A version of this article ran in the October issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News.
DALLAS (BRAIN) — New e-bike brands arrive by the boatload these days, but, if for nothing else, Denago deserves a second look based on its all-star leadership team of industry vets.
Denago is the house brand at Bike.com, an e-commerce site that’s been largely dormant since a group of investors bought the presumably desirable domain about six years ago from TABcom, the owner of multiple e-commerce sites, including dog.com.
Now the site is populated solely with Denago e-bikes and the brand’s related parts and accessories. After a relatively modest launch in April this year with one model, Denago became more visible this fall as it filled out its product line with more models in inventory.
While the business is built around the Bike.com domain, Denago’s leadership considers brick-and-mortar retailers a key part of its omni-channel distribution plan.
That consideration for IBDs comes from CEO Dave Duecker, a former vice president of product at Dorel Sports’ Pacific Cycle.
Duecker said he was recruited to join Bike.com after its owners asked him, simply, what he would do with the domain if he owned it.
Duecker said his answer was, “I’d create a brand and focus on e-bikes, which is still and underserved niche that’s still growing. And I’d go after the dealer market and offer them something they are missing,” he told BRAIN.
Duecker joined the company in October 2021. He was careful to say that Denago is not exclusively in bike shops.
“I believe in D2C (direct-to-consumer), I really do, it’s important,” Duecker told BRAIN. “But I also believe you need to have an omnichannel strategy with a physical presence in stores. You need to be where the consumer wants to buy. And especially with bikes, the consumer wants places where the retailers know a lot about the product so the consumer has a good experience.”
Duecker’s experience at Dorel was largely on the mass market and D2C side with Pacific’s brands. But Duecker also recruited some executives from the specialty channel.
“I thought it was important to find people who get excited about seeing people on bikes as I do,” he said.
The recruits include Jeff Weiss (Denago’s head of sales & marketing) who is the former CEO of Hero Cycles Intl and SVP of international sales at Dorel; Joe Werwie (Denago’s head of product) who is the former director of e-bikes and mobility at Dorel; Justin Christopher (Durango’s director of D2C) who is the former VP of e-commerce with Aventon and previously held various roles with Jenson USA. Finally, industry vet Steve Richey (Denago’s director of customer success) has held various roles in the industry, including being manager of new product development at Illinois Tool Works, the maker of Slime and Fix-a-Flat products.
Duecker moved from Madison, Wisconsin, Pacific’s hometown, to Dallas to start setting up Bike.com.
Denago started out with a $1,500 city e-bike, and a new $2,000 commuter model with 27.5 tires is now in stock. Denago planned to announce more models earlier this year but supply chain challenges slowed that rollout.
Now, Duecker said, there is “a very strong pipeline” of new models arriving from its contracted Chinese factory. He expected to have samples of other new models available early this fall with delivery by year’s end.
Duecker said delivery from China to U.S. ports has been relatively smooth and predictable, but domestic transportation has been more difficult and expensive. Like others in the industry, he said ocean freight costs have come down from their pandemic highs but are still much higher than pre-pandemic.
As it builds online sales and its dealer base, the company is building out its custom service staff and supply of parts in Dallas. It has signed with six sales reps groups nationally and is looking for more in a few territories.
Like several other newish brands targeting the IBD market, Denago is mainly focused on models in the $1,500 to $2,500 range, usually with hub motors to start.
“You can create a really solid electric bike in that price point,” Duecker said.
Denago had about 25 dealers lined up by early September, with more joining weekly, he said. In areas where the brand doesn’t have a dealer, it works with Beeline to do delivery and assembly.
