News

Hong Kong-based Befortune Trading has acquired control of OOO Space, a Perm-based bicycle manufacturer that produces bikes under the Forward brand, Kommersant reported, citing data from Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

Befortune Trading, whose sole shareholder is Liang Jianxiong, bought the 67% stake previously held by Maxim Fligel. Fligel told Kommersant the transaction was carried out as part of the company’s development strategy but declined to provide further details.

Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline-Analytics consultancy, estimates the value of Forward’s Russian operations at no less than 1 billion roubles ($12.2 million).

Liang Jianxiong has owned a 33% stake in Space since 2014. He also chairs the boards of two Chinese companies — Guangzhou Leonis Machinery Co. and Trinity Group — which produce bicycles under their own Trinx brand and assemble models for third-party brands under contract. The companies have an annual capacity of about 2 million Trinx bicycles and operate a retail network of roughly 2,000 stores in China, as well as joint ventures abroad. Guangzhou Leonis manufactures bicycles for the Russian market under the Forward, Format, Outleap and Trinx brands, according to Russia’s Federal Accreditation Service.

Forward has been present in Russia for more than 20 years and is one of the country’s largest — and one of the few — domestic bicycle manufacturers, Kommersant says. The company previously estimated its production at around 3 million bicycles over five years. Its production complex in Perm Krai spans about 7 hectares and includes two assembly lines capable of producing up to 3,000 bicycles a day.

The company, which employs around 450 people, may now be facing operational challenges, the newspaper said. Forward’s social media accounts have not been updated since 2023, and industry sources cited by Kommersant said the company has encountered difficulties. However, Forward bicycles remain available in retail stores.

Imports account for the majority of bicycles sold in Russia. Foreign shipments rose 32% year-on-year in October–December 2025, while imported products made up 62% of total bicycle sales last year, according to data from the Center for the Development of Advanced Technologies, operator of the Honest Label (Chestnyi Znak) product-labeling system.