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Bike Club brings circularity to children's sector through retail partnership

Thu 05 May 2022 | 12:47 pm GMT
Rob Hutchins | Products of Change Writer

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Bike Club brings circularity to the children\'s bike market through subscription service

A children’s bike subscription service on a mission to make cycling more affordable and sustainable for young families could be about to revolutionise the high street, having landed an extended partnership with John Lewis. Bike Club was established in 2016 by Alexandra Rico-Lloyd and James Symes as the UK’s first kids’ bikes subscription service, aimed at bringing circularity into the children’s bike sector while reducing costs for parents purchasing new bikes for their children. The service has now secured more than 40,000 young cyclists, making kids bikes and scooters more accessible to parents through a monthly subscription, starting from as little as £4.49. Bike Club has now become one of the UK’s largest bike rental networks, connecting sustainably-minded consumers with the hobby. It’s widely recognised that to ensure a child experiences the benefits of riding the perfect-sized bike, a parent would need to purchase eight different bikes before their child has turned 12 years old. Acknowledging the issue the children’s bike market has with waste, Bike Club’s rental scheme aims to keep those products in the loop for longer. Bike Club subscribers can select a date for the bike to be delivered directly to their door. This can then be exchanged at any time as their child grows.
The service aims to make the kids' bike market more sustainable by helping customers 'consume better.'
It was last year that the high street retailer, John Lewis announced its partnership with Bike Club. Following a successful launch in the Stratford store, the retailer has extended its partnership, making Bike Club available to customers online. John Lewis customers will now be able to try a selection of popular bike brands, including Frog, Forme, Strider, and Woom at the Stratford store before choosing the model and size they’d like to begin their subscription with. The Bike Club bespoke sizing system will ensure children always have the correct sized bike. Kids can try these out for size on the in-store roller system. When Bike Club members are ready to exchange their bike, they simply arrange a collection via the Bike Club website. The collected bikes then head back to the Bike Club production facility where they are refurbished by an expert team of technicians and offered to a new family to ride for a reduced monthly fee. Alan Wright, category lead at John Lewis, said: “We are delighted to be offering our customers accessibility to Bike Club online and offering a sustainable way to shop for even more of our customers.” James Symes, CEO and co-founder of Bike Club, added: “We are thrilled to announce our new online service with John Lewis & Partners offering customers a sustainable alternative for their children’s bikes. “As society faces climate change, we should work together not to consume less, but to consumer better, meaning we should rent better things and refurbish them. This is exactly the option Bike Club gives tens of thousands of families across the UK.” Find out more about Bike Club here.
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