SANTA FE, NM (BRAIN)—The BTI 2010 catalog began arriving on shop doorsteps nationwide this week courtesy of UPS delivery.
At 20,000 products and over 1,000 pages, this is the wholesale supplier's largest and most comprehensive publication yet. The distributor wants to provide everyone with an idea of what to expect when they open the box this year:
First off, the new catalog is bursting with nearly 5,000 new components and accessories for road, mountain and urban riding. While many additions are from brands that shops already buy from BTI, the catalog also features several new additions including: Camelbak, ESI Grips, Lezyne, DeMarchi, Hozan Tools, Portland Design Works, Hudz, XFusion, Okole Stuff, Sport Beans, Niner, Gore and Gates (Carbon Drive).
According to BTI’s vice president Preston Martin, “When evaluating new brands, we look for innovative, top quality products that stand out by filling unique niches for retailers.”
BTI’s purchasing staff treats catalog updates as an ongoing effort, with new product and specifications showing up in real time on the company’s B2B Web site www.bti-usa.com (click on link) year-round. In addition to information updates, BTI's team of in-house photographers took nearly 4,000 new images in preparation for this year's catalog. BTI's catalog has always been a comprehensive resource for product information. "We strive to compile technical data in a way that makes it easier for buyers to compare products," said BTI's president Andrew Wright. "The extra detail is worth it, enabling our dealers and their customers to make educated purchasing decisions and eliminating the headache of trying to cull information from multiple, sometimes conflicting sources."
One of the biggest updates this season isn't a product at all, but a major revision to the company's shipping policy. BTI's new 3Day at Ground program is designed to provide an economical choice for air delivery to dealers outside of the distributor's normal three day ground shipping area. Starting in January, every order shipping to UPS zones 4-6 in the contiguous 48 states is automatically upgraded to 3 Day Air service. Shops that were formerly 4-5 days transit time will receive their goods up to two days faster than normal, while paying only normal ground rates. Because federal rules require ground transport for certain flammable or pressurized ORM-D restricted items like lubes and some sealants, BTI can automatically split ORM-D items out and ship them separately.
This year's BTI catalog is environmentally friendly, printed in the U.S. with soy inks on recycled paper with the Forest Stewardship Council's seal of approval. Retailers will begin to see their BTI catalogs on February 23, with full saturation expected by March 2 in the lower 48 states. Dealers who have not received catalogs by March 12 or shops that need additional copies for their service departments can call (800) 558-8324.
