SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — Most retailers are unfamiliar with the Southern California company C-Preme, but its patent-pending technology that integrates a video camera inside a helmet could add some zest to future helmet sales. That’s the strategic thinking behind BRG Sports’ acquisition Tuesday of the 4-year-old helmet company, Terry Lee, chairman and CEO of BRG Sports, told BRAIN in an interview late Tuesday.
While C-Preme has been a force in the youth and teen market focused on skateboards, scooters and bikes, its Bult (pronounced Bolt) line of helmets better targets older action addicts who want to capture video footage without screwing a mount onto their helmet to hold a camera.
“The camera helmet is very interesting to us,” Lee said, noting that the technology was a key factor in deciding to buy the company. Lee also said what BRG found attractive about C-Preme’s Bult line was that it was a “first mover” with its camera integration.
The technology developed by C-Preme puts the camera inside the helmet’s foam liner with a seamless connection to stop and start buttons and a USB port to download the video.
BRG views those features as an opportunity to expand that technology into its Bell and Giro bicycle and snowsport helmets. It also could be transferred into Bell-licensed motorcycle helmets, Lee said.
Bult integrates a high-definition camera—1280 x 720 HD resolution and a 120-degree wide-angle lens—directly into the forehead section of the helmet.
The brand currently sells three models—the vhX3 for skateboarders, an entry-level model, the vhX1w and the vhX3s—a helmet specifically designed for skiers and snowboarders. The vhX3 retails for about $119.
“C-Preme’s ascent as a market leader in children’s and teens’ helmets in just a few short years has been extraordinary and we are thrilled to bring such an impressive new company into our portfolio,” Lee said.
“With the continued leadership of their ultra-creative and resourceful management team, our vision is to leverage C-Preme’s entrepreneurial ingenuity with BRG’s leadership in head protection, premier brands, broad channel penetration and global footprint,” he added.
Established in 2010, C-Preme invigorated the market for children’s sporting helmets by transforming protective gear and accessories into imaginative, character-based intellectual property while encouraging kids to wear helmets when participating in sports.
C-Preme’s portfolio features the Raskullz (pronounced Rascal) and Krash! brands, designed for youth and teens for use on bicycles, scooters and skateboards and in other action sports.
C-Preme recently signed licensing agreements with Marvel and Nickelodeon and their suites of popular characters including Marvel’s Spiderman, Hulk and Captain America and Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.
Read more about the purchase in the June 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News.
