BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) — CatEye America will resume sales of a limited product line through J&B Importers, two years after stopping sales to J&B and eight other U.S. distributors.
Since August 2011, CatEye has sold only dealer direct and via QBP.
Bob Daniels, CatEye America's national sales manager, said adding back J&B will allow the brand to reach "a specific segment of retailers within the IBD channel with a select portion of our product range." J&B will stock several "classically popular" CatEye products beginning in late August.
“J&B is honored to have the opportunity to once again distribute CatEye products so that bicycle retailers can more easily offer the CatEye choice to the consumer,” said Ben Joannou Jr., co-CEO of J&B Importers.
In 2011, CatEye America president Thomas Prehn explained the decision to go dealer direct, saying many distributors couldn't sell CatEye products profitably, in part because of the exchange rate with Japan. He also said CatEye typically had just one distributor per market, globally.
The move also allowed Prehn to get a handle on gray market product that was available online and which made CatEye unprofitable for U.S. retailers. Initially, at least some of that product came from jilted distributors who dumped their remaining CatEye inventory on the market via Amazon and other outlets.
