STOCKHOLM, Sweden (BRAIN)—Bianchi held the press launch of its first Cafè&Cycles concept store in Stockholm earlier this week in its 125th anniversary year.
The event started early in the morning and brought into the new Bianchi’s store around 100 journalists and many local VIPs in addition to Bianchi top managers to celebrate a dream that became reality: the dream of Salvatore Grimaldi, owner and chief group manager of Cycleurope AB and Bianchi, according to a press release.
Placed into the core of Stockholm, in the very fashion and shopping area of Norrlandsgatan, Bianchi’s Cafè&Cycles unveiled to the press the first concept store in the world combining the strength of the Bianchi brand with a wide selection of Italian typical food and wine. The idea was to create a special place where avid bike enthusiasts and bar guests interested in interior design can meet, share experiences and talk while enjoying the best of Italy. The Café has 94 seats indoors and 30 seats on the patio.
Available at the Cafè&Cycles are some of the most significant Bianchi bikes, such as the new Oltre road model (with the black - Limited Edition version), the Sempre one, but also the cool urban fixed gear bikes, the Camaleonte models as well as the MTB Methanol SL and a wide range of city bikes.
“By opening the Bianchi Café&Cycles, a new chapter in Bianchi’s history has been written," said Grimaldi, who confirmed he took inspiration for this new project from his wife Ewa. “We have combined our brand and our celeste color with the beautiful Italia: it is a perfect mix of passion, style and design. The made-in-Italy is well known all over the world, and our mission is to increase the global awareness of our products through this kind of initiatives."
Bianchi’s ambition is to identify additional markets for the Bianchi Cafe&Cycles concept store: “Of course we have to understand the reaction from the public but our aim is to open other stores in different countries starting from Milan, then Tokyo, New York and London. It is an ambitious project but I’m ready to go for that," he added.
Bianchi CEO Bob Ippolito also attended the press launch in Stockholm. “Cycling is lifestyle but food is a lifestyle too. That’s why it’s a winning mix to combine our high quality bikes with a special Italian menu to offer customers a fantastic experience into a warm and inspiring atmosphere, surrounded by the photos of those who wrote the most important pages of Bianchi’s history."
The first Bianchi Cafe&Cycles, managed by Sweden’s Nicklas Sigurdsson, will be officially open to the public on Saturday October 30.
