MELBOURNE, Australia (BRAIN) — Reid Cycles restructured its retail network to "right-size," including closing three locations with plans to close another and naming its international managing director, Rob Akam, group CEO.
According to the brand, despite two years of profits and expansion, it closed the Adelaide location and two in Melbourne, and the Sydney store is set to close in mid-April. The brand said it will allow focus on stronger stores, including the remaining one in Melbourne (Richmond), and ones in Brisbane and Perth as well as online.
Leases coming up for renewal and staff recruitment and retention challenges played a role in the decision, according to the brand.
"The business has matured, and we have options," said founder James Reid. "In Australia, we've made the decision to focus resources on our online operations and best-run and most profitable stores."
Starting as a marketplace seller from Reid's garage in Melbourne in 2009, the brand says it has sold more than 250,000 Reid branded bikes in Australia. The brand is also distributed in over 30 countries. All product design occurs at its international UK headquarters under Reid Bikes Ltd.
"Our Reid Bikes Ltd. team looks after the distribution and supply contract side of the business and is growing strong, with new distributors joining and new supply customers continuing to come on board," James Reid said. "Given the challenges in the industry, we've taken a hard look at our operations and settled on a more integrated approach between our Australian and international operations, and we've restructured to better share knowledge, software, and resources."
Akam will begin working more closely with the Australian team in his new role.
“We’re still very much an Australian brand at heart, and we’re committed to long-term success in Australia," Akam said. "We see this retail restructure as a case of taking a step back to build a solid foundation again, to then move forward at pace in our home market.”
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Rob Akam.
