This May, the 34th China International Bicycle Fair opened at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, running May 5 to 8, four days in all. We set up our booth once again, the way we always have.We first came to exhibit in Shanghai in 2017, and this year marks our tenth. Walking the halls on setup day, the crowds were still there and the buzz was still real, yet the flavor of the place has drifted from what it was ten years ago.
Still at the Table
Some honest words first. Winning customers from a trade show gets harder every year. Visitors are plenty; buyers who arrive with an actual purchasing plan take far more effort to find and to book.The small brands we used to know by face, the ones whose booths stood on either side of ours and who would sit down with us for a chat, have been leaving one after another these past two years. Some switched trades. Some still make bicycles, and simply stopped coming. Counting the empty spots along the aisles left a lump in our chests.Our factory has been building bicycle trailers since 2004, more than twenty years spent on this one product. Ten fairs on, cohorts of peers have come and gone around us. We can still raise a booth, still hold a seat at the table, and we feel genuinely honored by that.We will also admit what everyone can see. A trade fair is a regional affair, and offline commerce has lost part of its old momentum. Buyers finish their homework online, shortlisting bicycle trailer manufacturers long before they fly, then use the show to confirm things face to face.
Demand Stayed, the Channel Moved
Market demand is right where it was, and so are the consumers. Across Europe and the US, families riding with kids keep growing in number, and more riders bring their pets along. The need to haul cargo with a bike trailer has never once broken off.The change happened on the path buyers take to reach us. As a factory in China, we can feel one more current too. This market is accelerating toward brands and toward the head of the pack. Shoppers recognize names now, and orders keep concentrating on the leading players.What we need to do sounds plain. Read what consumers actually want, move with the current, make more friends among buyers, and grow the pie together with our peers and customers.
Smart Companies Commoditize Their Products’ Complements
There is an economic principle that came back to me while walking the fair. The more widespread and affordable a product’s complements become, the stronger the demand for the product itself.Joel Spolsky, a programmer by trade, wrote a line in 2002 that has traveled far: “Smart companies try to commoditize their products’ complements.”A bike trailer is a complement business through and through. The more bicycles and e-bikes on the road, and the bigger the pet supply and children’s product markets grow, the better that little trailer behind the rear wheel sells. So we sincerely root for every one of these industries.
See You Next Time, Shanghai
Cycling and sports, pet supplies, children’s goods, all of these industries have been climbing in recent years. Shanghai is a global city, and each year more Chinese brands fight their way onto the world stage from here. Bicycles have XDS and Fujita, children’s goods have Babycare, and pet supplies have MeoWant. Building truly refined products is the main direction for the next phase of export trade.We hope that one day our own name stands among them. Coming from a bike trailer factory that has kept at it since 2004, we believe that hope is not a presumptuous one.Next May we will be in Shanghai again. Old friends, come straight to the booth and sit down. New friends who want to talk about private label or wholesale bike trailer orders, write to us ahead of time. The halls get loud; we will find a quiet corner and talk things through properly.
