Partnering for Success: Oxford’s Dealer-First Approach

This piece first appeared in the March edition of BikeBiz magazine – not subscribed? Get a free subscription.

Sponsored Article in Partnership with Oxford

BikeBiz talks to Henry Rivers Fletcher, Managing Director, Paul Bowyer, Head of Products and Vincenzo Iannidnardi, Cycle Sales Manager at Oxford about 2024, new products and the year ahead. 

Henry Rivers Fletcher – Managing Director:

What were some of your key achievements and milestones in 2024? How have you navigated the challenges facing the industry in the past few years?

We have always driven constant change within our company, but 2024 was an exceptional year with a change in leadership providing the opportunity for a reset.

Our cycle business accelerated once again, with more than 20% growth across the board. We also saw huge gains in product development and brand distribution through the IBD channel, allowing us to expand our field sales team to service the expansion. The wider business benefited from the creation of a new Plan for Growth, which signposts a doubling of sales through to 2030 and we ended 2024 with a record turnover figure.

We have thankfully been immune to the travails of the industry, our existing investment-led growth path made smoother by the weakening or complete disappearance of several key competitors.

This is enabling us to continue increasing our investment in the cycle industry and maintain our business on a virtuous spiral.

Have you felt any pressure to adopt a direct-to-consumer approach? What factors have reinforced your decision to maintain a strong focus on your dealer network, and what are the benefits of this approach?

As a privately-owned family business, we do not suffer the short-termism associated with venture capital investors seeking a quick return, nor the mindless groupthink typical of large, faceless organisations.

We are free to go our own way and choose our own strategies for achieving the long-term goals we set for our business, both domestic and global.

Our central strategy hinges on a fundamental belief in the symbiotic relationship between brands and their distribution network. We seek to:

– Maintain a strong distribution network in order to help build our brands.
– Build our brands in order to help maintain a strong distribution network.

If we steal our distribution partners’ business by going direct to the consumer, like most of our competitors do, we undermine our entire business strategy.

So, we continue to invest in anything and everything which makes us more important to our dealers – the next big investment to bear fruit will be a flash new AI-supported B2B site.

Vincenzo Iannidnardi – Sales Manager Cycle Team:

How would you describe the current mood among Oxford’s dealer network? What are their biggest concerns and priorities right now?

Our network of dealers, just like the trade generally, is very diverse, so there are lots of different issues and individual opportunities for them. Each will have their own view and their own plans. 

Being Oxford customers means that they have a supplier they can rely on. It’s very easy to become pessimistic in this trade – post-COVID has been tough, I think our customers are a bit more resilient and a bit more optimistic than most, we are growing and I think they see that. We need a strong independent sector to grow in, so they know that we are committed to doing the right thing for them, for retail and for the trade.

What advice would you give to retailers to help differentiate themselves in a competitive market?

The same advice that one of our customers gave me (you know who you are)! Not all bicycle riders are cyclists – some are commuters, some are parents, and some are health enthusiasts. They ride bicycles for different reasons. Know your customers, and understand their needs.

Paul Bowyer – Head of Products (Cycle):

How do you select the brands you distribute? What criteria do you look for in a potential partner, and how does this curated portfolio benefit your dealers and their customers?

The first question I ask is, ‘what’s the benefit for our customers?’ We aren’t a brand collection house, and once the initial question has been answered positively, the product on offer must have a technical advantage versus their peers and complement the Oxford brand. 

We don’t want our customers having to choose between Oxford or a partner brand we distribute; all our brands expand the category technically, either to the dealer or to the end user.

You’ve hinted about an exciting new brand joining the Oxford family. What can you tell us about this brand and how it fits into Oxford’s overall strategy?

I’m excited to add HJC cycle helmets to our portfolio. HJC is a brand we’ve distributed for many years on the motorcycle side of the business, and we’ve been a significant partner in establishing them as the world’s no.1 motorcycle helmet brand.

HJC entered the cycle market in 2017, but it wasn’t the right time for us to pursue the distribution opportunity. Primarily, we didn’t have a network of dealers to support the predominantly premium road-focused range.

A great deal has changed at Oxford since then, and when the opportunity arose, it was a no-brainer. We know from experience that when HJC enters a market, the brand wants success. Having insight into their product development, wind tunnel testing and unique technologies, we know they are here for the long term.

It’s fair to say the helmet category was at the centre of the COVID boom and subsequent bust, but we’ve since seen the category recover throughout 2024, and consider it perfect timing. Strategically, this completes our one-stop-shop offering to our dealers; Oxford covers the family and commuter market from the entry point, Kali Protectives moves the bar upwards technically & ticks the off-road box, and HJC completes the category with premium road and gravel.

Beyond new products and brands, what other key initiatives or strategies are you focusing on in 2025 to further support your growth and the success of your dealer network?

This isn’t a product-focused answer (and ‘strategy’ sounds grander than it is!), but we’re a distributor, not a retailer; our strategy is to simply be the best model of a distributor to our retail partners.