Bonnie Tu, Executive Vice- President and CFO of the Taiwanese company, was in Dubai earlier to assess the market potential.

The company is positive of its prospects in the region, despite the fact that cycling enthusiasts are much fewer than in other parts of the world and the climate is not conducive to an activity like cycling.

The bicycle market is often boosted by factors like concerns about the environment and rising oil prices — issues which are not highly accentuated in the Middle East as they are elsewhere.

Dubai already has its share of motorbike enthusiasts and Giant hopes to achieve similar breakthroughs for bicycles also. It has already made a deal with an agent in UAE and it is working with them as a first step.

“By cooperating with our agent in UAE, we will run Dubai as a showcase for cycling in the Middle East. With events, campaigns, advertising, and marketing activities we hope to promote the awareness of cycling and let people experience the fun and benefits of this sport,” says Bonnie Tu.

Regarding the retailing strategy she says, “A single-brand sales channel is every brand owner’s ideal partner and we are no exception. However, we do not stick to this ‘dream’. We consider who is our best partner, not whether they sell only Giant. However, Giant should be taken care of as one of their major brands.”

Giant is also a leading name in electric bicycles. Electric bicycle sales account for 10 per cent of the company’s turnover. In the UAE, Giant will be focusing more on conventional bicycles, including road bikes, mountain bikes, lifestyle bikes and kid/youth bikes. Regarding electric bicycles Bonnie Tu says, “We have invested a lot in research and development and marketing (and will keep doing so) in China and Taiwan. We are having good sales there. For exporting to the Middle East, we need more study on market demand and different regulations for each country. However, if the need is getting trendy, we will not be absent.”

Dubai Desert Extreme, a distributor and retailer of action sports equipment and related goods, is Giant’s agent in UAE. Shahriar Khodjasteh, President of Dubai Desert Extreme, says that the company expects to distribute approximately Dh1 million to Dh2 million of Giant products in 2008. “Dh1 million would be a good start, as we will be looking to develop the bike culture though various channels,” he adds.

The company expects 100 per cent year-on-year growth in its bike business with Giant and targets Dh3 million to Dh6 million in distribution revenues by 2010.

“We must consider that we are talking about the UAE only at this stage, so the numbers are optimistic but obtainable,” he adds.

Giant, as the name indicates, positions itself as a global company. The brand was valued at $250 million by Interbrand for 2006. The company has a 150-strong R&D team that detects future needs globally. The company has varied experiences in establishing itself in different markets. For example, in Europe and Australia Giant’s bicycles were an instant success. However, it took much longer to establish itself in Japan and the US. Like many Taiwanese companies, Giant has a major presence in the OEM business which accounts for 30 per cent of sales. The rest of the sales now come from Giant brand name products.  Global revenues in 2006 were about $800 million, with USA accounting for 30 per cent, Asia 35 per cent, Europe 25 per cent and the rest of the world 10 per cent.