Editor's note: A version of this article was in the January 1 edition of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. This version includes the name of three third-party e-bike brands that Pedego dealers can now access.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — One of the first moves by Pedego’s new CEO, Larry Pizzi, is to set up a program allowing Pedego dealers to access other brands of e-bikes for the first time.
Pedego stores are independently owned and operate on a licensing model similar to a franchise agreement. Traditionally, they’ve sold Pedego e-bikes exclusively.
Pizzi said after meeting with dozens of Pedego dealers in his first month at the company, he learned that they were missing out on reaching some customers because of Pedego’s current product line.
“What I’m hearing is that there are new consumers entering the market, whether enthusiasts for e-road or e-MTB, or younger car-replacement consumers. And Pedego doesn’t have the product to connect to those consumers,” Pizzi told BRAIN.
In January Pizzi announced that Pedego dealers will have access to Vvolt, N+ and Emojo e-bikes. He said a few more brands will be added later. Pedego dealers will be able to buy the brands through a Pedego corporate program, not directly.
“We’re very focused on identifying specialty brands that are targeted at specific audiences we currently don’t address, and that are complementary to Pedego’s product line so it can expand the business opportunities for our dealers … we don’t want to dilute our core, but we absolutely want our dealers to address emerging markets."
Pizzi is a veteran of a number of traditional brands, and brings a fresh perspective to Pedego, which has always marched to its own drummer, selling its own bikes through its exclusive stores, targeting mostly older consumers.
In 2021 — at the peak of the pandemic bike boom — investment firm Verlinvest bought a majority share of the company from founder Don DiCostanzo, who retired about a year later.
Pizzi joined the company in November, replacing Brian Stech, who led the company for about a year and a half.
In addition to launching the authorized third-party e-bike program, one of Pizzi’s other early moves was to reduce Pedego’s workforce in early December.
He declined to say the size of the cuts, but said they were an overdue response to declining sales after the pandemic.
“I think it was an action that happened everywhere in the industry, usually in phases. But it didn’t happen here until now,” he said. He said the company still has more employees than it had when DiCostanzo left the company.
Pedego added new dealers during the pandemic, reaching over 200 at one point. The number is now about 175, he said.
“Some new dealers came in during the pandemic without a lot of background in bike retail, thinking this was a pre-packaged kind of thing and they could ride the boom. Now some have done really well and some are struggling. It’s a growing category, but there’s a lot more competitive than there used to be,” he said.
