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Interview with Christophe Piron, CEO

of Bihr

Shifting up a gearIn France, it is the undisputed market leader. Now the motorbike parts and accessories spe-cialist Bihr is shifting up a gear by expanding its activities in rider gear. Besides France, the country where the company was created in 1975, and Spain, where it has one of its largest distribution centers, the company is now developing the German market to become a truly pan-European supplier. After completion of the targeted expansion, Bihr wants to go on de-veloping its strengths: short delivery periods and a wide product choice that is constantly being adapted to new and changing customer demands.

Bihr is Europe’s largest supplier of

spare parts, accessories and tires

for motorbikes, quads, all-terrain

vehicles and scooters and of mo-

torcycle clothing and helmets.

The company was established by

motorbike racer Cyril Bihr in 1975.

“He couldn’t find the right piston

for his bike, so he had to import it

from Asia,” CEO Christophe Piron

describes the beginnings. “When

he stopped his racing career over

40 years ago, he set up his own

wholesaling business for spare

parts.” Since 2011, Bihr has been

a member of the Belgian Alcopa

Group, a family-owned company

with activities in import and distri-

bution, parts, building materials,

real estate, trading and retail, over

2,000 employees in 19 coun-

tries, and revenues of 2.3 billion

EUR. “We are part of the Group

and have our own subsidiaries in

six countries,” states Mr. Piron.

“France, where we have a large

distribution center, is one of our

main markets. Another important

market is Spain, where we have

a logistics center, too. In addition,

we have branch operations in

Belgium, the home country of our

parent company, the Netherlands

and Switzerland. At present, we

are opening a brand-new site in

Germany that will focus solely on

motorcycle and scooter clothing

and helmets, unlike our other

branch locations. Germany is one

of the largest and most significant

markets for rider gear and helmets,

and we have exclusive agreements

with major clothing brands and our

own sales force that from now on

are supporting the German motor-

bike dealers.”

Bihr employs 400 people, includ-

ing 240 in France and 100 in

Spain, and turns over 140 million

EUR, of which the largest share

of 120 million EUR is generated

through the sale of spare parts

and accessories, and 20 mil-

lion through protective clothing

and helmets. Operating in the

B2B segment, the company sup-

plies more than 14,000 dealers

across Europe with over 200,000

brand-name articles. “Besides the

countries where we have our own

branch operations, we have cus-

tomers in Portugal, Italy, Austria,

Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Slo-

venia and the Nordic countries,”

says Mr. Piron. “Our strength is

our first-class logistics. We have

four logistics facilities with total

storage of 40,000 m2 and are able

to supply almost all dealers in

Europe within 24 hours.” The new

German operation will be supplied

from the company’s spacious,

modern warehousing complex

located in Bartenheim in Alsace

close to the German border. “All

logistics facilities are managed by

ourselves, whereas for transport

we cooperate with reliable, external

partners,” Mr. Piron describes the

division of labour in logistics. In

addition to providing swift logistics

and excellent customer service,

Bihr distinguishes itself through its

advanced information technology.

“For automotive spare parts, there

is specific software available to find

and order the right part,” explains

Mr. Piron. “There is nothing like

that for motorcycles. Therefore, we

developed our own solution. This

way, we ensure that every cus-

tomer gets exactly the right spare

part.” Bihr handles 90% of all

orders through its website. “Digital-

ized, efficient ordering procedures

Read this article onlinewebcode: 8338

At present, we are opening a brand-new site in Germany.

The portfolio comprises of around 300 brands and 200,000 items distributed through a network of 14,000 dealers

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Bihr NVPierstraat 231 (3rd floor) 2550 Kontich Belgium

+32 3 4501706 +32 3 4501700

Bihr SAS7 rue Robert Schuman ZI Parc 3 68870 Bartenheim France

+33 3 89703099 +33 3 89703090 Bihr Iberia/Industrias Vicma SA Carretera Nacional N°340, km 619,4 30850 Totana Murcia Spain

+34 968 424752 +34 968 422778

info@bihr.eu www.bihr.eu

are very important,” states Mr.

Piron. “On peak days, we dispatch

up to 8,000 parcels.”

Though the overall motorbike mar-

ket is declining, Bihr is benefiting

from sustained, strong growth.

“New motorbike sales are not that

important to us, because our focus

is exclusively on the aftermarket,”

Mr. Piron explains the apparent

contradiction. “For us it is impor-

tant that the motorcycles are being

moved. In general, the season

starts in spring when the bikes

are taken out of the garage and

prepared for the new driving sea-

son. That is our busiest time. With

regard to clothing and helmets, the

situation is a bit different. Here,

the season starts earlier because

the dealers want to have the new

products.” Due to its focus on the

aftermarket, Bihr is continuing its

positive development. “We expe-

rienced strong growth in the past,

and we expect an increase of 20%

this year,” says Mr. Piron. “Not by

expanding geographically, apart

from our current entry into Ger-

many, but by further improving our

delivery periods and adapting our

product portfolio to our customers’

demands.”

Bihr has a total storage capacity of more than 40,000 m2 spread over four warehouses

We are able to supply almost all dealers in Europe within

24 hours.

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