LAGUNA HILLS, CA (BRAIN) — Bicycle Retailer & Industry News staff will visit retailers in San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle next year as part of the magazine’s popular Dealer Tour, now entering its fifth year.
BRAIN editors visit shops in San Francisco Jan. 28 through Feb. 1; we visit retailers in the Windy City May 6 through 10; and head back to the Northwest Oct. 21 through 25 for the Seattle Dealer Tour.
Riding from shop to shop in each city, editors and Dealer Tour sponsors meet with retailers, conduct interviews and gather best business practices from owners and managers. The editors post daily reports of each visit online with photos in a gallery. In-depth profiles and an overview of each market will populate a special section inside the March 1, June 15 and December 1 editions.
BRAIN launched its first Dealer Tour in November 2008 in Orange County, California. Since then, editors have visited 11 distinct markets, including such bike-friendly cities as Boulder, Colorado; Davis, California; and Washington, D.C. Later this month, the crew will tour shops in Portland, Oregon, a “platinum level” cycling city and hub of bicycle manufacturing and retailing.
“From Dallas to Philadelphia, from Sacramento to New York City, each market we visited supports a thriving and diverse group of independent dealers who have shared their unique stories of how they began and what’s kept them in business. That has made for some great content and photos in the pages of the magazine,” said Lynette Carpiet, Bicycle Retailer’s editor. “It’s also given us a better understanding of the difficulties they face in today’s economy and Internet-crazed shopping environment.
“Next year we will continue to mine retailers for insight during face-to-face visits in these three commuter-friendly cities,” she added.
Look for more details on the route and the dealers selected over the next few months. Retailers interested in having us visit them should e-mail us at lcarpiet@bicycleretailer.com.
For information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Marc Sani at msani@bicycleretailer.com or call (949) 206-1677 ext. 205.
