They started in their parents’ garage, in 2009, before colonizing the gallery, then the room, until taking the step of creating a business in Colpo, in 2018. The 2,000 m2 of their current workshops are no longer enough to cover the demand, The brothers Romain and Adrien Duault, passionate about cycling and creators of Adrisport, will move to Grand-Champ in September 2024, in a new factory of 12,000 m2. “We are in the planning phase”, specifies Audrey Duault, financial manager of Adrisport, and one of the two sisters of these atypical brothers, who work in unison.
The reasons for success
Driven by a booming domestic cycling market, the company markets its mid-range and high-end bikes under the Adris and Loka brands. Gravel, road and mountain biking each account for a third of turnover, which has doubled every year since 2019. “Our success is due to our attention to technical detail. We tested the bikes ourselves, says Adrien Duault, a former amateur cyclist, who went through the Olympic Cycliste Locminé. When we started, everything was wired. Today there is no more. The gear changes are electric or wifi. We make bikes with clean lines, with better aerodynamics.”
2025, key year
At Colpo, the assembly of the frames is still done by hand. At the future Grand-Champ factory, the Duault family will increase production capacity from 5,500 to 30,000 bikes per year by 2025. In the same year, Adrisport will go electric, with an initial production of 15,000 frames. In three years, production will be multiplied by nine. “It will be semi-automated,” says Adrien Duault. We will always need this much staff. We are going to create twelve positions by the beginning of 2023. We will be around thirty in total. In terms of production, this plant will almost double our profitability.”
The company had to raise funds for this investment of €10 to €12 million. “Our growth is under control,” says Adrien Duault. All our productions are sold in advance to independent stores (including Culture Vélo and Bouticycle) and to the Intersport network”.
Shortage of diverters
As the only shadow to this bright picture, the year 2022 will continue to be “the worst year in terms of supply management”, says Audrey Duault. So much so that the company will only be able to assemble 2,000 bicycles of the 5,500 planned. The expected turnover of 6 million euros will not be reached, with Adrisport being affected by the shortage of transmission parts from the Japanese Shimano, which holds a virtual monopoly. Its factories were closed for several months in the wake of covid. When the offer is fluid again, the Adrisport team will be able to turn to foreign markets. “We already have requests in Belgium and in Asian countries.”