Interesting view of a high end producer: Wilier in 2011

[Powerful Pete]

Came across the official blurb on Wilier from www.bdc-forum.it. BDC is a fantastic forum, BTW!

Gives an idea of what a relatively well-known, smallish, high-end producer... produces and sells in a year. And for those of you who cannot read Italian:

- 35 million Euro of sales;
- increase of 18% over 2010;
- 28,190 bikes produced in 2011, over the 23,026 produced in 2010;
- 35% growth in the Italian market (almost 6000 bikes sold), increment mainly due to their new MTB line (bet you didn't know that!);
- MTB production has increased 369% over the previous year to 4,641;
- largest sales increment in Asia, with growth all over Asia;
- "stable" in US, Japan and Australia and good growth in Germany, Benelux and rest of Europe.

Disclaimer: I do not own a Wilier (although I wouldn't mind a Zero.7 or even a Centouno). I thought these figures interesting to show the relative size of a manufacturer that most on this forum would recognise.

Obviously this is a press release, so it waxes poetic about commercial success, but interesting nonetheless.

[lcoolb]

[...]
- largest sales increment in Asia, with growth all over Asia;
[...]

Very interesting, grazie mille! I've been living in Indonesia since a year, and considering their presence here in Jakarta, i'm not surprised to read they're doing so well. Mainly owned by lazy, fat poseurs though

[prendrefeu]

Was there any information about what models sold more than others, and where?
What about size distributions?

[Fourthbook]

Thanks for the link. Very interesting! Be sure to also read the article about Giant... sobering for many of us who have high-end carbon frames with premium labels/pedigrees and price tags that were actually assembled by a subcontractor probably in the Far East rather than at the location of the corporate HQ in Italy, etc...

http://www.bdc-forum.it/made-in-taiwan-visita-a-giant/

[Powerful Pete]

Yup. What struck me in the Giant factory article is the assembly line builds of completed frames. About 30 seconds for a road bike, 60 seconds for an MTB. And a daily level of production of between 5000-6000 completed bikes per day.

@prendrefeu... nothing specific on models or sizes. What struck me in the blurb was: (i) massive growth in Asia; (ii) little or no growth in the US; and (iii) most of the growth in Italy seems to be the result of the MTB line.

[roadman]

I think what's most surprising is how small the revenue size of Wilier is. Would be interesting to know their operating profit margin vs Giant's...

I think it still shows the real markets are (i) commuting bikes (ii) MTB

[prendrefeu]

I think it still shows the real markets are (i) commuting bikes (ii) MTB

Hasn't that been a known fact for decades now?

[kgt]

Wilier is one of the companies which based their recent growth on quality and performance rather than marketing. It was not only Ballan's 2008 World Championship but also Centouno's outstanding reviews. And they seem to keep on that top performance track with zero7. Not bad at all for a family business.

[prendrefeu]

Compared to Pinarello, certainly one of Italy's Bicycle Industry highlights.

[Powerful Pete]

prendrefeu, may I ask why you say that? After all, Pinarello and Colnago are both "cycling highlights" for Italy, in terms of tremendous success marketing, selling and making money. Just curious...

[prendrefeu]

Colnago is definitely still a highlight. It may be THE poster-child, in fact.

Pinarello... I think the jury is out on that one. As KGT mentioned, the growth of Wilier is from quality and performance as opposed to flood marketing and hype. Pinarello is carrying a stigma of over-priced, heavy, unnecessary design cues, and no discernable or remarkable technological advancements to their name. But Pina has been covered countlessly before on this forum, no? Some people like them, some don't.

[kgt]

I respect that Castaldello family really tries to stay at the top. The fact they introduced a 800gr frame that (as the current reviews say) rides amazingly proves that. For a smaller company that is not easy I guess.

[elviento]

Pete, thanks for sharing the info. Very interesting indeed.

Prend: It's certainly an interesting perspective, but I find Wilier's 0.7 launch (u know, the website flash, the press conference, the wining and dining of journalists, the heavily (but nicely) crafted videos with super-model rider, etc.) as well as how the brand is run, seem to indicate a mini version of Pinarello. Granted, a less lavish version, and (slightly) less misleading weight claims. In fact, I find these two brands more similar than any other pair of brands anywhere, in terms of prestege, marketing strategy, design styles, pro sponsorships, target market, product lineup.

Of course, I own a Prince and would like to own a (Alejet Ed.) Cento Uno. Not so much for Dogma or 0.7. So I may be biased. My guess is Pinarello just went a bit too over the top, and Fausto's pocket square was just the last staw...


BTW, notice Giant's per frame sales is much lower -- if you subtract all the components they make, per frame cost is around US$200, while Wilier's is over $1500, so they target toally different markets, hence it makes less practical sense to directly compare the two. If you start comparing higher end frames (by sane standards, not ww standards ) then the discrepancy is probably much less (maybe 3:1 v. 30:1). To complicate things further, Giant could possibly do OEM for Wilier as well, so for the very same frame, Giant would make $300 but Wilier $1200.

[kgt]

It's true that Wilier's marketing follow the Pinarello route but I disaggree their weight claims are "slightly" less misleading. Cento Uno's weight is really close to the claimed and zero7's weight is 100% accurate. Each frame sold has an "identity" with its exact weight indicated. And it really is less than 800gr in small-large frames. No comparison with a Dogma's weight. But what deserves credit is that zero7 is also a great ride (according to the reviews). Italians easily make heavier frames with sophisticated geometry that ride amazingly. Maybe now they can make amazing ww frames also.

[elviento]

Agreed the Zero 7's weight is closer because the weight is its biggest selling point (among others).

However, their Cento Uno can easily be off by 200g, which is pretty close to Pinarello. Pls see Bikeradar article below.

http://m.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bi ... t-09-34941

It's true that Wilier's marketing follow the Pinarello route but I disaggree their weight claims are "slightly" less misleading. Cento Uno's weight is really close to the claimed and zero7's weight is 100% accurate. Each frame sold has an "identity" with its exact weight indicated. And it really is less than 800gr in small-large frames. No comparison with a Dogma's weight. But what deserves credit is that zero7 is also a great ride (according to the reviews). Italians easily make heavier frames with sophisticated geometry that ride amazingly. Maybe now they can make amazing ww frames also.