The growth comes at a time when Romania is EU’s champion in terms of macroeconomy. Consumer spending has been driving the growth of the economy for several years now. Minimum wage went up 12-fold in eight years, so the purchasing power improved, as well.
The growth of the bicycle market comes at a time when more and more Romanian consumers choose to exercise constantly, as people in the West already do. They buy two-wheelers to ride in the city and for trips outside it.
“The bicycle market is growing. We’ve seen 17% increase in sales so far compared with 2016. However, we are after a very good year, with 102% growth,” says Antoniu Nituleasa, the Romanian executive who runs Intersport, one of the main sporting goods retailers in the country.
Romanians bought more than 400,000 bicycles at an average price of EUR200 last year, according to the European bicycle industry association COLIBI.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)