Adviser - Spring 2017

THE M I CRO FAM I LY RANGE

Micro Scooters Once seen as a passing fad, the scooter is now the must-have mode of transport.

T he hoverboard. The jetpack. The electric Segway vehicle. Some of the recent developments in personal transportation devices have been entertaining to look at but are not exactly common in UK households. Not so the scooter. In the past decade, the popularity of scooters for both adults and children has soared, led by West Mersea- based Micro Scooters. Like all the best entrepreneurial business ideas, the Micro Scooters concept arose from seeing a gap in the market and taking swift and decisive action to fill it. Back in 2004 Anna Gibson’s young son borrowed a scooter from another child, and loved it so much he wouldn’t get off it. Anna duly bought him his own scooter, and realising that other children were just as keen on using it, she bought a pallet of scooters from the UK distributor and started selling them to other parents. When the distributor ‘disappeared off the face of the earth’, Anna and fellow mum Philippa Gogarty approached the Swiss manufacturer for UK distribution rights, and Micro Scooters Ltd was up and running. Today it is predicted that 30% of British babies born this year will grow up to use a Micro Scooter, and every weekday their scooters cover two million miles of pavements on school runs. There was a 53% rise in the proportion of children scooting or cycling to school from 2013-14

occasionally doctors and nurses needing to get from one end of the hospital to the other, and the Micro Scooters website invites nominations for hospitals who may benefit from the scheme. Still not convinced? Ultimate proof of the coolness of scooting came last June with the scooter emoji. Scooters are taking over the world.

and with media photos of the children of Tom Cruise, David and Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow all happily Micro Scooter-ing away, they are clearly ‘the’ scooter brand to be seen upon. Furthermore, the scooter is no longer regarded as a child’s toy. Micro Scooters realised that having bought their child a scooter, grown-ups were then missing out on the experience. Adults using a Micro Scooter are now a common sight in many towns and cities across the UK. Increasing awareness of the health benefits of leading an active lifestyle, coupled with the cost and time benefits of being a ‘scooter commuter’ mean that scooting is a great sustainable lifestyle choice, not to mention the kudos of being able to keep up with your children on their scooters! At the Micro Scooters headquarters in West Mersea, there is a fundamental awareness of the need to support the wider community in using their scooters happily and safely. From revamping old scooters to donate to children’s charities, to providing respite to children in hospital, they have developed a variety of charitable schemes which support their mission statement that ’every child deserves the chance to play’. There are also regular Scoot Safe courses which offer practical advice on safety and road etiquette training in schools to over 30,000 pupils. Their Micro Hospital scheme has given scooters to over twenty UK hospitals, to be used by children in their play areas, and

Micro Scooters can be contacted at www.micro-scooters.co.uk or info@micro-scooters.co.uk , tel 0333 320 1030

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Scrutton Bland have almost one hundred years of experience in advising businesses on their insurance, accountancy and taxation needs. If you would like to talk to us please call 01206 838400 or 01473 267000 or see www.scruttonbland.co.uk

Impulsive, simple to use and fun. All you need is leg power and the occasional rain jacket.

0333 320 1 030 MI CRO SCOOTERS . CO.UK

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