Website Closers® presents an energetic eCommerce company that has found its place within the thriving niche field of eBikes. Known for being flexible, versatile, and eco-friendly, electric bikes have become enormously popular with commuters who enjoy the higher speeds these bikes offer and the health benefits of using one.
Company ownership is primarily looking for a strong buyer to purchase a roughly 25% minority stake at the current Enterprise Value. Ownership is bullish on the future of this company and wants to remain involved and meaningfully managing the operations of the company as it continues to grow with a larger, well-connected partner that can help take this business to new heights. While all suitors will be considered for this deal, a minority deal is currently the most exciting at this time.
This brand has staked out an unrivaled position within this booming industry, having started out by building their own electric bikes by hand, then riding the wave of popularity for eBikes to create an enormously successful D2C eCommerce company. Their 6 uniquely designed and trademarked bike models have grown into 50+ SKUs offering a host of different colors and sizes.
The eBike industry is now valued at more than $40 million, and projected to double that number in the next few years. There’s no question that this brand’s proprietary SKUs will give them a significant edge in this field moving forward. eBikes have been riding a wave of acclaim and rising sales in part due to their appeal as an environmentally friendly product. These battery-run bikes don’t rely on fuel that can contribute to air pollution, which is why so many governments around the world are encouraging commuters to use them as an alternative to their car. This has boosted the demand for electric vehicles, including bicycles, especially as fuel costs rise. The eBike market appears to be at the earliest stages of a massive growth pattern.
This 3-year-old company recognized that emerging trend and began creating their own designs, which they now maintain all rights to. Sales are conducted on the company’s Shopify website, at a high average order value of $1,400.
When the company first launched its site, their eBikes were primarily being purchased by older consumers, but more recently that’s started to change, and fast. As the eBike market continues to experience rapid growth, these bikes are being shared by a growing number of people, and younger consumers are discovering them, and recognizing the health benefits of riding one. The pandemic in 2020 actually boosted interest in eBikes, as people became more concerned about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and recognized that commuting on one of these bikes was a healthy daily habit compared to driving their car.
As a result, this brand’s sales are now enjoying steady growth year-round, with a predictably sharp rise in sales during the spring and summer months when people were eager to be outdoors.
Today, 40% of their buyers are 55 and older, while a rising 35% are between the ages of 40 and 55, and 25% are between 20 and 40. Generally, their buyers live in higher income areas, and 70% are men with the remaining 30% being women.
The brand has made a strong connection with their customers. The company enjoys excellent reviews from customers who say their bikes went well beyond their expectations and worked perfectly, and 25% of sales are now coming from repeat customers.
To cultivate such a strong customer base, the company has relied on a multifaceted approach to marketing. Social media has been a crucial part of their success. With 6,840+ followers on Instagram, the site has been a particularly effective tool for their affiliates campaign that includes 10 main affiliates across different top-ranking websites. This campaign has helped generate up to 60% of web traffic.
Video marketing has proven to be highly beneficial, with organic traffic boosted from their videos shared on YouTube, online bicycle forms and community posts. PPC ads are run regularly on Google and Facebook, which has also worked well to expand their customer base. Their SEO plan includes a blog on the website and full site optimization.
These marketing tools have been enormously successful, giving the brand 100,000+ unique monthly visits, and they have an email database of 14,000+ subscribers to tap into. One of their strongest sales tools, though, has been word of mouth from past customers, which has helped drive a whopping 25% of sales. This has also helped give the company 45%+ gross profit margins in the past two years.
Another highly beneficial aspect to this business is their long standing and vital relationships with their suppliers, which is build on trust and open communication. The company has two main eBike suppliers and four accessory suppliers located in China, and they stock inventory at their warehouse, typically 2,000 eBikes and 2,000 accessory components. They are now averaging 50 shipments a day, and inventory orders are placed monthly.
For an investor, its critical to keep in mind that the technology infrastructure is in place to support terrific scale opportunities. That would include offering new services such as extended warranties, introducing new products and upselling them to existing customers, and targeting B2B sales.
There are significant sales expansion opportunities across multiple channels, which includes creating partnerships with bike rental companies, businesses that want to encourage workers to use eBikes, schools, police departments and municipal governments eager to find creative ways to get more cars off the road and reduce traffic congestion. That’s a massive customer base on the wholesale side waiting to be tapped into.
The company’s marketing efforts could also be expanded, particularly the highly successful affiliates campaign, and a higher investment in PCC ad spend would boost sales as well.
As a highly successful turnkey operation, all employees work remotely and this business could be operated anywhere. This business is already starting to have a lasting impact on one of nation’s strongest new trends, towards faster, healthier and more eco-friendly commuting, and with younger generations well invested in those goals, this company is ready to expand dramatically.
The investor who joins this enterprise is likely to find themselves part of a booming business that’s growing rapidly at just the right time.
