TEMECULA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Intense Cycles has launched a new European division in Barcelona, Spain, that will house inventory and service supporting the majority of the continent. The Southern California-based mountain bike brand will continue to work with distributors in select European territories.
"Intense Europe is a joint venture between Intense Cycles USA Inc. and KP Sport of Barcelona, Spain. KP has served for several years as the distributor of Intense in Spain, Portugal, Andorra, France and Italy, The new Intense Europe will serve these countries as well as Benelux, Scandinavia, Poland and the Czech Republic," Intense stated in a release.
Barcelona is also home to the Intense Factory Racing World Cup team.
Intense's CEO, Andrew Herrick, said, "This is a project we have worked on with our friends at KP Sport for the past year. We are thrilled to have found a partner with a shared vision for Intense, the European bicycle market, and who is as passionate about creating great dealer centers for riders to see and experience the Intense product and brand as we are.
"With this move, we now have a team of bicycle industry professionals who will be 100 percent dedicated to take the Intense brand a level higher and deliver an even better marketing and service experience to our dealers," Herrick added.
Xavier Meseguer, president of KP Sport, said, "We believe in Intense and in the bicycle industry. The mountain bike is one of the very best ways we can experience the world around us and Intense delivers this in the most beautiful and fastest way. Myself and our team here in Barcelona can't wait to share this journey together with Intense, our new partners in Intense Europe."
Intense Europe will be led by general manager Lars Hjort, an industry veteran who has owned and operated distribution companies for more than two decades with brands including Oakley and Giro. He was most recently a senior European executive with Specialized Bicycles.
Hjort can be reached at lars.hjort@intensecycles.com.
