Santarem Festival Bike in Portugal

Portugal has a population of 10 million and 1,000 bike shops, but most bike sales occur at large chain stores such as Decathlon, Berg (Sport Zone), Continente, Mooelo, and Carrefour. Portuguese bicycle production has grown steadily during the most recent five years, and has reached an annual level of 1.9 million units, making it the third largest bicycle producer among the 28 EU states. The leading bicycle assemblers in Portugal are RTE, Maias, Esmaltina, Obera, BH, Incycle, Avantisbike, Orbita, Interbike, Portubike, and Fritz Jou (Taiwanese-owned, located in Agueda, will begin production in November 2017). Swift Carbon's new plant in Porto has been completed, and it expects to begin assembling bikes locally using imported carbon fiber frames in 2018. Portugal is currently on track to become the EU's second largest bicycle producer during the next two years. 

 

Most of Portugal's bicycle plants and large distributors are located in Agueda, with a minority being located in Porto. Of the bicycles assembled in Portugal, 80% are sold to Decathlon, including 1.3 million from RTE and 400,000 from Maias. According to CONEBI, a relatively small 350,000 bikes were sold in Portugal last year, and most of the country's bicycle output is produced on an OE basis for export. Most bicycle plants have adopted automated production, and most of the leading producers have 125-250 employees. The minimum monthly wage is €562, and wages are generally €600-800. Portugal still produces relatively few e-bikes, but its e-bike output is expected to increase. The larger distributors in Portugal include Vouga, Castanheira, Aguesport, and Coleurope. 

 

The 2016 Santarem Festival Bike trade show was held in two halls, and attracted large crowds. This year's show had only 45 exhibitors, and was held in only one hall. The chief local exhibitors included Interbike, Orbita, Polisport, and Specialized, all of which had large booths, and Cayon also displayed a wide variety of bikes. Many exhibitors said that energy levels were low at this year's Santarem show. Another cycle show will be held in Porto in October 2018; since the Porto show is closer to the bicycle stronghold of Agueda, it is expected to impact the 2018 Santarem Festival Bike show, which will bear watching. 

 

Vouga: Established in 1946, has been Shimano's sole distributor in Portugal for over 20 years. Vouga has 44 employees in Portugal and 14 in Argentina, and serves 400 stores. 

 

Castanheira: Established for 70 years, Castanheira has served as an agent for KTM since 1988, and is also an agent for Schwalbe and Poland's Kross. 

 

Col Europa: Established 1998, Col Europa is an agent for Magura, Abus, and SKS. It has 25 employees and serves 250 stores. Col Europa is chiefly a motorcycle, and motorcycles account for 60%-70% of its sales, with the remainder coming from bicycles. The company imports products from Taiwan, China, and Bangladesh. Col Europa's warehouse occupies 4,000 m2, and it expects that becoming an agent for Duro auto tires will enable it to double its sales.