BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — The Bicycle Product Suppliers Association informed its membership that it cannot endorse the recently released "Manifesto for Change" that Interbike drafted following its IBD Summit in January.
In a letter sent this week the supplier group hinted at possible legal ramifications that come from endorsing such a document.
"While we can and will vigorously support many of the efforts highlighted ... we cannot endorse the full document due to its reference to certain business strategies and decisions — on matters such as pricing policies, supply channels, inventories and margins — that are better left to the discretion of independent businesses than to agreements among groups of companies in the industry," the statement said.
The BPSA advised its members that if companies were considering endorsing the Manifesto, they should seek advice from their legal counsel. Interbike had asked several industry groups to endorse and sign on in support of its Manifesto, which listed 12 distinct challenges and opportunities that the industry should come together and collaborate on to grow the overall market.
"BPSA will continue to expand and improve our programs to strengthen our supplier members as we encourage related industry groups to make similar progress in their own areas of influence," the association said in the statement. BPSA's president, Roger Gierhart, said the organization would not comment beyond the statement, "other than to reiterate that the BPSA leadership is very much looking forward to helping to advance some of the great ideas that came out of the IBD (Summit)."
Interbike drafted the document from comments and suggestions from more than 200 attendees of the Summit held in Tempe, Ariz.
The National Bicycle Dealers Association and the International Mountain Bicycling Association signed on as supporters early on.
Other organizations, including PeopleForBikes, were still evaluating the Manifesto along with their boards to determine whether they would endorse the 12-item document following the event. BRAIN hasn't been able to reach PeopleForBikes for comment on whether the nonprofit planned to endorse the Manifesto.
