Swapfiets founder in an interview: "This trend could shape the century"

Three young men from the Netherlands started a bicycle company six years ago. Their idea sounds simple and at the same time is very successful: Swapfiets customers don't share their bikes with others all the time, but subscribe to it. For this they pay a monthly rent, which includes maintenance and repairs. For example, is the tire flat or works the light no longer, the company simply swaps the wheel. This is where the name comes from: "Swap" for swap and "fiets" for the Dutch translation of "wheel". You can now see the bikes in many German university and major cities. So far, the company has hardly had any competition. The blue front tires, a marketing trick of the founding trio, are particularly popular with young people.

ntv.de: Mr. Burger, who actually came up with the idea with the blue front tire?

I can't reveal who exactly. As founders, we discussed how we can draw attention to our product so that it stays in the head. People should recognize our bikes in the hustle and bustle of the city and say: "Hey, that's a swapfiets."

In how many countries are you currently represented and how many bikes are there already?

The number of bikes is based on the number of members, because everyone has their own swapfiets, and we have more than 200,000 of them. We currently offer our concept in six different countries. We have been on the market in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Denmark for a number of years and we recently launched in France and Italy. We will also open our first branch in England this year.

You and your co-founders studied marine engineering at Delft University of Technology. How did you come up with the idea of ​​founding a bicycle company of all things?

The marine engineering degree has little to do with our business. During our studies, however, we noticed that many of our fellow students constantly had problems with their bikes. So we came up with the idea of ​​renting out bicycles on a monthly basis and offering a service that is there in case of problems.

Do your customers choose Swapfiets primarily because of the service?

In fact, service is exactly what our customers pay for and why many stay with us for a long time. Some members have been with us for several years. Our concept is less about owning a bike and more about being able to move around town on your own bike without the hassle of maintenance and repairs and being able to use it at any time.

Due to the Corona crisis, many bicycle dealers were able to increase their sales significantly. Do you also benefit from the current situation?

Even before the crisis, we noticed that more and more people are rethinking their mobility behavior and want to change. Sustainable concepts are becoming more and more important. The coronavirus was more of an additional boost for us; many people want to get around as independently and safely as possible. We have grown strongly, especially in large cities, which is partly, but not exclusively, due to the pandemic.

The concept of Swapfiets is pretty simple: rent bikes and fix them when they break. Why didn't anyone get this idea before Swapfiets?

You have to ask the others that. No, kidding aside. To be honest, we asked ourselves the same question. We have observed that the trend towards sharing is gaining ground in many areas, but not yet in the bicycle industry. In the end, the timing was right. As I already mentioned, many people's attitudes are currently changing. We saw the possibility and made it easy.

Are you afraid that your concept might just be one of many trends?

There are always risks. We had the buy-throw-away trend for more than 100 years, maybe ideas like ours will shape the next 100 years. We just have to do our job well by adding value to our members. We stand by our intention to make cities more livable. As long as that is the case, we will stay on the market. But of course there will be new trends, new models and a few more changes.

Compared to the Netherlands, the cycle paths in Germany are much worse developed. Couldn't that and your focus on big cities limit growth in Germany?

The cycle paths are not yet optimally developed in some cities, but work is being done on them. We notice that many cities are investing in better bicycle infrastructure in order to make the city more livable and sustainable. This is a long process, but it is ongoing.

However, not as much money is invested as, for example, in the Netherlands.

That's true, but in many German cities the demand for well-developed cycle paths is growing. This is not hidden from politics either. Many cities have noticed that things cannot go on like this, that something has to change. We firmly believe that we can contribute to this process. We are therefore also in contact with the cities locally.

Most Swapfiets users are young people. Why have you hardly seen any older people on their bikes so far?

We are not based on age, but on how often the person wants to use the bike. Our focus is clearly on cities and on people who want to use their bikes there very often. But of course the concept is new: our customers have a subscription and don't own the bike, they just use it. We are currently observing that this is precisely what is becoming increasingly popular with younger people. For this reason, we see great growth potential in this area. I think it's only a matter of time before older people realize that you don't necessarily have to own a bike.

Are there other companies that are growing at a similar rate?

To be honest, we haven't had much competition in the same market so far. In Europe we are the largest supplier in our field, probably even worldwide. Sure, there are similar concepts and I believe they can work too. We even welcome other ideas because they too help make cities more livable. When there are fewer pollutants in the air, we all benefit. For this reason, I think the competition for sustainability is good. In the end, however, the customer decides which concept is the best and who will be successful with it.

Swapfiets is now also testing e-scooters in Berlin. They are criticized because they break quickly and often fall victim to vandalism. That is anything but sustainable. Aren't there enough e-scooters around in the cities?

That may be true, but that's where we also differ from our competitors. What you mean is the sharing business model: these are the scooters that stand around on the street and can be shared and used by anyone. We use the same product, but we approach it differently. Every Swapfiets e-kick you see on the street belongs to one of our members. The user pays a monthly sum for the scooter and, just like with the bicycle model, we take care of the service. So you won't see a broken Swapfiets scooter lying around on the street. We have shown that this concept is very successful with bicycles, and now we're going to try it out with scooters as well.

So you believe in the concept of the e-scooter, despite a lot of criticism?

I believe in more livable cities and we can only do that through more micromobility. Of course we have a lot of bikes that don't need batteries. However, not all people get everywhere with bicycles, especially not in very large cities like Berlin. Sustainable means of transport need a long range. E-scooters increase the range and allow easier connection with existing public transport. If people then use them and forego cars, of course, then I believe in the success of e-scooters.

Will battery-powered vehicles completely replace bicycles at some point?

Right now, bicycles are by far the most important part of our business. For a long time they were the only product we had. I don't know how that will develop, that remains to be seen. But I do believe that battery-powered vehicles will one day make up a large part of our company.

Jakob Schreiber spoke to Richard Burger