WARWICK, R.I. (BRAIN) — Spinov8 is no longer the North American distributor for special-needs bike brand Van Raam after seven years. Because it was a single brand distributor for Van Raam, Spinov8 ceased operations.
Van Raam, which manufactures its bikes in Varsseveld, Netherlands, will sell directly to North American dealers, said Spinov8 Operations Director Tiffany Ovalles.
The split resulted from financial growth concerns and failing to reach agreement on terms and conditions during the past two years, said Ovalles, noting that shipping costs rose to almost $15,000 per container. The decision to end the partnership came last week. Van Raam did not respond to requests for comment.
"I even went and visited them in February to have a private presentation and to personally explain that we needed to find a new path forward. The margins we were getting were basically that of a dealer," Ovalles said.
Spinov8 had about a dozen North American dealers and it contacted them to finalize outstanding business.
Adaptive equipment manufacturer Bike-On, founded in 1999, had been a Spinov8 dealer. Ovalles said Spinov8's four employees will transition to Bike-On.
Bike-On co-owner and CEO Dan Pellett said Van Raam wanted a one-brand distributor and believes Spinov8 delivered the expertise it sought..
"They didn't want to go into business with someone that was shipping multiple products, because they wanted a focused group," Pellett said. "To Tiffany's credit. I have to say we definitely 100%, 200% over-delivered in that aspect. For Tiffany, I think the last two or three years have felt like five years. Because we really did work hard with these dealers. We were doing yearly dealer conferences. We would travel to different expos. And you know, we were super invested in this brand. So it's very unfortunate for us to see that hard work kind of go unnoticed. We did not want our relationship to end with Van Raam this way. We wanted to keep partnering with them in a way that was agreeable to both parties because the bikes simply are life changing."
Van Raam has focused on special-needs cycles exclusively for about 30 years. Models include tricycles, scooters, wheelchair bikes, tandems, double-riders and comfort bikes. Each model also is available with a pedal-assist option.
