Brand Story & Vision

about

Our Vision

Thinking back at the earlier times when Freerider first started the business, we were so motivated and ambitious. Undeniably also a little hesitant and curious. Twenty years ago, when there was a huge entrepreneurial and start-up bubble in Taiwan, anyone with a little cash wanted to become their own boss. However, how many actually succeeded? For first-timers like us, due to budget concerns, we could only choose areas with lower rents. We established our business and manufacturing plant in Ren Wu Village, Kaohsiung. Ren Wu Village was the birthplace of our FreeRider brand. Right in the beginning, we knew that our target market would be the UK as it was a mature and developed market. To penetrate the UK market, Freerider travelled all over UK to promote our product. Thinking back, at that time, we had a never-give-up attitude and at last success came our way. FreeRider was becoming a household name.

20 years of brand building

To build a successful brand, 20 years is neither a long or short period of time. Not to mention electric scooters was an unknown business in Taiwan at that time. In the beginning, it took us a lot of time to find component manufacturers. As hard as it was, to build a brand successfully and stably, brand management must be executed well. When the company finally started to grow stably, our factory which was only 2,200 square feet in size and with only five employees, expanded to become a factory 90,000 square feet in size and we have nearly 100 employees (not including overseas employees) now. The success our company sees today (though we dare not ask for credit or be self-content, because we are still a little away from the targets Taiwan team has set for ourselves), was due to the never-give-up determination and hard work that Taiwan team put in. Freerider truly understands the needs of the handicapped, and she also knew that they have financial challenges so we often donate our Luggies. We want to do our part for society. The majority of our employees are locals and those in need. We also partner with governmental organizations long-term to take care of those who need our help. We also offer our support to various charitable organizations in the UK and USA.

A lightweight electric scooter can give them the basic way of life back- mobility

The senior citizens in Taiwan are comparatively more conservative than the elderly in Europe or USA. If they have problems moving around, they rather stay at home the whole day and not go out. If electric scooters become more common, it will greatly improve their lifestyle and standard of living. Thus, our business plan is to refocus our efforts in Taiwan and gradually introduce our products to northern, central and southern Taiwan by establishing retail points so that the elderly in Taiwan can lead a better life similar to the elderly in USA and UK. They can move around with ease on locally produced electric scooters, no need to stay cooped up all day at home or need someone to follow them around (for e.g. foreign domestic helpers). Children are most important to their parents, parents look after their families and children, waiting for their children to grow up. When parents become old and unable to move around, the care and concern from their children is heartwarming. A lightweight electric scooter can give them the basic way of life back- mobility, plus in recent years, in Taiwan, the government has paid a lot of attention to provide accessibility for disabled people, to reduce mobility barriers of existing buildings, allowing them to get in and out of public spaces without hindrance.

As the world embraces the challenges of an aging society, there is an increasing development of various lifestyle products catered for the elderly to remain active.

Of course this includes electric scooters. We will continue to invest in developing energy-saving, lightweight and ergonomic electric scooter series. After establishing locations in the UK and USA, we will continue to establish business operations in Europe (Sweden, France, Germany, Netherlands etc) and Asia (Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore etc.). We will stabilize our overseas export markets. The management team still has a strong desire to continue expanding our business and together with our partners, bring FreeRider, this brand which we have built for 20 years, to greater heights.