28 Feb Dealer feature: DAHON GRZESKOWIAK Poland
Photos (Left to Right): DAHON GRZESKOWIAK store in Poland during winter months, its stockroom of folding bikes, and owner Pawel Grzeskowiak presenting DAHON bicycles on the Polish television network TVP1.
For this latest dealer feature it has been our pleasure to interview Pawel Grzeskowiak, the owner of DAHON GRZESKOWIAK Poland. This store celebrated the milestone of its 20th anniversary last year and were the 1st distributor to bring DAHON bikes to Poland! A few years ago we documented their successful history and now we are catching up with them again to ask them about all things DAHON and cycling!
First, Pawel shares its store stats:
Year Founded: 2001
Geographic Location (s): Plowiecka 46, Warszawa Poland
Staff number: 3
How many stores do you have? Currently 1 branded showroom and an online store. A few years earlier, they had 50 cooperating stores.
1. What’s your company mission statement?
From the beginning, we have introduced Dahon bikes to the Polish market as the best folding bikes in the world. Our mission is to promote folding bikes as a way for citizens to live a healthy and ecological lifestyle.
2. Who do you sell bicycles to?
Most of our customers have been aged 50+, but over the years, folding bikes are becoming more widely used by younger people.
3. How do you go about matching a person to the right bike?
We invite customers from all over Poland to our showroom. Most people use our advice to test a few models before buying to help them choose the most suitable model. We can also help customers who cannot visit us, with advice by phone or email. If they don’t like the bike they bought remotely, they can send it back to us.
4. Why would you recommend folding bikes to customers?
Modern folding bikes, such as DAHON, perform the same functions as conventional bikes, but they also give users more freedom.
5. What is your favorite part about dealing bicycles?
It is nice to see DAHON bikes on Polish streets, because almost all of them have been put together from our company. It’s nice to meet satisfied customers in different parts of the Poland and it’s pleasant when I bump into customers in a range of locations like the seaside or in the mountains, and they greet me with “Oh! Good morning, Mr. Dahon.”.
6. Why did you start using a folding bike?
It’s like a fairy tale: once upon a time in 1965 I got my first bike. It was a Polish Flaming folding bike. I was able to take it on everywhere with me, including on vacation. After many years, I wanted to buy a new folding bike, but they weren’t available in the Polish market. While I was on vacation in Belgium in the year 2000, I purchased the beautiful Dahon Boardwalk i3. It was the first Dahon in Poland.
7. Please tell us about your earliest cycling memory?
I have had a folding bike since primary school, everyday in this period I had a bike ride, for going to school, and for leisure and weekends. The fact it was foldable meant I could take it everywhere with me on every vacation. It made it possible for me to meet new people and landscapes. I mostly remember trips to the Bieszczady Mountains in Poland. Now the DAHON bike is always in the trunk of my car, ready for use, whenever I need it.
8. Where is your favorite place to ride in Poland and why?
In Poland, the trend of cycling is growing very quickly. There are cycling paths in cities and tourist routes in the most beautiful places in our country. Recently, I was fascinated by the “Velo Dunajec” route with beautiful views across the Pieniny Mountains over the Dunajec River. It is worth seeing over and over again.
9. What is your favorite DAHON bike(s) and why?
I like my first Dahon Boardwalk i3. I still have it and it is in a special place for the company. Currently, I use two models for driving: Vigor D9 – because it is light, fast, with very good components and universal 20 inch tires for driving on both hard and forest roads. The second is the Curve i3 16 “- for when I go on vacation with my wife, it is easier to fit these two DAHONS in the trunk to leave room for other things. These bikes are fantastic partners for caravan tourism.
10. Congratulations on your 20-year anniversary of working with DAHON bikes, did you do anything to celebrate this special occasion?
Thank you, it’s been a beautiful year of working with the DAHON team. On the occasion of our jubilee, we collected lots of congratulation messages from customers and the cycling community. Unfortunately, due to pandemic restrictions, we were unable to organize a special meeting with DAHON bike users and fans. Instead we organized bike customers to receive gifts and vouchers for a free bicycle inspection.
11. From this period of working with DAHON bikes, what has been your highlight?
We have loved the annual European meetings with DAHON’s president and CEO, Dr. David T. Hon, and the DAHON team and distributors from around the world. It has been a great way to get together, exchange experiences and learn about new models. It is a pity that it does not exist anymore.
12. What’s next on the horizon for your company?
The bicycle market in Poland is developing very dynamically, so I think that we will not run out of customers. We hope that industry supply chain difficulties will end, with deliveries to Europe improving soon.
Thanks for the interview DAHON GRZESKOWIAK Poland, fans who want to know more about them can visit their Facebook page, YouTube and website. See below for more pics!
Photos (Left to Right): Pawel Grzeskowiak, the owner of DAHON Grzeskowiak, Dr. Hon and Pawel at a DAHON European team meeting in Zagreb, Croatia from 2012, assisting customers inside the store, and a sneak peak at bikes and accessories in the stock room.
