Industry News

VISTA, CA—Electra co-founder and creative director Benno Baenziger is leaving his position at the company, effective this month. He will continue as a shareholder and member of Electra’s board of directors, while exploring new ventures.

VANCOUVER, Canada (BRAIN)—With coffee mugs sitting where they left them, 12 former Race Face employees are back at their old jobs under the company’s new majority owner, Chris Tutton, who purchased Race Face from its receiver, Grant Thornton, last week.

Tagged Mergers, Acquisitions & Investments

WATSONVILLE, CA (BRAIN)—Sales at Fox Racing Shox hit $42.9 million through March 2011, an increase of 31 percent over last year’s sales of $32.7 million, and exceeding the company’s expectations, according to Compass Diversified Holdings first quarter report.

Tagged Earnings/Financial Reports

DENVER, CO (BRAIN)— Rudy Project North America has launched its redesigned website at www.rudyprojectusa.com.

Tagged Web/Internet

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN)—Research released by Eurobike shows that more than 4.1 million Germans buy a new bike every year, and nearly 70 percent of those purchases are made at one of 5,640 specialty retail stores.

CERRITOS, CA (BRAIN)—Lee Lewis has joined the inside sales department at VSI Products. VSI is the parent company of THE, Intense BMX, Speed Bicycles, Sinz & Sinz Elite, ITS, EYE BMX, AVE and Vigor, all product lines Lee will be selling to retailers across the country.

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—Bikes Belong is working with market research firm Leisure Trends Group to conduct a survey to get a better sense of Americans’ bicycling habits. The survey is being emailed out in waves to contacts acquired through Bikes Belong’s People for Bikes pledge campaign, a pool of 222,000.

Tagged Advocacy/Non-profits

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (BRAIN)—The Vancouver Bike Show will return for a second year in 2012 with up to double the floor space as the inaugural exhibition, according to Robin Harvey, who handles public relations for the show.

Tagged Tradeshows and conferences

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—Yesterday, Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Steven LaTourette (R-OH) introduced the Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2011 (H.R. 1780) into the U.S. House of Representatives.

SHANGHAI, China (BRAIN)—China Cycle attracts few U.S. specialty channel product managers, but it is an important
sourcing show for U.S. mass market brands and brands in emerging bike markets such as South America, the Middle East
and Russia.

Tagged Tradeshows and conferences

EUGENE, OR (BRAIN)—Burley Design is expanding its presence internationally with new distribution deals in Poland, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Israel and Italy.

VAN NUYS, CA (BRAIN)—A strong start to the bike season led Easton-Bell Sports to sales growth of 5 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Tagged Earnings/Financial Reports

BARRINGTON, IL (BRAIN)—Retailers will gather today to honor Larry Lorenz, an independent sales rep who passed away suddenly earlier this week.

Lorenz was 58.

KENT, WA (BRAIN)—Raleigh America this week launched mycyclingevent.com to connect America’s 60 million cyclists with popular charity rides in the U.S. like the MS 150 and Tour de Cure rides.

Tagged Advocacy/Non-profits / Web/Internet

CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN)—SRAM today announced that it has acquired Quarq Technology Inc., manufacturer of power meters, measurement devices and related accessories for the bike industry. Detailed integration plans with Quarq are being formulated, the company said in a release.

Tagged Mergers, Acquisitions & Investments

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA (BRAIN)—As the new managing director of Interbike, Pat Hus recognizes the challenges he faces in returning the annual tradeshow to the sole unifying industry gathering in North America.

SUN VALLEY, ID (BRAIN)—Scott Sports has hired Bill Christensen as its new western regional field marketing representative.

By Jason Norman

MONTEREY, CA—Company officials at the recent Sea Otter Classic pointed to strong sales during the first quarter. But many said rising raw material and shipping costs are forcing them to raise prices, which could cut into profits in the second half of the year.

As the recession hammered nations and companies worldwide, one corner of the bicycle industry emerged relatively unscathed—its nonprofit associations.

By Matt Wiebe

SEATTLE, WA—Recreational Equipment Inc. reported a record year in 2010 with an all-time high operating income due in part to its growing bike business.

Tagged Earnings/Financial Reports

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