Chain Reaction Cycles is an online retailer of cycling products based in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. A 2016 merger with Wiggle Ltd resulted in the formation of the Wiggle-CRC Group, whose head office is in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Chain Reaction Cycles

Chain Reaction Cycles started out as a small bike shop named

Ballynure Ballynure () is a village and civil parish near Ballyclare in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and had a population of 677 people in the 2001 Census. Transport * Ballynure was formerly serv ...

Cycles which was opened in 1985 by George and Janice Watson using a £1500 bank loan in the small village of Ballynure in Northern Ireland. The business moved to larger premises in

Ballyclare Ballyclare () is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,953 according to the 2011 census, and is located within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It sits on the river Six Mile Water. The tow ...

in 1989 and the name of the shop was changed to Ballyclare Cycles. During this time the Watson family organised some of the first ever downhill races in Ireland and put together the first ever Northern Ireland Downhill series. As business continued to grow a mail order service was created and advertisements were placed in cycling publications. In 1998 the business was moved again to a warehouse to accommodate the increase in orders through the mail order service. In late 1999 the company registered

domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. ...

www.ChainReactionCycles.com and launched the Chain Reaction Cycles website. The sales grew each year. In 2011 revenues were £136.4 million (€170 million).Irish Times - Pretax profit of €170m at world's largest online bike shop
''Irish Times'' Its peak sales were in 2013, at £155.6 million. By this time the website was providing multi lingual service and currency options for many countries. By 2015 sales had decreased to £136 million, with shares mainly going to Wiggle, a UK competitor. The company also required investment. A merger between Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles was announced in February 2016. Chain Reaction Cycles also retain a bricks & mortar retail store on Boucher Road, Belfast. The store sells a selection of their stock, and has a workshop for cycle maintenance. CRC makes a small number of its own components and one complete bicycle under its own brand name, "Brand X".

Wiggle merger

After the Competition Commission approved the merger in July 2016 and Wiggle bought 100% of the Chain Reactions Cycle equity from the Watson family, the Wiggle CRC group was formed. CRC closed their Northern Irish warehouse to integrate their stock into Wiggle's 'Citadel', but retains its own branding and website. The combined Wiggle CRC group generated an annual revenue of over £300 million. In October 2017 Wiggle CRC bought German company Bike24 for over £100 million, which continues to operate separately. The group's combined revenue is now estimated at £500 million.

References

{{Reflist Cycling in the United Kingdom Retail companies established in 1985 1985 establishments in Northern Ireland