Cycle Bazaar - Riding strong for 61 years

By Tharindri Rupesinghe

After receiving the Lanka Thilaka award

Post-colonial Sri Lanka was a difficult period for most people. For Don Marshall Hettiarachchi and his wife Cecilia, it meant having to make it to the Kandana bus stand early every morning to go to their newly-established business, the Cycle Bazaar, and managing a business in spite of all socio-economic changes going on around them.

Mervyn Hettiarachchi is proud of his parents. As the only son of Marshall and Cecilia, he is now the CEO and Managing Director of the Hettiarachchi Group, part of which is the Cycle Bazaar. The Cycle Bazaar which enjoys household name status in Sri Lanka was established in 1947 by Mr. and Mrs. Hettiarachchi. Growing over the ages, witnessing everything from the sudden impact of the open economy to civil war to student unrests that rocked the country, it has stood on and celebrates 61 years this 2008.

“Starting something is the hard part, continuing is easier,” says Mervyn Hettiarachchi, praising his parents for their entrepreneurial spirit. His father was awarded the Lanka Thilaka national honour for being a pioneer businessmen and passed away some years back, leaving memories of an ebullient and entrepreneurial spirit. The Cycle Bazaar is best known for the Kenstar brand, a bicycle made in Taiwanese factories in China. The range includes the BMX bicycles, the MTB’ s better known as mountain bikes and special ranges for ladies and children. Hettiarachchi stresses that the Kenstar bicycles are not of a low quality that is sometimes perceived in Chinese products since the parts are from Taiwan.

Over the years, the bikes have changed, says the CEO. In the 1960’s, the bicycles were the basic 18 inch or 16 inch, but now they are far more sophisticated with the customised seats, gears etc. However, the people who buy them are almost the same. Most of the children’s bicycles have remained hugely popular throughout the company’s history.

Some of the best business for the Cycle Bazaar comes via their bank clients. These banks gift bicycles as part of their children’s account incentives, and Hettiarchchi says that this has led to considerable sales in many areas where the bank open branches. Especially in the remote areas in the North Central province, the company has got major exposure as well as sales. While the larger cities still offer up much of the firm’s sales, in the outskirts of the suburbs, many children use the bicycle to travel to school and back. This trend, he says, has increased as fuel prices shoot up.

When asked whether the demand for bicycles have reduced because of the gradual reduction of space to ride them in the city, Hettiarachchi says it has not. “Even if it is to ride it in the small space of a lawn, it is a big thing for a child,” he says. Possibly because of this steady demand, the Cycle Bazaar has been enjoying a steady growth over the years. “The bicycle business is a very competitive business, but we have a lovely product,” he says, adding that while economic factors like rising inflation do impact them, he does not see a significant change in their sales trends, “ I can’t see it (sales) going up, neither can I see it going down”.

However, the Bazaar has not been without its low points. Hettiarachchi recalls a time in the early 1970’s when the government assumed control over prices and the wholesale and retail prices in Colombo were the same. “When I went and told the secretary of a particular ministry, he said that if you can’t manage, shut it down!” he remembers, adding that in spite of this valuable advice, the Bazaar held its own and did “manage”.

For its success, Hettiarachchi sees three main reasons. The product itself, their long-time bankers Bank of Ceylon and the staff. According to him, the current workforce is 45 to 50 individuals who are dedicated to the cause. “We pride ourselves on customer services we provide at point of sales as well as after sales,” he says. Economic factors will always affect the markets, says Hettiarachchi, but the hope is that the resilience shown so far by the Cycle Bazaar will continue.