Woom has today announced the official launch of its direct operations in the UK, marking a significant step for the Austrian children’s bicycle company that has seen massive growth in recent years.
Founded in a garage in Vienna in 2013, Woom has grown to sell its premium kids' bikes in 40 countries and had its highest-ever revenue last year at €149 million (approximately £130 million).
At a press event yesterday, Woom CEO Bernd Hake said: “In 2025, we put 400,000 bikes and 140,000 helmets on the road globally. We are today one of the top 10 premium bicycle brands in the world in regards to units sold.”
“A phenomenon”
Hake said the company’s growth is “a phenomenon”. “We have been able to really outperform the market by seven times. Whereas the market for kids bikes grew by 3 to 4%, we were growing by 27%,” he said.
He added that Woom is currently up 15% year-over-year, which suggests 2026 will be another record year.
Part of this success is due to growth in the UK. Available through third-party retailers, Woom saw 121% growth in the UK last year, after the company focused strategically on the territory.
Now, Woom has integrated its UK partner since 2017, The Little Bike Company, into the company to set up its third subsidiary, after Vienna and Austin, Texas.
Woom hopes to penetrate the UK market better and provide the “best possible service and product” to consumers.
“It doesn't matter if they shop online or if they shop bricks and mortar, as long as they see us, as long as they experience our brand, and as long as they are excited about the products we bring to the market,” Hake said.
Succeeding where British brands have not
Woom’s success compared to the children’s bike market, outperforming it by seven times, is remarkable in an industry that has “faced headwinds”. But its growth in the UK is starkly different from homegrown kids' bike brands.
In 2023, Islabikes ceased the production and sale of bikes, citing a “turbulent and difficult time in the industry”. Although it continues to produce spare parts and revealed the Rosetta ‘gravel bike’ last week, Islabikes’ status in the market is far diminished from what it was only a few years ago.
Earlier this year, Frog Bikes appointed administrators as a “precautionary measure” and said 2024 had been a year “of continued headwinds”.
Simon Timlett, who has been appointed country manager to lead Woom’s British operations, said what sets Woom apart is its innovation.
One such innovation is the Woom Wow balance bike. According to Chris Small, Woom’s vice president of innovation, the Wow started from the observation that balance bikes don’t balance by themselves.
But as a balance bike that does stand up, the Wow teaches children from nine months old about what a bicycle is. “The kids at that age can see how the object functions,” said Small.
Small said Woom also decided not to make the Wow stay upright through being heavy – to teach another lesson about life on two wheels: “Kids need to learn how to fall, pick themselves back up again, and get off.”
To aid the development of its products, Woom has also revealed its Kids Advisory Board.
“This initiative integrates children directly into the design and storytelling process, ensuring that the next generation of bikes is built not just for kids, but with them. This philosophy is at the core of the new global brand campaign, ‘enjoy the ride’,” Woom said in a press release.
But innovation isn’t the only reason
The kind of innovation seen on the Wow extends across the Woom range, which includes bikes with 12in wheels and no pedals to mountain bikes with disc brakes and suspension forks for 14-year-olds.
But the innovation doesn't represent the full picture of Woom’s success in the UK, or more precisely the demise of Islabikes and Frog Bikes.
Timlett acknowledged that Isla Rowntree, the founder of Islabikes, “invented the lightweight kid’s bike”. Yet it’s Woom that has become the market leader in this space.
Hake, who lives in London, had a more matter-of-fact view on why the likes of Islabikes and Frog Bikes have struggled: Brexit’s impact on UK companies.
Frog Bikes said Brexit led to “friction” for its business and that it contributed to a loss of £530,476 in 2022. Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams also told Raconteur in 2023 that there were enduring problems caused by “bloody Brexit”, and the indoor bicycle storage company Cycloc said leaving the European Union led to a 25% decline in sales.
As an Austrian company, Woom was isolated from the implications of Brexit and now it seems poised to grow further in the UK and focus on its guiding mission.
“Our goal is to ignite a lifelong love of cycling because we truly believe that every child who discovers the magic of two wheels brings us one step closer to a healthier, more sustainable world,” Hake said.
