Micro Scooters
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Online Retailer |
Founded | 2003 |
Founder | Anna Gibson Philippa Gogarty |
Headquarters | London, U.K., |
Products | |
Number of employees | 30 |
Website | www |
Micro Scooters Limited is an importer and retailer of a range of children’s and adult scooters, based in London.[1] The company was founded in 2004 by marine lawyer Anna Gibson and charity fundraiser Philippa Gogarty.[2][3][4][5]
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/Girl_on_Micro_Urban%2C_sun_view%2C_at_Onega_embankment%2C_Petrozavodsk%2C_Spring_2021.jpg/220px-Girl_on_Micro_Urban%2C_sun_view%2C_at_Onega_embankment%2C_Petrozavodsk%2C_Spring_2021.jpg)
After Anna’s son borrowed another child’s three wheel scooter at an event on Clapham Common and refused to give it back, Anna and Philippa made contact with Swiss banker Wim Oubtoer, the founder of Micro Mobility Systems and the manufacturers of the scooter Anna's son had borrowed. The two parties came to an agreement which allowed Gibson and Gogarty the licensing rights to sell Micro Scooters in the UK. After selling Mini Micro scooters to their friends at the school gates success came quickly, with word of mouth providing the best marketing tool. A buyer from John Lewis subsequently picked up on the success Gibson and Gogarty were experiencing and within a year of starting to sell them at the school gates, Micro Scooters became John Lewis’ bestselling toy selling 65,000 scooters at the Christmas of 2009.[6]
In 2010 the company sold over 120,000 scooters with turnover of £4.3m.[7] After the initial success of the 'Mini Micro' scooter, Gibson & Gogarty worked directly with Micro Mobility Systems to produce scooter variants for younger and older children. Micro Scooters Limited now retails over 50 models of scooters suitable for ages 12 months up to adults.[8] This has resulted in industry recognition via a number of reputable publications and newspapers. According to Sustrans, 2.4% of school children in Scotland used a scooter to get to school in 2018.[9]
Scootercise
In 2016 the company launched Scootercise, a new method of exercise based around using a scooter, in association with personal trainer Mari-Anne Elder.[10][11][12]
Sponsorships
Big Pedal
Micro Scooters UK currently sponsors the Big Pedal - the UK's largest event that encourages school pupils, teachers and parents to scoot, cycle or walk to school for two consecutive weeks. In 2019 the Big Pedal event attracted over 550,000 participants.[13]
To encourage more children to scoot to school Micro Scooters sponsors and runs Scoot Safe classes around the country via the Team Rubicon training company.[14]
Car Free Day
Since 2015 Micro Scooters UK have taken part in Car Free Day. The scooters have been gifted to consumers on their way to work or to families to use to 'scoot the school run' rather than drive.
Awards
- 2018 Micro Cruiser scooter – Voted best designed scooter by Junior Design magazine [15]
- 3in1 Mini Micro scooter – Voted best scooter for toddlers by Cycling World[16]
- Mini Micro scooter – Voted best scooter for kids by The Telegraph[17]
- Maxi Micro scooter – Voted best scooter for kids by The Independent[18]
- Micro Sprite scooter – Voted best 2 wheeled scooter by DadsNet readers [19]
- Micro electric scooter – Voted best electric scooter by AutoExpress[20]
See also
References
- ^ "MICRO SCOOTERS LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Anna Gibson: Founding my firm was child's play". MoneyWeek. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Scootering into 2012". workingmums.co.uk. 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Female Entrepreneurship – what's it really like? – Active Digital". www.activedigital.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Parkinson, Justin (2015-01-21). "How children's scooters transformed the school run". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Three wheels good - Scooters". 2019-07-16. Archived from the original on 2019-07-16. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Bridge, Rachel. "How I made it: Anna Gibson, founder of Micro Scooters". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Lambert, Chloe (2019-01-23). "The best scooters for kids". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "HUSS 2018 Statistical News Release" (PDF). Sustrans. 24 May 2019.
- ^ Dickinson, Becky (2015-07-02). "Scooting for all the family". ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Bee, Peta. "Adult scooters — a great way to exercise or just very annoying?". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Kids Electric Scooter in Ireland
- ^ "2019 record year for Big Pedal competition - Sustrans.org.uk". Sustrans. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Team Rubicon |". Team Rubicon. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Best Toy Design 6+ years | Junior Design Awards 2018". Junior Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Arthurs-Brennan, Michelle (2019-03-15). "Best scooters for kids and adults 2019". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Lambert, Chloe (2019-01-23). "The best scooters for kids". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "10 best kids' scooters to make the school run more fun". The Independent. 2019-04-01. Archived from the original on 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Dadsnet, The (2019-05-14). "The Dadsnet Toy Awards 2019 | WINNERS Revealed". TheDadsNet. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ "Best electric scooters 2019". Auto Express. Retrieved 2020-02-24.