Hi Civarow, I was thinking the quarterly would be released by the end of last week, however, having looked back over the dates in which the first quarterly update has been released in recent years, the dates have varied somewhat:
*In 2019, the market update for the period 01/01/19-31/03/19 was released on the 30th of April
*In 2018, the update for the same corresponding period ofthat year was released on the 07/05/18
*In 2017, the update was released on 04/05/17
So, in other words, it looks like the quarterly will be out by the end of the week. My guess it will be out on the 4th (tomorrow).
I have a hunch that towards the end of 2019 there might have been strong sales in a number of central/eastern European countries: Czechia & Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, and, right on the very edge of Europe, Turkey.
One other country in that region that might have been a strong performer late last year is Poland. My opinion on this is partly influenced by an interesting Polish news report late last month in which there was a mention of Super Soco.
Running an internet search for the term 'Super Soco' brings up a huge number of sites, mostly from automotive or motorcycle news sites which feature reports on the bikes.
As has been discussed here previously, some of these sites publish news that is fed to them by various companies, and many sites steal content from rival websites. Certainly, it seems to me that a lot of the reports on Super Soco in various automotive sites have been cannibalised from other sites.
It is thus difficult to determine how much these reports reflect genuine enthusiasm for the brand, although at the very least it does suggest that these sites seem to think their readers are interested in the Super Soco brand.
What is unusual about this Polish report is that it is from a news site, rather than an automotive site, and it only mentions Super Soco in passing.
The report is essentially a rather dry news item about a Polish website that has been setup to house a database providing information about the availability of services during the coronavirus epidemic, including public transport.
A few paragraphs in, the report mentions some options that are available to medical staff:
... a free travel package in Uber or free rental of Blinkee or Super Soco Poland two-wheelers. The database also has information for everyone: about various alternative modes of transport (scooter and car rentals, taxi offers) available in the area...
This casual mention of Super Soco in a Polish website is curious, because Poland has been scarcely mentioned in past announcements from Vmoto: the only thing I could find was a note about a 'stunt performance' involving Super Soco bikes that was held in Poland that was mentioned in the update released on 01/11/19.
I did a little more digging on this, and found more detail about this in another Polish website, with the translated extract below:
...In the case of blinkee.city , doctors and pharmacists can use scooters and scooters for free on the basis of a document confirming their profession. The action coves the cities of Katowice, Gliwice, Sosnowiec, Dąbrowa Górnicza.
In turn, Super Soco Polska rents scooters, electric mopeds and motorbikes for free to doctors. To take part in this action, please send your application by e-mail ([email protected]), contact the company by phone (881 962 617) or via social media and fill out the free loan form...
The passage above is reminiscent of those UK based websites which recently reported on the discount offered to essential workers for Super Soco bikes.
From the sound of it, the Super Soco might have a more significant presence in Poland than the company has previously revealed. If so,the same could easily be true for other countries in central and eastern Europe, and thus Zaac's optimist forecast north of 9,000 units sold for the quarter might well prove to be spot on.
While the sales figure in the next report is invariably going to garner plenty of interest, the details of the operational update and guidance will be equally significant.
VMT Price at posting:
14.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Held
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