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Despite the searing heat, a surge in bicycle sales has been recorded by one of the leading sport shops in the country since last month. |
A supervisor who declined to be named told Gulf Times that they have been able to sell an average of 65 bikes per week during the last month.
He said this figure was even higher than their sales during the peak season: normally a few months before winter . “We only sell about 40 bicycles per week as the cold season starts.”
He also observed that more than 96% of the customers were Qatari men, who also buy a number of bike accessories such as bags, jerseys, shoes, gears and gadgets.
The supervisor cited the increasing popularity of cycling as an ideal sport activity, hobby and exercise as the reason for the spike in sales.
He believes that recent races and cycling competitions organised by a number of sport organisations and groups have served as an awareness campaign to stay fit and healthy.
Qatar Sandstormers, a charity cycling team in the country, recently organised a competition aimed at raising QR200,000 that would benefit more than 200 underprivileged homes in Qatar.
More than 100 cyclists had joined the group’s mountain biking challenge and midnight trail run held at the Lusail race track’s open field recently.
The Qatar Chain Reaction also has held a series of bike trails since October last year, attracting hundreds of participants from different expatriate communities. Members of the national team also competed in some of the events.
An international cycling event is also expected to be staged in Qatar in 2016.
“Many Qataris have become conscious of their health and they see cycling as good sport to burn calories while enjoying a ride with friends,” the supervisor said.
It is learnt that road and mountain bikes, as well as bicycles for children, have enjoyed high demand since last month.
He said based on their figures from the previous years, he was expecting bicycle sales to go down for the months of June, July and August this year. “We were surprised to see many Qataris buying bicycles and various items since last month,” the supervisor said. “They will probably use it in September when the hot temperature subsides.”
He added that the huge demand has prompted them to place more orders this month, something that they normally do not do during this time of the year. Aside from bicycles, he noted that many customers are buying gym equipment such as dumbbells, cross trainers and treadmills nowadays.
