LAS VEGAS, NV (BRAIN)—The Bike Cooperative (TBC) announced at its member meeting last night that it has partnered with Advanced Sports, Inc., parent company of Fuji, Kestrel, Breezer and Terry. “ASI has a ton of momentum,” said Greg Brodsky, managing director of The Bike Cooperative. “They hit the sweet spot of what our retailers are looking for. Great products, great margins, and a variety of strong brands so that any retailer can find one they like.”
Kevin Wren, TBC’s director of supplier relations, said ASI is the latest supplier to come on board. “We’re partnering with over 30 brands that give the retailer the margins and at the same time allow retailer members to retain their autonomy. ASI is the latest, but we also recently added WTB and RaceFace.”
With the addition of new brands, TBC, a melding of The Biking Solution and YaYa Bike, is showing signs of becoming the industry’s first successful buying group.
Its second annual Interbike member meeting last night at the Treasure Island drew more than 150 attendees. "We are adding suppliers and gaining strength. The co-op is working and we have great energy right now," Brodsky told co-op members and supplier partners.
Retailers cheered the doubling of rebates and doubling of co-op purchase volume in the past 12 months. Another focus of the co-op’s presentation was the launch of its first private-label products under the COBO brand. “COBO stands for ‘cooperatively bought’,” Wren said. “We’ll have 10 to 40 percent savings on items like tubes, tires, combo light kits and carbon cages.”
The co-op also announced its ecommerce brand: bikestoreguys.com. The IBD-owned, national consumer ecommerce site will sell products from co-op supplier partners, but proceeds will go exclusively back to member bike stores.
“We are responding to the number-one concern in our annual member survey—the growing threat of online sales,” Brodsky said. “Bikestoreguys.com will give retailers a way to go after the Internet-only sites, and to get a piece of that revenue without sacrificing their core business.”
The co-op also announced enhancements for its second Great American Bike Sale, and added to its existing business savings programs with discounts on Grainger industrial supplies. For more information, visit the Bike Cooperative Booth 837.
