Sidi Sport acquired by Italian investment company
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Investment holding company Italmobiliare is acquiring the cycling and motorcycling footwear company Sidi Sport for 66 million euros ($66.8 million).
According to an Italmobiliare news release, all Sidi Sport capital will be acquired, in addition to the net cash held by the company on Aug. 31, 2022. The completion of the deal, subject to a corporate reorganization that includes the spin-off of certain properties, is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of this year.
(Read more.)
2022 handmade show canceled due to lack of exhibitor interest
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
The North American Handmade Bicycle Show, which has not been held since 2019 because of the pandemic, is postponing its planned 2022 show due to lack of interest from exhibitors. The organizer says the show will be back for 2023.
“Even if I pulled it off with 75 or 85 exhibitors, that’s not enough to attract a good crowd to come at the door,” he said.
(Read more.)
Layoffs at Whoop and Rad Power
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Fitness wearable maker Whoop and e-bike brand Rad Power each had layoffs this week.
Ben Foster, Whoop’s former chief product officer, let go. On his LinkedIn page, Foster said it was the right decision.
“While a decision like this is never “easy”, it was definitely “right”, and one I endorsed wrote despite its personal impact,” Foster.
(Read more.)
Jay Townley: “The future ain’t what it used to be”
By: Jay Townley
Yogi Berra, all-star baseball player, coach and philosopher, uttered these prophetic words (although he probably was not the first to say it — editor). Bicycle business philosopher Rick Vosper recently asked, “What happens to all those optimism orders that were placed at the peak of the demand wave and are now finally going to ship in 2022 and beyond?” (Rick did say that — editor)
We all know the bicycle business supply chain got totally out of kilter. What some of you don’t know is this started in 2019 because of the imposition of Section 301 punitive tariffs on Chinese imports and got far worse when Covid-19 hit during the first quarter of 2020, causing order reductions and cancellations, followed shortly thereafter by surging consumer demand that started the bullwhip effect through the channel of trade, consisting of aggressive forecasts and orders for as much as suppliers could make and ship.
(Read more.)
Jason Schiers named GT managing director
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
GT Bicycles announced Tuesday that Jason Schiers has been named managing director. Schiers will oversee the brand’s strategy and future vision.
“I got serious about mountain biking in the late ’80s, owning a GT was the goal,” Schiers said. “I obsessed about getting one. Fast forward 30-plus years later, for me to have the opportunity to join the GT team and obsess about the same things that made GT so rad back then is surreal. I hope adding some of my crazy to GT’s future will result in the same innovative and iconic things that the brand was built on.”
(Read more.)
Eurobike trade attendance down from pre-pandemic level
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Organizers claimed success for the first Eurobike to be held in Frankfurt, which wrapped up Sunday. Besides the venue shift from bucolic Friedrichshafen to urban Frankfurt, the event refocused on the e-mobility industry, with a wide variety of exhibiting suppliers and a packed schedule of related panel discussions, seminars and presentations from policymakers and other experts in mobility policy.
“Despite travel restrictions, flight cancellations and coronavirus-related difficulties, the event reached a level that we last saw before the pandemic,” said its managing director, Stefan Reisinger. “Industry, trade, policymakers and all fans of the bicycle are sending out a clear signal from Frankfurt: cycling must be further bolstered and encouraged.”
(Read more.)
No longer with Trek, Gary Fisher is having fun being Gary Fisher at Eurobike
By: Steve Frothingham // Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Some 29 years after selling his bicycle company to Trek and going to work for the Wisconsin brand, Gary Fisher has now been separated from the company since March. At Eurobike, Fisher said he’s enjoying being an independent entity again.
Fisher said he’s now free to work for other companies and develop products. Trek Bicycle owns the Gary Fisher Bicycles trademark, but he can use the Gary Fisher name on products including helmets and apparel. On Sunday, Fisher was hanging out in the Benno Bikes booth and wearing a Benno T-shirt, but he said we shouldn’t assume any kind of partnership with that company.
(Read more.)
Alchemy Bikes opens new US headquarters, offers free overnight stay with bike purchase
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Alchemy Bikes opened its new US headquarters here and will offer a free overnight stay with the purchase of a bike.
The purchase of an Alchemy bike includes a tour of the new Ride Experience Center, bike fit, and bike shipment if the customer doesn’t opt to take it with them. DARE stands for Discover Alchemy’s Ride Experience. The promotion will launch in mid-July.
(Read more.)
Taiwan bike exports up 28% through April
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Taiwan exported nearly $2 billion worth of bikes, e-bikes and bike components in the first four months this year, up 28% from the same period last year.
North America and the European Union remain the biggest markets for Taiwan’s e-bike exports.
(Read more.)
Joe Hawk retires after 29 years at Haro Bikes
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Chief operating officer Joe Hawk is retiring after 29 years at Haro Bikes.
Before joining Haro Bikes in 1993 as COO, Hawk was director of marketing at Raleigh for nearly 10 years.
(Read more.)
.