Ray Keener passed along a (in progress) QBP survey to me a few days back, and the numbers (after 267 votes) clearly illustrate that the IBD majority still hasn't bought into carrying electric bikes. More than 40 percent of retailers, in fact, said they weren't interested or that it wasn't in their business model to carry electric bikes. However, just under 20 percent said they're waiting a bit longer before giving them go. Maybe that's bluster, or just maybe that's positive news for e-bike manufacturers like Currie Technologies.
Whatever the case may be, these recent survey findings hardly surprise Currie's Larry Pizzi. In fact, he said, they're pretty much spot on with Currie's assessment of the IBD channel when it comes to carrying e-bikes.
He said specialty retailers that are excusive to the category are the ones that are doing the best job and selling the most units. He said that if e-bikes hit the mainstream in the U.S., like they have in many European countries, IBDs may be more apt to get on board—which would be welcome news to Pizzi and all e-bike manufacturers alike.
