higher segments of the market for bicycles, bicycle parts & accessories and fitness equipment. The group is market leader in Europe in the bicycle market.


Accell Group’s best known brands are Batavus, Koga, Sparta, Winora, Hai Bike, Ghost, Lapierre, Atala, Redline, Tunturi en XLC. The company has production facilities in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Hungary and Turkey. Accell Group shares are traded on the official market of the NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam and included in the Amsterdam Small Cap Index (AScX).



Accell Group recorded turnover of €577.2 million in 2010, compared with €572.6 million in 2009, and net profit of €36.4 million, compared with €32.7 million in 2009. Turnover is distributed across the company’s keys markets as follows: the Netherlands (39%), Germany (25%) and France (9%). Other European countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom, account for 19% of turnover. The remaining 8% of turnover comes from countries outside the Europe including the US and Canada.