HOLBROOK, NY (BRAIN)—Iron Horse Bicycle Company is discontinuing sales of its middle and lower priced bicycles through independent bicycle dealers and will sell its high-end bikes exclusively through Randall Scott Cycle Company in Boulder, Colorado.
Cliff Weidberg, chief executive officer of World Wide Cycle Supply and Iron Horse Bicycle Company, said Iron Horse made the changes “to protect its market share from tough competition from companies like Trek and Specialized, who are asking their dealers to make these brands the number one or two brands sold in their stores.”
As of September 1, low- and mid-priced Iron Horse bicycles will be available in chains such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, REI, LL Bean, Toy’s R Us, Wal-Mart, Performance Bicycles and the Forzani Group in Canada.
Additionally, Iron Horse will be the number one brand in Randall Scott’s retail store in Boulder giving it the ability to control the customer experience and offer better service, pricing and overall value to the consumer, Weidberg said.
Iron Horse will be the first major brand to allow bicycle sales both in store and online, recognizing the importance that on line bicycle sales will play in the future of the industry, he said.
Because Iron Horse has long been a leader in racing technology, the company intends to maintain this high end racing focus through its partnership with Randall Scott Cycle.
Tani Walling, owner of The Path Bike Shop in Tustin, California, has been carrying Iron Horse bikes since 2004 and said the brand made up about 20 percent of the shop’s complete bike sales.
Walling has pulled his remaining Iron Horse stock from the sales floor and will liquidate the product.
“It’s a big disappointment for us. We have a lot invested in the brand and we have for a number of years supported the brand in terms of how we represented it in the shop and how our sales staff sold the brand,” Walling said.
Iron Horse has been an IBD brand throughout its 20-year history and Weidberg thanked its customers for their support.
“In these difficult economic times, Iron Horse and World Wide Cycle are taking the lead in creating a new business model that will secure the continued success of its many brands,” according to a press release issued by World Wide. World Wide’s other brands include Jeep, K-2 and Columbia.
For more on this story, be sure to read the August 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News.
—Nicole Formosa
