The story of how Brompton, the iconic folding bicycle that you can take anywhereâand that can take you anywhereâgrew from a small cult bike company to a multimillion-dollar business
Lightweight, compact, distinctively styled, and now, electric: The Brompton isnât the only folding bicycleâor even the first. But everyone who has been on one will enthusiastically testify to its marvelous design (virtually unchanged over decades) and the particular joy of riding it.
Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycles, has been at the company for twenty years. Initially, he worked as an engineer for Andrew Ritchie, the bikeâs brilliant inventor and the businessâs founder, before taking the helm in 2008. Butler-Adamsâs heartfelt mission is to grow and promote sustainable urban transportation and to improve city-dwellersâ lives everywhere.
Under his leadership, Brompton has grown from making a few hundred bikes a year to over 90,000, with revenue of $130 million. But progress hasnât always been easy: There have been boardroom struggles, supply-chain problems, and conflicts with founder Andrew Ritchie. In The Brompton, Butler-Adams brings to life what it means to grow a company to global scale. He also tells the stories of the people who make the Brompton and the people who ride it. And he explains how customers all around the world fell in love with a brand that never set out to be a brand.
The story of how Brompton, the iconic folding bicycle that you can take anywhereâand that can take you anywhereâgrew from a small cult bike company to a multimillion-dollar business
Lightweight, compact, distinctively styled, and now, electric: The Brompton isnât the only folding bicycleâor even the first. But everyone who has been on one will enthusiastically testify to its marvelous design (virtually unchanged over decades) and the particular joy of riding it.
Will Butler-Adams, CEO of Brompton Bicycles, has been at the company for twenty years. Initially, he worked as an engineer for Andrew Ritchie, the bikeâs brilliant inventor and the businessâs founder, before taking the helm in 2008. Butler-Adamsâs heartfelt mission is to grow and promote sustainable urban transportation and to improve city-dwellersâ lives everywhere.
Under his leadership, Brompton has grown from making a few hundred bikes a year to over 90,000, with revenue of $130 million. But progress hasnât always been easy: There have been boardroom struggles, supply-chain problems, and conflicts with founder Andrew Ritchie. In The Brompton, Butler-Adams brings to life what it means to grow a company to global scale. He also tells the stories of the people who make the Brompton and the people who ride it. And he explains how customers all around the world fell in love with a brand that never set out to be a brand.