Owners of bike shop court new customers

An influx of customers in a particular pickle has bike shop owners in Blenheim considering a new target market.

AvantiPlus Blenheim owners Marije and Danijel Duvnjak have joked they might start standing outside the courthouse advertising ‘‘lose-your-licence’’ deals for people who suddenly need a bicycle.

Danijel Duvnjak said he had sold about eight to 10 bikes in the past year to people who had their licence cancelled or restricted, ‘‘without even pushing the market’’.

The couple first noticed the trend shortly after taking over the Blenheim bike business in April 2016.

‘‘When people lose their licence they need another way of getting to work, because otherwise they’re screwed,’’ Marije Duvnjak said. ‘‘It started with quite a few customers from Nelson who heard that we were focusing mainly on e-bikes.

‘‘They ventured in here asking for electric bikes because they lost their licence due to speeding ... I didn’t connect the dots initially. It was quiet funny to notice.’’

The Duvnjaks had even thought about approaching the Blenheim District Court, or lawyers and judges, to see if they would tell defendants about their bike options. One of their customers, who did not want to be named, said she bought an e-bike from AvantiPlus after she lost her licence for six months.

‘‘I had a drink at a friend’s house, thought I was fine to drive home and then it turned out I was just over the limit,’’ she said.

‘‘I bought an e-bike as I’m too far out of town to walk to work, and I’m not fit enough to get a normal bike. Plus, I sometimes start early and finish late, so I couldn’t rely on my husband to drive me everywhere.’’

After adding in other factors, she realised biking to work was ‘‘really cool’’.

‘‘I’ll still use the bike when I get my licence back,’’ she said. ‘‘There’s nothing better than cycling to work on a nice morning.’’

But the Duvnjaks noticed defendants weren’t the only clients forced to consider cycling.

One of their customers, Kaylene Mooiman, bought an electric cargo tricycle after undergoing brain surgery.

‘‘I had a brain bleed, then brain surgery, and afterwards I was told I was not allowed to drive for six months,’’ Mooiman said. ‘‘The bike is fantastic. It’s an e-bike, so it stops fatigue, which is important after brain surgery, and it’s a cargo bike, so it can carry up to 100 kilograms.’’