WATERBURY, Vt. (BRAIN) — Mavic, which was acquired in 2020 out of receivership by the French investment group Bourrelier, has had no presence in the U.S. market since at least that time, leaving retailers and consumers to struggle to find repair parts and service.
Now the legendary French brand has opened an office in Vermont, which will handle sales and service in North America.
“We are thrilled to be back in the USA to address the needs of our North American customers with our new Mavic Service Center in Waterbury, Vermont,” said Jean-Michel Bourrelier, CEO of Mavic USA. “We are also very excited to unveil many new products in the coming months, relevant to the U.S. market and local riders. We hope that American gravel, mountain and road riders will be able to experience our new wheel technologies and discover our new apparel that celebrate the long-standing history of our brand.”
Raymond Lanctôt LTD became Mavic’s Canadian distributor in late 2020 and has serviced retailers and consumers there. U.S. retailers say Lanctôt has advised them on Mavic issues, even though the company doesn’t sell into the U.S. The Vermont office is responsible for servicing North American consumers, retailers and distributors, including Lanctôt.
The Vermont service center office has already consolidated service and repair parts from Mavic’s former U.S. facilities in Massachusetts and Utah and is bringing in new inventory starting this fall, including 2024 model year wheels and apparel. The company expected a shipment of its new Cosmic Ultimate 45 Disc carbon wheels in September. The new wheels won a design award at Eurobike this year.
“We’ve got a good amount of older parts and buffer stock, so we have solutions for customers trying to keep their wheels going or who need new wheels,” Josh Saxe, Mavic’s sales and marketing manager for North America, told BRAIN in a phone interview.
In a company statement, Saxe said, “We'll be bringing our perspective directly from the field to inform what comes next.
“We have a lot of new and exciting products to share, and while our focus absolutely includes the sales and marketing around these products, we are emphasizing supporting our customers both new and old, while also participating in our local community and grassroots efforts."
Mavic was established in 1889; 2023 marked the 100th anniversary of its first-use of its now iconic logo, and the company plans to celebrate that anniversary with a variety of products this year.
Amer Sports sold Mavic in 2019 to Regent, a California investment group that also owns Alta Cycling, the parent of Diamondback, iZip and Redline. (Amer, now owned by China’s Anta Sports, continues to own ENVE Composites). However, Mavic’s French operations entered receivership soon after, and eventually Bourrelier acquired the company. Bourrelier resumed some manufacturing and product development in Europe but did not open a U.S. office until this year.
Mavic COO Christophe Bouvet told BRAIN there was no dispute that prevented the company from re-establishing a presence in the U.S. market, it simply took some time.
“When there was the contraction of business in Europe, some of the existing companies (in other markets) were not acquired, so we had to start from scratch in the U.K. and Germany, for example. The only (non-French) branch that was acquired was in Japan. The U.S. branch was not part of the acquisition. So we had to re-start everything from the ground up.”
Mavic officials said they plan to work with distributors in the U.S. and will also establish a consumer-direct e-commerce site. The office also is responsible for OE sales and service and is already talking to potential OE clients. A handful of European bike brands, including BMC and Mondraker, already spec’ Mavic wheels on bikes that are sold in the U.S.
Mavic will offer a reduced assortment of apparel, footwear and helmets, with fewer SKUs than that company offered before 2020.
Mavic surprised many by showing a prototype e-bike motor this spring. The company has no time frame for bringing the motor to market; it’s currently seeking investors to further develop the idea. The U.S. office will get a prototype sample of the motor this fall to show to interested partners.
Saxe said the U.S. office also plans to work closely with boutique brands, including the many small builders in the Northeast.
