Unlike his grandpa, who starting out fixing and retrofitting abandoned army equipment, including primarily bicycles, Toms Ērenpreiss needed a private loan to get his workshop opened.
The 29-year old descendent of the bicycle pioneer has managed to bring the historic brand back as a sign of excellence in function and style, first for the high-end market, but now also for the mid-level rider, typically a middle-aged woman with a healthy lifestyle, Toms told the world economic news magazine.
“Five hundred euro is what people in Latvia might be willing to pay for a trusty bike and they have no illusions, they know they can get a quality bike at lower cost,” the young entrepreneur admitted.
“There’s no other bicycle maker in Latvia at the moment. Only one company making electric bicycles,” he said.
The Erenpreiss company’s first-year turnover was €56,000 while projected turnover this year could reach €155,000, and double that next year.
The highly personalized city-bikes are designed to be light for urban Latvians to carry up to their upper-floor apartments and stylish to match their vintage attire on the annual Tweed Bicycle Ride through downtown Riga.
