2022 was a very successful year for the FORCE brand and us. And we don't just mean sales figures, but also the release of new products, sporting results, or personal achievements of the team at KCK. Let's take a look together at what we managed to achieve in 2022.
The turn of the year and the arrival of spring brought big news
Right from the start came the biggest milestone. Our director, Andrea Mrázek Kmentová, gave birth to her son Dalibor, who may one day become the one to take over the family company KCK from his grandfather and mother.
The riders and teams we support have achieved great success in the sporting field. In January, Michael Boroš defended his title of Czech Cyclo-cross Champion in the elite category for the fifth time. Jan Hirt, from the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert team, won the stage race of the Tour of Oman, and Biniam Girmay, from the same team, won the spring classic Gent - Wevelgem.
In terms of product innovations and the approach to communicating them to customers, the first quarter of the year was also crucial for us. Since January 2022, we have started a collaboration with MIPS, a company specializing in head protection. We have launched the first three helmet models equipped with this system, namely NEO, LYNX, and ORCA.
We have also decided to adjust our attitude towards product photography for our customers. From the beginning of 2022, we started to completely re-shoot all FORCE clothing. This gives you the opportunity to see photos of the clothes from all angles, and the product description also includes the height of the model in the photo and the size of the clothes they are wearing for better visualization.
Spring and early summer in the brought first limited collections
For the first time in the history of KCK and the FORCE brand, we have decided to prepare limited editions. The first to release was a limited edition called MAY. It was inspired by spring motifs of flowering trees. In June we launched another limited edition called PATRIOT. We wanted to show everyone that FORCE is a brand where patriots work and people are proud to be Czech and work for a Czech brand.
Hand in hand with the Patriot collection and pride in being Czech is the launch of cooperation with a Czech gear manufacturer. Thanks to it, from April this year we offer top chainrings for 1x11 and 1x12 Sram and Shimano shifting systems.
The FORCE brand was also very visible on the sports field in the second quarter of 2022. In the Czech Republic, we shone in the MTB series Prima CUP and Bike for Life thanks to victories by Nikol Bajgerová and Lubomír Petruš. Internationally, thanks to the victories of the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert team, our brand was more and more visible. Alexander Kristoff won the famous wind classic in Scheldeprijs, Belgium. And in May, we celebrated a huge success when Honza Hirt took a stage win in the Giro d'Italia, one of the three races in the Grand Tour series. We were then even more excited when Honza visited us in Otrokovice during June and, apart from the press conference, did a short swing with us and you. Check out the short video from this visit.
But it was not only on the racing field. May also belong to the Commute to Work by Bike challenge, and we at KCK joined in in large numbers and fielded three teams that competed together within the company as well. We will continue this tradition in 2023.
Celebrating 700 years of Zlín and a new collection for women
In July, in addition to cheering on the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert team at the Tour de France, we also launched a new collection of urban helmets that come in simple designs and colors so you can match your outfits when you're out for coffee with friends or moving between classes at school on a shared bike.
For little cyclists, we've launched a collection called WOLFIE, inspired by our mascot Forcak. This collection includes children's helmets, jerseys, and gloves.
The city of Zlín, where KCK and the FORCE brand were founded, celebrated its 700th anniversary in 2022. We contributed to the celebrations with a special design for the bidons, which refers to Zlín's 700 years and the silhouettes of buildings that are typical of Zlín.
In the summer season, Alexander Kristoff of the IWG team was once again in fine form, dominating the Circuit Frano-Belge race in the French part of Belgium.
We launched our new sports collection for women that we are really proud of. The clothing is called GRACE and SIMPLE. And they are leisure sports leggings, shorts, and bras for women of any shape and size.
The end of the year brought road safety emphasis
In the last quarter of the year, we focused mainly on educating cyclists about road safety. We have prepared several articles on this topic, introducing our products suitable for riding in low visibility conditions. You can also read about the FLASH collection and the importance of reflective elements here.
The year 2022 was truly a year of twos. We launched more than 200 new products.
Finally, as a company, we were also able to meet at our traditional Christmas party, which we held after two years and the end of the covid craze. The theme of the party was Movie and TV series characters. And we have to say that all the members of KCK were very, very creative and for that we have to thank them.
And in December we went to Calpe, Spain. Firstly to shoot photos of our products and also we attended a training camp of Elkov Kasper Czech Cycling Team. We will bring you a more detailed report on how the pro team camp looks like soon.
The year 2022 has been quite a ride. And we're so happy to be able to share all these moments with you through our products, web articles, and social media posts. And we're also glad you keep coming back, giving us feedback, and helping us push the FORCE brand further and further. How was 2022 for you? Did you achieve all the successes and goals you set for yourself in the field of cycling and sport in general? Let us know in the messages on our Facebook page. We look forward to it😊
