MELBOURNE, Australia (BRAIN)—Knog has won nearly AU$1 million from the Australian government to develop three new product lines in the next two years.
The AU$994,966 ($1 million) grant came from a program called Commercialization Australia, targeted to fund the gap between research and development and commercialization for small to medium sized enterprises.
Knog must match the grant with its own money and is required to pay back the interest free funds in 10 years so long as the new products generate profit, said Knog co-founder Hugo Davidson in an interview from Knog’s offices in Melbourne, Australia.
“It’s purely related on the success of the product,” Davidson said.
Knog plans to release into the market early next year a new range of lights covering the gamut from sub $20 safety lights to $250 high-powered setups that will integrate a unique design to prevent copycat lights coming out of Asia. Knog will also overhaul its lock category over the next six to 12 months with an entire range of shackle locks and combination locks. The third category is entirely new for Knog and will be kept under wraps until closer to its release date at Eurobike 2012, Davidson said.
“We’ve dabbled in computers and tools with one or two. We feel what we need most out of ranges is not just to put couple products in but to look at a broad entire category which is innovative and different from anything else,” he said.
The accessories brand known for its unique lights, locks, bags, computers, tools, gloves and apparel and edgy ad campaigns beat out about 30 or 40 other companies for the money. The brand appealed to the grant committee for the environmental aspect of cycling, focus on innovation and work toward building the country’s export market, he said.
—Nicole Formosa
nformosa@bicycleretailer.com
