International

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Protective gear maker POC is auctioning four custom Cervélo bikes to benefit the Spinalis Foundation, a Sweden-based organization that supports research and treatment development for spinal cord injuries.
MOORABBIN, Australia (BRAIN) — BikeBox will become the exclusive distributor of all Orbea products in Australia effective July 1, providing technical support and warranty service to new and existing customers. BikeBox has imported and distributed bike parts and accessories in Australia since 2002.
PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — Advanced Sports International, the parent company of Fuji, SE, Kestrel, Breezer, and Oval Concepts, is taking more than 100 of its distributors and U.S. sales representatives to China for its 2014 International Sales Meeting beginning Monday.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (BRAIN) — Grace Electric Bikes are now available in the U.S. thanks to a new distribution agreement with Grace Bikes USA.
FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany (BRAIN) — Eurobike organizers say they are expecting more exhibitors to participate in this year's Demo Day, which will be held for the first time at the expo grounds in Friedrichshafen, rather than at its traditional location a few miles away in Argenbühl, Germany.
GIVISIEZ, Switzerland (BRAIN) — Scott Sports says thieves stole bikes worth more than 1 million Swiss francs ($1.1 million) from a warehouse at the company's headquarters over the weekend.
REDDITCH, United Kingdom (BRAIN) — The U.K. retail chain Halfords has purchased Boardman Bikes, the company started by British cycling champion Chris Boardman.

SHENZHEN, China (BRAIN) — WTB has hired industry veteran Kevin Yen to join WTB China's sales staff, focusing on the Eastern China sales territory. Yen will assist WTB's Eastern China sales manager, Jason Zhang.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (BRAIN) — The high-end German mountain bike brand Nicolai is now being distributed in the U.S. by Nicolai USA, based in Arizona.
BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Bike fit provider Retül is working with the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and British Cycling to offer two, two-day classes on cycling injury management: one session in Boulder and one in Manchester, England. The classes are aimed at medical professionals who treat cycling injuries.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN) — Folding bike maker Tern is working with Europe's largest car sharing service, car2go, on a promotion in Italy this summer.
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (BRAIN) — Torcano Industries has added five new international distributors for ORP, a bicycle light with an integrated electronic horn.
LONDON (BRAIN) — Future plc has agreed to sell its Sport and Craft titles, including its cycling magazines and cycling websites, to Immediate Media Company for £24 million ($40.1 million), the company announced early Thursday.

DENVER (BRAIN) — Gates Carbon Drive has new distribution partners in the U.K. and Spain, and has released a new instructional video and several new products.

AUBURN, Wash. (BRAIN) — Last week’s riots near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, so badly damaged Bor Yueh, which manufactures bike racks for Tubus and RackTime, that it is shut down for now, said Ortlieb USA president Jeff Scully.
BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — The third annual CycloFemme rides held May 11 to mark Women's Global Cycling Day were held in 303 communities worldwide, the organization announced Monday.
TAIPEI, Taiwan (BRAIN) — Taiwanese executives with factories near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — where rioters looted or destroyed dozens of businesses including some in the bicycle industry — are expected to quickly get production lines back in operation barring further assaults.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (BRAIN) — Information on the rioting that may have partially destroyed or damaged a variety of Taiwanese-owned factories in Ho Chi Minh City is sketchy, but initial reports say at least a half-dozen were damaged or destroyed.
AIGLE, Switzerland (BRAIN) — The UCI is planning a fourth and possibly a fifth "satellite" World Cycling Center, to be built somewhere in Central or South America in the next few years.
OSAKA, Japan (BRAIN) — Shimano’s sales hit $742.2 million (75.7 billion yen) over the first quarter, compared to $620.5 million (63.3 billion yen) over the same period last year. Sales in its bike division hit $598.6 million (61.1 billion yen), an increase of 19 percent.