PARSIPPANY, N.J. (BRAIN) — Kent International's project to bring back the iconic Univega bicycle brand is continuing to progress. The company will show its new product line at Interbike next month and already has more than half the country covered by a sales rep force, company officials told BRAIN.
Kent secured rights to the Univega brand name this spring. The company will assemble the line at its factory in Manning, South Carolina.
Scott Kamler, the president of Kent International, said Univega is focusing on bikes starting at below $200 retail and up to about $900. The line will include kids bikes, cruisers, road/gravel models, mountain bikes and some specialty bikes like a tandem, a cargo bike and an adult trike, he said. The company expects to bring back some former Univega model names that retailers will remember from the brand's glory days.
"The variety of models and platforms may surprise some people since it is a big undertaking, but the factory is capable of making great bikes and we can't wait to get started," Kamler said.
Production will start with kids bikes with 12-, 16- and 20-inch wheels in time for the holiday season. The company plans to begin producing larger bikes in early 2019.
Univega hired industry veteran John Georger as vice president of sales in June. Since coming on, he's hired about 16 sales reps, covering more than half the country (the list of reps is below).
"We believe the success of our brand will be based on aligning ourselves with the right bike shops and that begins with us hiring the right reps to help make the best decisions in each market," Georger said.
Georger said retailer interest has been high.
"We are getting a ton of requests to (info@univega-usa.com) and I follow all of those up with a phone call. When I speak with the dealers I am getting a ton of very positive comments. They like our direction/target with the line and the 'Assembled in the USA' piece. However, without final specs/pricing it is difficult for us to have any commitments. I will say the interest has been strong and appears to be sincere," he told BRAIN.
Univega USA sales reps with email link:
Tom Roth: NJ, DE, MD, VA and Washington, D.C.
Rob Vander Veur: Eastern PA
Dominic Petit: IL, WI, MN, ND, SD, KS, IA, NE, MO and Upper MI
Dan Jennings: KS, NE and IA
Jason Mowhinkle): MN, SD, ND
Brandon Olson: IL, MO
Mike Geraths: WI and UP of MI
Brandon Morphew: All New England States
Alex Dossin: VT, W. MA, W. CT, W. NH
Ryan Hiscoe: ME, RI, E. CT, E. MA, E. NH
David Mootz: TX, LA
Billy Jackson: OK, AR
John Greer: TN, KY, MS, AL (north of I-85)
Dave Marzen: GA, SC (West of I-26)
Scott Pegram: NC, SC (East of I-26)
Don Shipman: Nor Cal (north of SLO).
