Biking has begun to surge in popularity on a global scale as people look for ways to remain active but safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Priority Bicycles Founder and CEO, David Weiner, says demand has recently gone way up and bikes continue to sell out. "Phones, and emails, are ringing off the hook. Everybody who doesn't have a bike wants one."
Weiner's Priority Bicycles is also seeing sales stretch far beyond its headquarters in New York. While many businesses are reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the bicycle industry has been fortunate enough to adapt.
"In the past, customers would make appointments to come to our showroom and see bikes themselves. Of course now, with the lockdown, it's a lot harder to have people come in here and the new virtual visit is allowing us to have customers from all over the world check out our bikes," Weiner told Cheddar.
Since the start of lockdown, the demographic of customers has shifted mainly from children to include adults as well. Weiner attributes the spike to more parents staying home and seeking leisure biking as a source of exercise for them and their children.
For Weiner, business has been so good that he started offering limited edition bikes — a service typically reserved for hotel campuses. For customers in New York City, the CEO said Priority Bicycles offers a limited edition bike and a one-of-a-kind service in order to keep everyone safe.
"Here in the city, we're able to offer contactless pick-up service where the bike ships to us, we assemble it, we sanitize it, lock it up outside, and the customer can come pick it up at a predetermined time."
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
