Industry News

KENT, Wash. (BRAIN) — The CEO of Accell North America says he is feeling "very good" about where the business is and he's expecting a lot of improvement in 2019.

Jeff Frehner

MADISON, Wis. — Almost three decades after acquiring Graber Products and renaming it Saris, co-founder Chris Fortune is stepping down as president and handing the reins to COO Jeff Frehner. Fortune becomes Saris’ CEO effective Jan. 1, 2019.

STOCKHOLM (BRAIN) — Thule Group announced this week that it has acquired car rooftop tent maker Tepui Outdoors Inc. for $9.5 million.

DURHAM, N.C. (BRAIN) — Advanced Sports Enterprises wants to end its licensing agreement with Specialized for the Roubaix trademark. The bankrupt company also is asking the court for permission to abandon inventory worth about a third of a million dollars wholesale, currently held by a broker.

LONDON (BRAIN) — U.K. online retailer Chain Reaction Cycles has announced on its website that it will stop selling Shimano products into North America on Jan. 1.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (BRAIN) — The online cycling platform Zwift has secured a $120 million Series B investment. The company, which started with a gaming-style virtual riding experience, has expanded into a running game and non-gaming indoor training options.

MONTEREY, Calif. (BRAIN) — The Sea Otter Classic is working with a Toronto-based group to launch Sea Otter Canada, a festival to be held July 4-7, 2019, in Blue Mountain, Ontario. 
 

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (BRAIN) — Accell Group N.V.  said it is considering selling its North American business, Accell North America, or right-sizing it down to a profitable size.

HELSINKI (BRAIN) — The board of directors for Amer Sports has issued a statement in support of a bid by an investor group to buy the company's outstanding shares. Amer is the parent company of Mavic and Enve as well as an array of other sports brands.

The investor group is led by China's Anta Sports. 

BOCA RATON, Fla. (BRAIN) — Split Peak LLC, a private investment firm, has acquired Clean Designs, LLC, the parent company of Clean Bottle.

Clean Bottle was launched in 2010 with a guerrilla marketing campaign at that summer's Tour de France and later appeared on the ABC series "Shark Tank." 

Tagged Mergers, Acquisitions & Investments

SAN MATEO, Calif. (BRAIN) — GoPro Inc. plans to move most of its U.S.-bound camera production out of China by next summer to mitigate the potential impact of new tariff lists. Production of cameras bound for non-U.S. markets will remain in China.

Tagged Tariffs

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BRAIN) — Gov. John Kasich has signed a bill making Ohio the 11th state with an e-bike law supported by the industry. 

Tagged Electric bike

LONDON (BRAIN) —The parent company of Rapha has filed an audited financial statement showing an operating loss of nearly 20 million pounds ($25 million) last year. The loss was due to exceptional administrative expenses incurred following the brand's acquisition in 2017; the company's gross profit was nearly 18 million pounds.

DURHAM, N.C. (BRAIN) — A bankruptcy judge has ruled that Advanced Sports Enterprises can hold store closing sales at 102 Performance Bicycle locations. The court also pushed back the auction of ASE's assets to mid-January. The auction had originally been scheduled for Dec. 18.

HELSINKI (BRAIN) — Private equity investor consortium Mascot Bidco Oy has made a cash offer to purchase all issued and outstanding shares of Amer Sports Corp., currently valued at 4.6 billion euros (about $5.2 billion). This excludes shares held by Amer Sports or its subsidiaries.

MARIN, Calif. (BRAIN) — The Marin Municipal Water District will hold a public workshop next week regarding e-bike use in the watershed the agency manages on Mt. Tamalpais, widely regarded as the birthplace of mountain biking, and a local retailer is urging e-bike riders and supporters to participate in and speak at the forum.

Tagged Electric bike

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Emerald Expositions has canceled the 2019 edition of the Interbike trade show, saying the event might return in a more modest format in 2020.

Tagged Interbike

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (BRAIN) — Three bike industry veterans have launched a new consulting business for the emerging mobility industry.

Mike Fritz, Jay Townley and Brad Hughes have formed Human Powered Solutions LLC. 

Lennard Zinn and Taylor and Davis Phinney featured in new round of videos
Taylor and Davis Phinney aboard e-bikes.

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — The BPSA has completed shooting a second round of videos designed to inform and inspire bike shop employees to sell e-bikes. Leveraging the organization's location here, the new videos feature bike celebrities Taylor and Davis Phinney and Lennard Zinn.

Tagged Electric bike
 Simmons in his store's repair corner. Photo: Jo Beckendorff

BERLIN (BRAIN) — When Shaun Paul Simmons first came to Germany, in 1997, it wasn't because of bicycles. "I came to Berlin for a girl and will now go back home for a girl," the American said with a laugh.

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