Amid the intense competition, Chinese bike-sharing giants Mobike and Ofo have both come up with new ways to draw attention, but a designer raincoat and a minion-themed bike turned out to be less effective than planned.
Mobike announced on July 4 that it would start selling Mobike raincoats, which were designed by independent designer brand exciTING. The raincoat included roomy space for a backpack and a reflective strip. But the $40 price tag was not warmly received by Mobike users. Many criticized the raincoat for its lack of features and for costing several times more than the average raincoat, and few people would need the raincoat anyway, since most avoid riding a rainy day.
Meanwhile, Ofo has launched “Minion Ofo” in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities. The yellow-colored bikes are decorated to look like a minion and have several minion figures on their handlebars. The front of the bike has two big minion eyes. The bike-sharing app also uses banana icons to mark out the location of each bike.
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This is believed to be the latest form of competition between the two bike-sharing giants, which are fighting for dominance in the Chinese market. Both companies have also extended their battle to overseas markets.
