MIAMISBURG, Ohio (BRAIN) — United Wheels is refocusing on its Huffy and Batch brands as it pauses Niner Bikes and its Buzz e-bike brands.
Bruno Maier, the CEO of United Wheels, told BRAIN on Tuesday that the moves came after a “review of who we are and where we want to go, and the challenges in the market."
“We’re really immediately focusing on what we’re extremely good at, which is making great quality product for a really good price,” he added.
The company sees opportunities with Huffy, both in the U.S. and in global markets including Europe and China.
Huffy was sold exclusively in the U.S. for the first 130 years of its history — until 2022, he said.
“It took us a while to make that transition,” he noted wryly. Now Huffy is seeing growth in Europe, Latin America and in China, where the brand is sold through retailers and consumer direct and through the brand’s own brick-and-mortar stores.
And Batch, an entry-level product for the specialty retailer market, also has high potential for growth in the U.S. and globally, he said.
Buzz, a low-priced e-bike line, will be shuttered with some of its bike models moved into the Batch and Huffy lines. “(With Buzz,) we just had overlap within our product lines; it didn’t make sense to support three brands when we could do it with two,” he said.
Niner's pause: ‘An extremely thoughtful transition’
Discounting, high inventory, and a shift toward electric mountain bikes led to the decision to close Niner temporarily, he said.
“We are looking at it as a product line for the future,” he said. “Right now we want to rethink how we take that brand to market because there’s still a great following for it,” he added.
Four Niner employees will be laid off, with others reassigned within the company, he said.
The company is pausing product development and marketing for Niner but will continue warranty and dealer- and customer service. Niner will close its building in Fort Collins, Colorado, with continuing operations for the brand being handled from Ohio. He said the remaining inventory, except for bikes and parts reserved for warranty and service needs, has already been sold to retail partners. He said all Niner employees worked either in Fort Collins or remotely, despite an announcement in 2023 that the brand was moving to Ohio.
Asked if the new RIP e-9 e-MTB, shown at Sea Otter last month, would ever come to market, he said, “It may, actually. I’m just not going to say when.”
He said the company never seriously considered selling Niner. “We think there’s a future for it. We just have other priorities right now.”
Chris Sugai and Steve Domahidy co-founded Niner in 2004, with Domahidy leaving in 2011. The brand declared bankruptcy in 2017 and was bought by United Wheels at auction in 2018. Sugai stayed with the brand after the United Wheels acquisition, but later left to join Gates Corp.
Prior to Maier's interview with BRAIN, the company shared the following statement earlier Tuesday:
"United Wheels is pausing operations for Niner while it evaluates and realigns the brand’s strategic direction. This decision reflects a broader review of how United Wheels allocates focus and resources across its portfolio of brands. We are taking disciplined, responsible steps to manage through it. Our priority is to support our dealers and riders while handling this transition in a professional and thoughtful way. This includes maintaining continuity where it matters most—service, warranty, and relationships—while aligning our operations to the realities of the market. As such, Niner’s customer service, warranty support, and parts availability will remain active throughout this period. We have deep respect for what Niner represents to the cycling community and to the dealers, reps and riders who have supported the brand. We are committed to keeping our partners and customers informed as our evaluation progresses, and will share additional information as it becomes available."
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Bruno Maier
