Over 100 years of Juncker
For over one hundred years, Juncker Bike Parts has been a renowned distributor of bicycle parts and accessories for the Netherlands and Belgium. After more than a century in business, we are proud and happy with the position we now occupy, as one of the largest players in the Benelux. And we still have plenty of plans for the future.
Several Junckers
It was in 1912 when the firm W.J. Juncker & Co was founded on the Korenmarkt in Arnhem by brothers Willem Jacob and Johan Christiaan (who passed away in 1915). That moment can be seen as the foundation for today's Juncker Bike Parts.
Some years earlier, the firm Juncker & Co was already established in The Hague, remarkably founded by one Daniel Marinus Henri Junior. Therefore, it is somewhat puzzling how the name "Juncker" came into being. They started in 1924 with a branch (also in Arnhem) where frames and bicycles were built, and this is where the name W.M. Juncker emerged.
Pretty soon after that, wholesalers closed, and in 1929, the goods and activities for Parts & Accessories were transferred to W.J. Juncker & Co. The bicycle factory for the Juncker brand continued in 1935 in the new factory in Apeldoorn. After more than three decades, Gazelle took over building the models in 1968, although the Juncker brand name is still owned by Accell Group, the parent company of Juncker Bike Parts, to this day.
Somewhere in history, there must also have been a branch in Rotterdam, as evidenced by an impressive photo from May 14, 1940. You can see how WWII left its mark in the heart of Rotterdam, and clearly legible are the letters on the only surviving facade: Juncker & Co. Nothing more is known about it than this photo. When W.J. Juncker died in 1941, stepson Jan van Fulpen took over daily management, and the company began its history without a namesake at the helm.
Growth
Through a chance encounter and after some persuasion, Th. de Winter decided to join the VOF in 1954. It is no longer entirely clear when the move took place, but after the premises on Arnhem's Pauwstraat, in 1956, another building on the Korenmarkt became the base for Wholesale W.J. Juncker & Co. In 1971, another larger building was acquired on Beyerinkweg, which after seven years was thoroughly renovated and festively reopened. By then, the company had been scaled up to a limited liability company and was still called Juncker.
Innovations
In the mid-1980s, Juncker BV, together with some other regionally oriented wholesalers, established the Dutch Bicycle Corporation (DBC). The national character provided all the advantages of economies of scale. It was the next step in the professionalization of the company. This included the introduction in the 1990s of a genuine electronic, business ordering program. Juncker was thus a forerunner in the industry; it is the basis for Accentry.com as we know it today. This led to clear growth, and in 1994, a brand-new warehouse with offices was built in Veenendaal. The order-picking system at that time was state-of-the-art and provided space savings in the warehouse, faster delivery, and fewer errors.
Scaling up
Accell Group, the parent company of Koga, Batavus, Sparta, and Loekie, showed interest at the beginning of this century in both the Amsterdam wholesaler F. van Buuren & Co (manufacturer of Burco bicycles) and Juncker. In 2004, both companies were simultaneously incorporated. In the holding company, Juncker was officially named Juncker Bike Parts BV and continued to advance CatEye (bicycle computers and lighting) as an exclusive brand in the Benelux.
In addition to the bicycle brands and the mostly leading parts brands, Accell Group introduced its own line of parts worldwide in 2006 under the brand name XLC—a phonetic contraction of Accell Excellent Components. For the Benelux, Juncker Bike Parts is the exporting party, and over the years, the range of most common articles has greatly expanded with very specialized products and articles with a 'couleur locale' such as rainwear, mud flaps, and classic headlights.
Services
A wholesaler or distributor is becoming less and less the traditional 'box shipper.' To remain relevant as a link in the chain, the right to exist must be earned by adding value to the retail trade and winning over the end consumer for the brands being traded.
To achieve that, various technologies and services have been introduced. The logistical process of goods delivery has been increasingly optimized with, among other things, an advanced Autostore warehouse with interactive order-picking robots, making 'next day delivery' possible, so the dealer no longer has to keep large stocks. It is also no longer necessary to order large quantities; often, even one piece is possible. More and more marketing is being done with the brands that are exclusive to the Benelux. Flyers, catalogs, sales promotions, social media, promotional films, instructional videos, exhibition stands, and mood photography are all developed in-house.
Uniquely in the industry, Juncker currently offers a combination of services. Services for which dealers usually depended on third parties are now offered by Juncker. For many years, customers have been able to rely on Juncker for all aspects of total workshop equipment and store fitting. Recently, Service & Warranty and dropshipping have been added, allowing items not in stock with the dealer to be delivered directly to the consumer.