Press release, Mon 14 Apr 2025
Roll Outdoors closes rental shops
The pioneer of cycle touring in Lapland is facing big changes and looking for a new direction: the Roll Outdoors rental shops in Rovaniemi and Saariselkä will close at Easter. The equipment will be sold out immediately. A new start is in the works. Read more below.
“Now is the time to press the reset button and find a better, more sustainable way to offer the world’s best and most unique nature cycling in Finnish Lapland.”
Roll Outdoors Ltd, which has been developing cycling tourism in Lapland for eight years, is about to undergo significant changes. The company will cease its guided tours and rental operations in Rovaniemi and Saariselkä after Easter. The current shops will be emptied, and the final sale of equipment and other supplies will begin immediately.
– The market situation has changed rapidly. The number of domestic customers has fallen for four years in a row. The general economic situation certainly contributes to this, but also the rise of commuter bikes is reducing the need for local people to rent bikes,” says Johannes Perkkiö, CEO and entrepreneur.
Although the current business model is being run down, Roll Outdoors is not disappearing completely. In the coming summer, the company’s staff will focus on building mountain bike trails in Ounasvaara, Rovaniemi’s and Levi. At the same time, a new business model is being designed and the company is actively looking for partners for the next seasons.
– We underestimated the downturn in the domestic mountain biking and outdoor boom, and could no longer make our core business profitable. Now it’s time to hit the reset button and find a better, more sustainable way to offer the world’s best and most unique nature biking in Finnish Lapland,” says Perkkiö.
– A big change is needed, but we certainly don’t want to waste eight years of development and all the know-how we have accumulated along the way. We have served thousands and thousands of satisfied customers, we have helped to shape winter cycling in Rovaniemi and Saariselkä in particular, and many people have had the chance to taste the fun of the summer routes we have built. The cycling photos and videos produced by Roll Outdoors have been distributed online and at trade fair stands of regional marketing organisations around the world.
Based on excellent customer feedback, we continue to see great potential in cycling as a top product for sustainable tourism in Lapland. The next step just requires momentum from the bottom and more shoulders to develop, for example, the diversity of sales and services and productisation,” Johannes continues.
Roll Outdoors warmly thanks all its customers, partners and employees for the shared journey of cycling and outdoor recreation so far.
For more information:
Johannes Perkkiö
Managing Director, Roll Outdoors Oy
johannes@rolloutdoors.com
+358 50 3807159
Take part in the stock clearance and buy a used Roll Outdoors mountain bike here!