Over 130 years of history

Willem Kölling, a postal worker in Dieren, imported and sold his first bicycle - along with a lesson in how to ride it - in 1892. Willem predicted that bicycles, then something of a phenomenon, would have a great future. He went into partnership with his friend, the blacksmith Rudolf Arentsen. They initially focused on selling bicycles imported from England, carrying out repairs and trading in bicycle parts. Willem took care of the business side of things, while Rudolf handled the technical side. They named their company "Arentsen & Kölling". The abbreviation of the company name can be seen on the first head badges.

The men purchased a plot of land at the site still used today and had a factory built on it. They quickly outgrew the original premises. To this day, Gazelle still manufactures bicycles on the site where the original factory was built, making it the oldest factory in the Netherlands to maintain manufacturing processes at the same site.

The business partners went their separate ways in early 1905. Rudolf received the sum of 50,000 guilders (which was a considerable sum back then). Willem retained the land and buildings, the machinery and inventory and the right to continue using the name "Arentsen & Kölling". The documentation for this agreement explicitly stated that no articles of association were drawn up at the time.

Willem was unable to handle the workload alone and asked his brother Hendrik, who had been working at Gazelle since 1902, to join him in managing the company. In 1912 (some sources suggest it was actually 1907), the brothers asked their nephew, Jan Breukink, to help with their ever-expanding enterprise. A family business was born - a fact confirmed on June 11, 1915 when Gazelle Rijwielfabriek was established to replace the former Arentsen & Kölling. The partners were Willem, Hendrik, their sister Jo Kölling, and Jan Breukink.

The number of bicycles being produced by Gazelle has increased dramatically. A letter from July 1907 states that sales had surpassed expectations and production was being scaled up to 150 bicycles per week!

The first clearly documented milestone was production of the 200,000th Gazelle on September 27, 1924.

The growth of Gazelle continues steadily. The millionth Gazelle bicycle is presented by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands.

The company encountered some difficult years. Competition from the car market and cheap bicycles from abroad had terrible consequences. In 1971, the family was forced to sell the company. Gazelle was taken over by English company Raleigh, which completely overhauled the business processes. Productivity increased and Gazelle got back into the black.

A major role in the development of the bicycle and its various eras. It was certainly a royal day for Gazelle, in more ways than one:

H.R.H. Princess Margriet performed the symbolic final assembly operation for the 8,000,000th bicycle to be produced by Gazelle. The bicycle in question, a Road Cruiser, was dedicated by Princess Margriet for the Red Cross.

To mark its centenary, Gazelle was also awarded the "Koninklijk" title to designate its royal approval, conferred by the Queen's Commissioner in Gelderland, J.C. Terlouw. From then on, the factory was known as Koninklijke Gazelle (Royal Dutch Gazelle). Being awarded this distinction was the crowning glory of our work.

In 2011, Gazelle became part of Pon and played its part in development of the emerging ebikes trend. The factory was modernized to scale up the production of ebikes. The new factory was opened by King Willem-Alexander, and with that Gazelle was ready for a new cycling revolution.

The hard work paid off and the 15,000,000th bicycle was produced in 2018.