ORLANDO, Fla. (BRAIN)—A recent purchase of four bike shops in a one-month period has brought the store count at David’s World Cycle to 12. The greater Orlando-area retailer also has its sights on a fifth acquisition, with a deal set to close in November.
David Sanborn has worked in bike retail since he was a teenager. At just 17, Sanborn managed World Cycle in College Park, a neighborhood in northwest Orlando. When the owners shuttered the store, Sanborn borrowed money from his grandparents so he could buy the business. The no paperwork loan was contingent upon Sanborn finishing high school and repaying the money. Lacking the funds to change the name on the occupational license, Sanborn opted to put “David’s” in front of World Cycle because altering the name didn’t cost anything.
Twenty-five years later, David’s World Cycle has become a top Trek retailer with locations all over central Florida. “I don’t ever waste a moment to brag about my husband David,” said Yvette Sanborn, CEO of David’s World Cycle. “Sometimes we go into our stores now and realize that, wow, we have a lot of bikes. We’ve been extremely blessed this past year, and we’ve been looking for different ways we can expand.”
So the Sanborns approached Bike Works earlier this year and asked if it would be willing to sell three of its four stores. “We didn’t have the northeast and eastern parts of Orlando covered, and it was a good opportunity to cover all of central Florida,” Yvette said.
The fourth store the couple purchased this fall was Bicycle Emporium, a Trek dealer located on Florida’s west central coast. The fifth store the Sanborns are in the process of buying is farther east. “We joke that we’re going to have complete bike domination,” Yvette said.
But all joking aside, the Sanborns have been strong advocates for infrastructure and building a strong cycling culture in Florida since day one. “We have a strong commitment to community,” Yvette said. “We like to say that our stores provide people with the right bike, accessories and information to safely enjoy cycling right away, in all disciplines. And we connect them with events and safe social rides we sponsor and support.”
David’s World Cycle employs about 80 people, with stores ranging from 2,000 to 9,000 square feet in size. Two of the full-service stores cater to triathletes, offering gear and Vision Quest coaching and training.
All 12 stores carry only Trek bicycles, and two are Trek concept stores. The Bike Works stores the Sanborns recently purchased were Specialized and Giant dealers, but Yvette said they replaced those lines with Trek. “We wanted to stick with what we know, it’s so much easier that way,” she said.
Yvette also said she and her husband retained as many Bike Works employees as they could. Each of the four new stores were open for business under the David’s World Cycle banner after just one day of being closed to make the transition. The 13th store will open later this year.
