From
Useful Bicycles to Fun Bicycles
Bicycles
are used by people throughout the world, regardless
of age and gender, as a mode of transport that is both
familiar
and easy to handle. They have become indispensible
tools in all walks of life and play various roles,
such as
playthings for children, commutation methods for students
and company employees, and a means of carrying shopping
for mothers. In addition to this, people are also becoming
aware of the environmental benefits of bicycles in
this age in which we are faced with the issue of global
warming,
as they do not burn fossil fuels or emit toxic gases.
It is therefore no exaggeration to say that they have
become essential items for people who are determined
to reduce their carbon footprint.
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Because of this many people enjoy riding bicycles, and whereas certain people
take extra special care over their bicycles, there are others whose only consideration
is that they are cheap and can be ridden. The latter half of the 90s saw the
start of an era in which cheap bicycles were imported from abroad and demand
surged at a pace that experienced a 10% increase annually. Although increases
in demand is a favorable state of affairs, there are cases in which inexpensive
bicycles cause problems for their owners owing to lower quality, and because
of this, the Bicycle Association of Japan started a campaign in 2004 in which
the BAA mark is attached to bicycles to verify their safety. An increased awareness
and distribution of the BAA mark has made people realize that bicycles are vehicles
that can be ridden safely and without anxiety.
This has led to an increase in the number of people who wish to ride good bicycles,
and with the support of these people, Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd. has been enjoying an
annual increase in the number of units sold.
The main feature of the bicycle industry in recent years was an increase in people
viewing bicycles as items that are enjoyable in everyday life and as products
that provide them with a certain desired lifestyle, which equals something that
they want badly, over the conventional view of bicycles as convenient tools that
are indispensible to everyday life, which equals lifestyle necessities, and this
transition gives us greater pleasure as one of the manufacturers engaged in production
of bicycles.
This field remains mostly uncultivated but it is a field with the potential for
new forms of creativity, and as a leader in the bicycle industry, we at Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd. intend to continue to actively cultivate and create this market in terms
of both software and hardware and provide people with boundless pleasure.
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