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| Check the logo on the sleeve. |
First of all, the distribution that was in place 10 years ago no longer exists. The supply chain is broken and current distribution channels are very scarce. What this means is that the new distributor has very little, if any, product to provide to the US market. Most of the availability is limited to the iconic Jumper- the very slick aluminum bike that has been such a hit in the past. Even so, you are lucky to find one. Hopefully this will change in the future.
Wooden bikes from LikeaBike are relatively extinct. If you do find one, grab it quick. However you look at them, yes they are all beautifully crafted in Germany, but they are over-priced relative to all of the new products that now sell in the US market for 1/3 (or less) of the cost.
The Rosalie and Hardy aluminum balance bikes are discontinued. Only a handful remain in the US market. This was LikeaBike's answer to all of the "knock-offs" that cost so much less than the Jumper. It was a nice design, lightweight, and shared genetics with the Jumper. With the correctly applied marketing effort, it had the potential to be a hit. Sad to see it go.
The wonderfully designed asymmetrical LiketoBike pedal bikes are readily available in Europe, but getting one here is not easy. It may be necessary to pre-order one and wait 4-6 weeks. These bikes are one-of-a-kind heirloom pieces, and may be worth waiting for, if you find a dealer willing to bring one in for you. Again, they are very cost prohibitive and really intended for the kid who has everything and the parent with deep pockets.
So what went wrong?
As an industry veteran relative to balance bikes, I believe that one cause of this decline is summed up with one word: Adaptation. (that is, failure to adapt to the changing balance bike marketplace) A product that is superior in every way became eclipsed by better products from innovative new brands, for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the cost. The Hardy and Rosalie were one attempt to grab market share at the $200 price point, but it was a day late and a dollar short. The bikes had great potential to grab market share, especially if the price were reduced to the balance bike "sweet spot" of $150-180. Part of the pricing problem is that LikeaBike insist on bringing all of their aluminum bikes to Germany, before they can be dispatched anywhere else. Apparently there is some prep work that is performed in Germany that Taiwan is not qualified to do (really?) This means that a potential distributor is paying to move the bikes two times (three times really, if they provide customers free shipping), and probably inadvertently paying the import duties in Germany, which are added to the landed cost of the bikes and passed on to dealers. If it was possible for dealers to receive shipments directly from the factory in Taiwan, costs would come down, but this is not allowed or possible.
Another reason: Marketing. (that is, a severe lack of it) LikeaBike used to sell so well without any advertising or marketing or social media attention, primarily because they did not have any opponents. As the competition revved it's engines with better, more functional, lower cost products, LikeaBike was stuck in 1st gear, without any marketing plan to execute. At the end of the day, the products that now sell really well, are the ones being marketed like crazy, and LikeaBike can no longer quietly move it's expensive albeit superior product based on it's own merits alone.
Elitism: The LikeaBike company owners are fiercely proud of their products, and consider themselves the pioneers of balance bikes, which is true. They also believe that every balance bike to exist after LikeaBike is a cheap knock-off of their products, without exception. There is some truth to this- a LOT of balance bikes priced in the $100-200 range are being sold to cost-sensitive families. (This is actually a wonderful thing imho) Take a look at what brands like FirstBike, Strider, Ridgeback and Yedoo have done in a very short period. But the problem is that opportunities to partner with reputable US distributors willing to put LikeaBike on the map [again] and aggressively market it, were always dismissed, because the only qualified candidates also imported other brands of balance bike. LikeaBike's position was that distributing LikeaBike alongside inferior, competing bikes, was out of the question, an insult. They say opportunity knocks once, but in this case I can assure readers from personal experience that opportunity knocked many many times and LikeaBike discriminated against potential investors who were unwilling to put all of their eggs in one basket, and not a very lucrative one at that, given the declining popularity.
Don't get me wrong, we consider ourselves LikeaBike's number one fan in the United States, having sold more of them than any other retailer over the past 10 years. We even put their logo on tens of thousands of dollars worth of cycling apparel of our racing team (see image) We continue to sell them at our shop, but the supply of bikes is very scarce and we often find ourselves over-sold when we discover that the warehouse is sold out indefinitely of this color or that model. Yet we persist. We will not give up on LikeaBike. It's the company with the longest history of teaching kids proper bike handling and giving them the wonderful sensation of balance, as young as age two, and nothing will take that away from them.
Interested in finding out if a particular LikeaBike model is available? Please feel free to reach out to us with your inquiry using this email address link.
Thanks for reading!
