Forward (bicycle manufacturer)

History

2026: Befortune Trading bought Forward

In the Perm Territory, the owner of one of the largest Russian bicycle manufacturers, Forward, has changed. In March 2026, Hong Kong Befortune Trading, whose shareholder is Chinese entrepreneur Liang Jianxiong, consolidated 67% of the shares of Space (owns the Forward brand). Previously, this package belonged to Maxim Fliegel.

According to Kommersant, businessman Liang Jianxiong, who has owned a 33% stake in the company's authorized capital since 2014, has become the main owner of the asset. Former co-owner Maxim Fligel confirmed the fact of the transaction, explaining that it was carried out as part of a development strategy, but declined to comment further.

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Фото: Forward

According to Mikhail Burmistrov, General Director of Infoline Analytics, the total value of Forward's Russian business may reach 1 billion rubles. The company has been operating on the market for more than 20 years. The production complex in the Perm Territory covers an area of ​ ​ 7 hectares and is equipped with two conveyor lines with a capacity of up to 3 thousand bicycles per day. Over a five-year period, the company reported on the production of about 3 million units of products, with 450 employees.

The activities of the enterprise, according to market participants, could face difficulties: the official communities of the brand on social networks have not been updated since 2023. Nevertheless, Forward products continue to be present in retail chains.

New owner Liang Jianxiong chairs the board of directors of China's Guangzhou Leonis Machinery Co. and the Trinity group. These structures produce bicycles under the Trinx brand (production volume - up to 2 million units per year), and also provide contractual assembly services for third-party brands. According to the Federal Accreditation Agency, Guangzhou Leonis supplies the Russian market with bicycles under the brands Forward, Format, Outleap and Trinx.^[1]

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