Polygon
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The world faces economic recession and everything comes to a halt due to the lockdown… or is it? The medical industry is in overdrive as the demand for masks and other medical equipment has skyrocketed beyond any expectation.
The unique trend in Indonesia is the bicycle boom. No one has seen this coming. Somehow, all of the social distancing, healthcare, stay safe, etc make people go bicycling, and bicycling become the newest trend… or fad, I don’t know yet. It may be temporary, but even if it is just a fad, bike sales nationwide increase by 1000%!!! That is 10 fold sales volume. Every single brand, every single bike store are sold out. Even if it is just a fad and people’s enthusiasm subsided afterward, the remaining new bicyclist that still maintains the habit will increase significantly than before as the population of bicyclists growing at an unprecedented level.
One of the largest and well-known brands is Polygon with its flagship stores around the world Rodalink. Polygon has come a long way since its founding days in 1989 as OEM (original equipment manufacturer) of other high-end brands like Marin, Muddy Fox, etc. Polygon is the pioneer in making high-quality bicycles and popularize it as part of the lifestyle in Indonesia. Before Polygon, Indonesian only knows bicycles as transportation for the poor. If someone has more money, they will have a motorcycle and then a car. Bicycle was always the lowest strata in transportation, that is until the cool and trendy mountain bike was introduced.
Indonesian market previously only knows basic bicycles that just serve as a means of transportation for daily activity. We call it “sepeda mini”, I still don’t understand why it is called a mini bike since it is not mini or small in size. One of the mysteries of culture and most likely, misinterpretation of the term.
The founder of Polygon, Mr. Soejanto Widjaja is a visioner. He foresaw that bicycling as a lifestyle will be a trend in the future and forge ahead to open up high-end chain stores selling his bicycle in Indonesia where we only know small, (usually) dirty, mom and pop stores. Here he offered Rodalink, clean-air conditioned shop, and showrooms with factory-trained technicians and professional managers that help you choose the right bike for your riding style and help you get the right size and setting for your bike. All of it was unknown in Indonesia. People never seen it and even feel intimidated, sometimes. The product prices are high compared to the average product on the market at that time. Polygon bikes are twice, even more, compared to other brands in the market. But Mr. Widjaja foresee that one day Indonesia will embrace bicycling as a lifestyle where people will ride beautiful, high-end, high-tech, high price bicycles and not see bicycles as low-end, cheap vehicles anymore.
Today, Polygon is the go-to name in high-end bike brand and Rodalink is the benchmark of bicycle stores, and most of the mom and pops stores are gone (relegated to the less developed area), unable to compete with the level of these chain stores.
Today’s customers demand the professional service that offers them the bike setup and all the bells and whistles that come with the expertise of the bike advisers. Besides Polygon, other newer brands are hot on Polygon heel offering their latest models and opens (at least trying to) even better stores. Despite the rising competition, Polygon remains as the largest producer with the largest market share.
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One thing that Polygon has that other brands don’t (or did not realize) is active promotion. Ever since the founding, Polygon has been actively promoting and sponsoring the bike team both locally and internationally. I still remember that in 1997 Polygon host the first sprint contest event at Jakarta Fair. It was the first of its kind in Indonesia. The crowd was enthusiastic and many test their power both the public and national racers. I still remember vividly the contest and how I won it. It was a special moment in my life.
In 1998, the global financial crisis hit, and the economic and political unrest caused massive problems for Indonesia and Polygon took a heavy hit as lifestyle products took a back seat. Even primary products are difficult to supply back then due to the worse civil unrest in Indonesia history.
Mr. Widjaja forge on and continue to offer his product relentlessly while others are taking a wait and see stance. His dream of Indonesian enjoying a ride on his beautiful bikes took a delay. His effort bear fruit as the national safety and economy recovers slowly, so is people purchasing power and the increase in popularity of bicycling as a lifestyle. In a way, because Mr. Widjaja actions to continuously pursue the national market even when the economy at its lowest put him way ahead of the competitions when the economy recovered. Effectively putting Polygon as the market leader with the largest market share in Indonesia bicycle market.
Polygon only took a short breath after the 1998 crisis before actively promoting through numerous company-sponsored and international events. I recall Polygon always sponsoring Indonesia national bike team in every international sporting event like SEA Games, Asian Games, the Olympics, and so on. I remember thinking, this is how the national industries should be. Indonesia has many large companies and industries, but not many are in the world of sports let alone actively supporting the athletes. I hope other industries follow suit and sponsored many more sporting events and athletes, thus creating a better condition for athletes and support the young active generation better.
Polygon stays ahead of the competition, not just locally, but internationally against the other big established brand name. The introduction of the XQUARONE model that developed under close cooperation with Naild making full use of their R3ACT-2PLAY suspension technology takes the world by storm. Polygon was the first to adopt this new out of the box design. So many bikers experience something very different, totally new experience with this new model. The Xquareone now enter the DH generation since its introduction in 2017 with the EX generation. This bike track like no others, thanks to the very innovative design of the rear suspension. It is technologically complicated but very user friendly, opposite of what the majority of products available on the market.
Both Polygon and Nail3d kick it off because they held the same principle: to make people happy when they ride. This is crucial, only when the principle aligns that trust can emerge. Thus why principle is crucial in promoting the brand and products to the consumers. When the principle align, consumers can align themselves with the brand and believe in the brand.
I am looking forward to better and more innovative designs from the duo Polygon and Nail3d. I would love to see a fitting service available for riders and help many with body imbalance (one leg longer than the other) to get the best riding position as well as the best fitting equipment for their riding fun.
I dream of Indonesia joining the international bike events like those in Europe and link up with international event series. That would be a great move for the athlete as well as opening opportunities for new talents that previously untapped as well as a fantastic opportunity for the company to sponsor and advertise.
Today, Polygon has its pro bike team and sponsored many international events. Polygon have reached 62 countries and counting.
Mr. Widjaja, thank you for bringing smiles and endless grin across so many faces of bicycle riders in the world. Long gone are the long faces of people begrudgingly ride their bike because they cannot afford a motorcycle. Lets all just ride and smile, enjoy the day, and pedal away.
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As always, have a nice week and please do share this article if you find it interesting. You never know who will benefit from it. God bless.
