January 2009

Trade and Industry

involvement, understanding, commitment.

Trade & Industry comes in three forms, each one allied to the other in Trade sectors that deliver to wide consumer interests. Yet each and every one of those consumers can identify closely with the market thrust and the social activity of the sister titles. That is a prime USP delivered by Trade & Industry.

Bicycle Trade & Industry - elder statesman of the trio - is the longest running, most read bicycle business b2b from the UK. In 2009 the journal will begin its 30th year of continuous publication.

Outdoor Trade & Industry came ten years later, with the acquisition of the industry b2b Camping & Outdoor Leisure Trader, that title had been launched and run specifically for the interests of COLA - the outdoor industry association. 2009 will see the 20th year of unbroken publication of Outdoor Trade & Industry in its current form.

Scooter Trade & Industry was launched at the suggestion of industry peers in the ptw market who had asked for a scooters-specific trade title with content & style matching Bicycle Trade & Industry. Scooter Trade & Industry continues as Britain’s only ptw magazine devoted to urban transport and lightweight travel with scooters and an emphasis on electric powered machines.

The publishing team behind Trade & Industry can demonstrate deep involvement, understanding and commitment to the core interests and activities of the titles. Theirs is an unrivalled position across the business sectors served by the Trade & Industry titles. The partners who own and operate the business share long and close involvement as activists and enthusiasts in the bicycle, the outdoors and the scootering scene.

The company was founded in the mid-70s by Kate Spencer and her father Jim Robinson. Their first publications were annuals and handbooks, especially a series of touring and camping site guides published in co-operation with the Spanish camping sites & holiday homes federation, alongside input from ADAC of Germany, ANWB of Holland and the Camping Club in Britain. Peter Lumley later joined to help influence and generate the editorial direction of the company’s publications.

As part of their original annuals list, KSA introduced The Backpackers Guide, a definitive catalogue of equipment and the way to get the best out of backpacking. Over the following years the company also issued a series of handbooks for people involved in camping & caravanning and going outdoors in Britain and abroad. In the specialist publications field the company had management and production involvement in Bicycle Times, the consumer magazine, and were closely involved in the launch and publication of the consumer title Footloose.