 Wouter Jager, left, president of Dutch-based bicycle manufacturer Koga-Mitaya, lifts up a bike frame together with LS Networks CEO Lee Dae-hoon during the opening ceremony for the first Biclo store, a premium bicycle shop franchise operated by LS Networks, in southern Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of LS Networks |
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
LS Networks opened their first shop in a planned network for the sale of premium bicycles, Thursday.
The opening of the Biclo first store in southern Seoul, the company said, aims to supply a range of reliable bicycles and related products. On hand at the ceremony was LS Cable Chairman, Koo Ja-yeol, who is also the chairman of the Korea Cycling Federation.
The name of the brand Biclo is a combination of the words, ``bike'' and ``close.''
Stores are to be designed differently from other conventional bicycle shops, LS Networks said.
Biclo will sell both domestic and imported bicycles and related products, while mechanics will be available to produce tailor-made bicycles for customers and to provide one-on-one consulting services.
It plans to operate its own cycling courses and conduct maintenance education programs.
LS Cable announced it plans to open five more Biclo stores in Seoul and vicinity this year.
``For friendly coexistence with smaller-sized shops, we will pan out a strategy of tying in with other stores,'' said Cho Byung-sang, chief official of LS Cable's distribution division.
Under the government's agenda of ``Low carbon, Green Growth,'' the spotlight is on the bicycle industry.
The government intends to spend 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion) on the creation of a nationwide network of bicycle lanes. The total length of the network will reach 3,114 kilometers, and it will include routes along the nation's coasts and major rivers.
According to government data, only 1.2 percent of Koreans currently use bicycles as a means of transportation. The policy has been introduced with the goal of increasing the rate to 10 percent by 2017.
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