Sandnes hosts a large array of retail shops of most kinds and is used by the neighbouring municipalities appreciating the service and wide range of selections. Sandnes is known as Norway's bicycle city, mainly due to the fact that the bicycle manufacturer �gl�nd DBS was situated here for decades. The city offers a variety of routes for everyday riders and tourists. Since 1996 a public bicycle rental programme has been in operation in the city.
The city has a vibrant industrial base, mainly in the Ganddal area in the south and the Lura and Forus area in the north towards the Stavanger boundary. There is significant activity related to oil exploration in the North Sea and also some IT related companies. In this suburban region between Sandnes and Stavanger, malls and department stores have also been established. Among these malls is one of Norway's biggest malls, Kvadrat meaning "square" (although it is not square shaped anymore as it has expanded several times since it opened in 1984).
Around 30% of the population is employed in Stavanger (Q4 2004).
Sandnes was formerly known as the pottery town of Norway - due to the important ceramics industry based on the extensive occurrence of clay in the surroundings
