Gitane Story Telling

Marcel Bruneliere, a Frenchman, founded Gitane in 1925. He started a business in mechanics and spare parts. His business quickly took a serious step, a complete focus on the business of bicycles. In 1930 in Machecoul, a French city with a strong history of kingdom, Marcel created the brand Gitane.

Gitane means “gipsy” in English and the name Gitane originates from Bruneliere’s nickname. Marcel was constantly traveling all over France to make his business grow, and therefore his wife started to call him “Gipsy”. Marcel thought this was funny and chose to call his bicycles the same name.

In the years around World War II there were a lot of different small local bicycle brands in France. After the war a nationwide recognized brand was born, and that was Gitane, the first bicycle to ever reach nationwide recognition.

Gitane was associated with sports and after continuous victories in all possible bicycle races, Gitane had gained an outstanding reputation. The brand reached new grounds and became the major bicycle brand in the USA in the 1960s.

Today Gitane is synonomous with victory in all the important bicycle races. This association to sport and victories will continue.

Gitane is owned by Cycleurope which is a part of Grimaldi Industri. Cycleurope is a consolidation of several companies and consists of well-established local and strong bicycle brands.

In the beginning Cycleurope had a Scandinavian presence. Since then Cycleurope has evolved to be a global actor with its main market in Europe.

Cycleurope is a reliable partner for retailers, and helps people feel better by offering an opportunity to be more active in their daily life.

Gitane Brand Statement

Vision

To meet any kind of customer and all kinds of use
The vision of Gitane is to meet any kind of customer and all kinds of use related to bicycling when it comes to transportation, comfort and sport.

Mission

To satisfy the means of transportation and recreational needs
Gitane gives people an alternative means of transportation and the opportunity to spend leisure time in a healthy way.

Gitane Brand Profile

Brand Essence

Gitane stands for quality, security, physical activity and pride
Quality because of the great comfort, the feeling of something better.
Security because of the guarantee of service.
Physical activity for the recreational needs.
Pride because of the history of great victories in championships.

Brand Slogan

“energy booster ”

Visual Identity
 
Gitane’s Visual Identity is the logotype seen below.