MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (BRAIN) — Online consumers who buy an Eddy Merckx bike through the company's new e-commerce site can choose whether to pick up the bike at a Merckx dealership or have it delivered by a Velofix van, if there is one in their area, the company said.
Velofix announced Monday that Eddy Merckx Cycles had joined its Velofix Direct program, which provides assembly and delivery for several other brands.
EMC clarified Friday that consumers can also opt to pick up bikes at local dealerships.
The new site offers previous model year bikes, with current model year bikes to be added within the next few months. “The goal is to make our web-shop sales a profitable experience for our dealers as well as driving customers to their stores,” said Brad Accettella, EMC's U.S. brand director.
Velofix Direct allows EMC to add delivery coverage in areas where there is no dealer coverage, the company said. EMC will not be shipping any bikes directly to consumers. At checkout, customers can click on a map to select a dealer to arrange pick up. If there is Velofix coverage in the customer’s region, they will also have that option.
EMC's U.S. sales manager, Heather Rizzi, added, “The ultimate goal of this online model is to stimulate sales for our dealers and bring our brand to customers in areas that did not previously have access to it.”
Rizzi said there are very few areas in the U.S. where there is neither a Velofix franchise or a EMC dealer. "If that happens ... we would ask the consumer for their local shop and approach the shop to act as a delivery partner for a margin and in turn hope that shop would consider becoming a dealer in the future," she told BRAIN.
