Our story began in the middle of this year in Murányi street, district VII where György Berkes, aged 20, rented a store of 40 m2. The store could house some bicycles and repair could also be performed there, but most of the bicycles fully imported from Italy were stored in the garage under the house, so it was officially used as a storage.
Another change was made: instead of ready-to-sell bicycles we started to import parts and assemble bicycles here. As the quantity of bicycle parts to be stored was continuously increasing and the room necessary for assembly proved to be too small, we rented a 20 times bigger assembly hall than the one we had in 1993. We sold these bicycles under the brand name Olimpia.
The first import arrived from the Far East, Taiwan: frames and more and more parts. During these years, our largest buyers were large-scale retailers; although our present business policy became significantly different, these years brought about a huge boost and increase for our young company.
We appeared on the international scene in the most important European exhibition in Cologne. Olimpia Kft. purchased the catchy brand name Gepida. We were the first to introduce the ISO 9002 standard among Eastern European manufacturers. This envisaged our direction: leaving production for quantity behind, we applied new production directions and started to develop less bicycles with higher quality.
We developed our dealer network. In some countries we contracted with own regional representatives, while with wholesalers in others.
It was the year of quality development and strengthening the brand. Our bicycle range was becoming wider, providing our mostly (80%) foreign clientele with bicycles of higher quality. To our pleasure, Gepida bicycles could be seen in several European countries by this time.
Joining the EU posed a big challenge to us. Although free trade more or less enhanced our expansion abroad, we had to be cautious about the increased competition and hold on. Therefore at that time at Gepida we worked hard on special product development and established the direction for the new products, such as PEDELEC (electrically-assisted bicycles).
We marketed our first major electric bike, increasing the number of partners with new countries. This is how Gepida bikes can be seen on the streets of France, Switzerland and England. Our work of long years in this direction led to a huge increase in the awareness and recognition of Gepida on the bicycle market.
Despite the difficult economic situation, our good strategy and appropriate decisions enabled us to expand further and for the first time this year, we exhibited in Taipei. Our buyers included new countries, also outside Europe.
This period witnessed continuous development and an expanding bicycle market. We started to use an environment-friendly painting technology and marketed the GPDS set.
As a result of global expansion, Gepida electric bicycles appeared on new markets: Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Ireland, Romania, Spain and Italy. Of course, we have been manufacturing traditional bicycles as well ever since, but we tend to focus on electric bikes. Our new technologies and design solutions prioritise the safety of cyclists.
Gepida Factory Store was opened in Budapest, where the whole product range may be found. The store continuously presents almost the whole Gepida selection for the season, including both traditional bicycles and electric models, as well as Topeak and other innovative cycling accessories.
As a result of the increased demand for our bicycles, robotic solutions are applied in our painting plant, thus the automated processes are performed by a high-tech painting robot. Lean manufacturing processes were also introduced, ensuring production efficiency for years.
Gepida bicycles are produced in Hungary by Hungarian designers and developers. Bicycle production in Hungary has delivered amazing results, to which we have also contributed substantially. Every developed European country treats the issue of cycling as a matter of priority, so we rightly expect to see more Gepida bikes on our remarkably expanding bicycle roads in the near future. Gepida could also be listed among the Hungarikums, i.e. unique Hungarian products as we consider appreciation from our nation the greatest value.
Quality is guaranteed by continuous product development, creative and sophisticated design, precise assembly, modern technology and appropriate value for money. The successful performance of work processes reflect the employee’s love of bicycles and cycling which we try to “build into” our bikes.
It should also be noted that by the purchase of Hungarian products, we create and protect workplaces, enhance the growth of the Hungarian economy, take responsibility for our home country and our society, therefore it is worth choosing Gepida.
It is important for us to provide you as a Gepida bicycle owner with a fully reliable bike that can be used without any problems for long years to enjoy the marvellous feeling of cycling. Under the Lifetime warranty program, when experiencing any problem with the frame, Gepida agrees to repair or replace – directly or through the distributor – the faulty or damaged frame within the shortest possible deadline.
The high-quality, professional production technology and the expertise of Gepida engineers make it possible for us to provide lifetime warranty for the bicycle frames. Therefore we pay special attention on duration and easy handling when designing the frames.
It is important that you have to register on our website under Bicycle registration to be able to enforce the warranty. After registering your new Gepida bicycle as an owner, the lifetime warranty for the frame will immediately come into effect.
Gepida Factory Store’s mission is to represent cycling in an unrivalled quality in Hungary and to provide qualitative services to every cyclist.
The shop continuously presents almost the whole Gepida selection for the season, including both traditional bicycles and electric models.
Qualified employees with decades of experience in cycling help you in the selection and provide consultation; there is also a comfortable lounge corner in the store where selection is facilitated by a touchscreen catalogue and video presentations can also be viewed.
There are no words to describe how it feels to ride an electric bicycle. Get on one and feel free to try it out as the test ride is free of charge and gives you a direct experience both about the technology and the quality of our bicycles. Just fill out the registration sheet to try it out.
Gepida Factory Store is supplemented with a professional, multibrand service where you can rely on the experienced technicians to provide you with small ad-hoc assistance or perform the annual general repair for any bicycle.
