LAS VEGAS (BRAIN) — Mobile bike franchiser Velofix held a stationary “mini-trade show” here last week, with about 110 franchise owners and operators holding their annual meeting.
Most of the franchise’s key suppliers attended the three-day event, including Shimano, SRAM, QBP, Hawley-Lambert, Canyon, Park Tool and more, Velofix CEO and co-founder Chris Guillemet told BRAIN.
“It was a great opportunity for all our franchise partners to meet with the suppliers and learn about their new products and programs,” Guillemet said. He also noted that the event was the fifth anniversary of the business — the first Velofix van began operating in January 2013.
The company has now sold 119 franchises, and about 80 vans are in operation. Just this week, Velofix sold five new franchise territories: two in Nashville, one in Atlanta and two in Santa Barbara, California. Guillemet said there should be 100 vans in operation by the end of March, including 75 in the U.S. and 25 in Canada.
Guillemet said the company has been on “a pretty good growth rate,” although the growth is behind its previous public projections. Last year, the company said it planned to have sold 150 franchises by the end of 2017.
“Yeah, the hope was 150. That was a super aggressive target,” Guillemet conceded.
Guillemet also said the planned expansions into Europe and the U.K. are still in negotiations. “We think we’ve found the right partners there now, but nothing has been finalized,” he said.
Nevertheless, Velofix was recently ranked No. 106 on Entrepreneur's list of the top 500 franchises, and the company scored a major win last year when it reached an agreement to provide a delivery option for Canyon bike sales in the U.S. market. Guillemet said the Canyon deal "has been a big bump for us" and that the company was benefiting from a move to consumer-direct sales by many bike brands.
As for the Las Vegas meeting, it included a full-day expo at Red Rock Canyon, where franchise owners could test-ride bikes from Canyon and others. They also built bikes for the Wish for Wheels nonprofit and held an awards ceremony.
Related stories:
- Canyon USA adds Velofix delivery option — Nov. 1, 2017
- Velofix eyes new approach to Manhattan service — Oct. 3, 2017
- Velofix sells its 100th franchise — April 24, 2017
- Velofix sells franchise rights for entire state of Minnesota — Dec. 21, 2016
- Velofix records 300% growth in 2016 — Dec. 19, 2016
- Velofix hires former Canyon executive as its plans global rollout — Aug. 24, 2016
- Velofix announces bicycle delivery program, Velofix Direct — April 7, 2016
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The group built 20 Priority bikes bikes for kids at the Andre Agassi Boys & Girls Club of Las Vegas, through the Wish for Wheels program.
