On 25th March Guernsey went into lockdown, two days after the United Kingdom and following most of Europe, which was ahead of us in their Covid-19 experience.
The advice in March 2020 from Guernsey’s CCA was that it was permissible for “islanders to exercise outdoors for up to 2 hours per day” and many took this as an instruction. A fair proportion of islanders used their cycle to discover their near surroundings, many getting their trusted pushang out from the back of their shed or even from behind it. Many rediscovered an enjoyment for cycling and wanted to upgrade or buy a new cycle as soon as they could.
All cycle manufacturers were caught off guard by a dramatic increase in demand for bicycles worldwide.
At Ian Brown’s Cycle Shop we have coped surprisingly well throughout the summer, managing to supply more than double the number of bikes sold for a similar period in 2019. We have done this by working hard with our existing broad portfolio of manufacturers and even introducing some new ones. The better known brands were snapped up quickly and these companies have had profound shortages of 2020 models. Production of 2021 models has been affected by Covid-19 and factories are still unable to reach normal levels of production let alone increase in line of additional demand. Due to the many items required to complete a bicycle shortage of any items will mean delays in dispatch / delivery.
To maintain a dealer network, responsible bike manufacturers are strategising to ensure all dealers get some units going forward. That means that dealers will get some but not all their allocation.
All the above issues mean there is much uncertainty surrounding delivery of exactly which make, model, size or colour we will eventually get from our suppliers and no firm dates as to when this will happen. We have chosen not to sell bikes that are not yet on the island to save a complicated layer of administration of not knowing when orders will arrive.
We advise any customers who are interested in specific bikes / price points to call into our shop regularly to see what has become available in the preferred style, size and price of bike required.
At Ian Brown’s Cycle Shop we will continue to work extremely hard to obtain as many units from key manufacturers as we possibly can to cater for the increased demands for cycles. We do have to accept that we will be dealing with many fewer bikes from all manufacturers well into 2021.
We do wish to thank the very many customers who have supported us through the testing times this year, your continued understanding and custom is much appreciated.
