LAS VEGAS (BRAIN) — Former pro Jan Ullrich will attend Interbike this year as a guest of Storck Bicycle.

Ullrich will attend the OutDoor Demo on Monday, Sept. 14 and will be inside at the Interbike Expo on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Storck display.

"We are very excited to have Jan with us at the show this year," said Storck's director of business development for the U.S., Tony Tanner. "We would like to invite everyone to come and meet Jan Ullrich and Markus Storck, and take a look at the wide range of road, mountain, time trial, and cyclocross bikes we are showing."

HONG KONG (BRAIN) — Vittoria Group has appointed Michael Marx as its new senior executive manager and member of its executive management team.

Marx is German, a former world champion in team pursuit and has a broad experience in the cycling industry. Previously he managed the two-wheel tire division of Continental and was the COO of Cervélo. For the past nine years he has operated as trainer, consultant and interim-manager in his own company, Balanced Performance. He also was a project management consultant to Derby Cycle (PON Group) in 2012 and the general manager of the Vredestein two-wheel tire business unit from July 2014 to June 2015.

"Vittoria has been growing fast in recent years. With the introduction of Graphene, the most advanced material technology, we will be the first in the cycling industry to embrace this innovation and expect to accelerate this growth even more. To ensure our readiness we needed to strengthen our top management team, so we are very pleased that Michael Marx accepted our offer to join Vittoria. With his experience and track record in big corporations like BMW AG and Continental AG as well as a deep knowledge of bicycle product management, marketing, sales and Asian sourcing, Michael is the ideal candidate to support the further growth of Vittoria," said Rudie Campagne, president of the Vittoria Group. 

Marx said, "I have known Vittoria tires since I started to compete in bike racing (1971) and have known Rudie Campagne since 1991, when I started at Continental and managed the collaboration with Lion Tyres. We were competitive in the worldwide bicycle tire market, but also partners on development and production. In these last 25 years Rudie and I have always had a lot of mutual respect and trust. I look forward to finally become his colleague and to contribute to Vittoria's continued success."

RALEIGH, N.C. (BRAIN) — After about a year off the market, the long-standing BMX brand Eastern Bikes is coming back.

The North Carolina brand is now being sold by a newly formed company, Driver Distribution, Inc. Jon Byers, one of Eastern's co-founders, said he and a group of investors founded Driver Distribution to bring Eastern back to the market this year. Byers said eventually the company will distribute other brands but is focused on Eastern initially.

Although it's a completely new company, Byers said Driver will assist prior Eastern dealers with spare parts and customer service needs. Continuing and new Eastern dealers will be offered new IBD-friendly policies, said Byers, who is the CEO of Driver. The policies include minimum advertised price policy enforcement, he said.

"We are focused on dealers and price parity," Byers said. "No one should be discounting online with any kind of coupon codes or other promotions." While Eastern will be available online, online retailers will be restricted from discounting, he said.

"The bike shops have always been our bread and butter, and we know that nothing is worse than taking a big order of bikes and then seeing them discounted online. We're going to make sure that doesn't happen."

Driver has already hired several former employees of EBIUS Trading & Distributing, the previous owner of the Eastern brand.

The company will show its 2016 line at Interbike next week and will deliver them starting in October. In addition to the BMX models, the company will offers some BMX-influenced leisure bikes with 29-inch wheels, also under the Eastern label.

Bikes will ship from Indiana with expansion into California and Pennsylvania warehouses in 2016 and 2017. Parts will ship from North Carolina initially. Eastern will launch consumer marketing campaigns on several media sites this week. 

TAMPA, Fla. (BRAIN) — The attorney for former Giant dealer Fran Kane, who won a $3.25 million judgment against Giant Bicycles last week, said Kane is prepared to fight any appeal that the California supplier would file seeking to overturn the verdict.

“We knew that Giant would appeal and we will fight it all the way until the day we make them pay. We are not intimidated and never have been intimidated by their bully techniques. We are fully prepared to keep going,” attorney Steve Anderson told BRAIN in an interview. Kane declined to discuss the case with BRAIN and, instead, referred all questions to Anderson.

Earlier Giant’s attorney, Sheldon Warren, had told BRAIN that he plans to file motions by the end of the month seeking a new trial and that he also will ask the court to vacate the jury verdict. The court must rule on both motions before a formal appeal is filed. 

The case centered on Giant’s decision to open up a competitor to Kane’s store, Flying Fish Bikes, after inducing Kane to purchase $120,000 in inventory for the 2013 spring season.

Kane placed the order in September 2012. Giant terminated its dealer agreement with him three months later in December. Kane had been a Giant retailer for six years and prior to the dispute and consistently paid his bills on time, said John Thompson, Giant’s executive director of sales, in a deposition.

Kane’s lawsuit claimed that Geoffrey Godsey, Giant’s regional sales manager, had assured him that the company was fully committed to supporting his store. “At the time Godsey made those statements, they were false and he knew they were false or should have known they were false,” the lawsuit claimed.

In the meantime, according to various depositions, Giant’s then director of retail services, Gregg Frederick, had been discussing the possibility of Outspokin, a Clearwater, Florida, retailer, of opening a Giant Partner store carrying 80 percent of Giant stock in the Tampa area.

Those discussions began earlier in 2012 and were ongoing when Kane placed his spring order in September. However, in an affidavit from Frederick filed in the case, he warned Godsey not to follow through with getting an order from Kane.

“During the late summer, early fall of 2012, I was aware that Giant management intended to take orders from Flying Fish Bikes in Tampa without informing that, at the same time, Giant was working to create a competing Giant Partner Store very close to Flying Fish and was also planning to terminate Flying Fish’s dealer agreement when that competing store was ready to open,” Frederick stated.

“I spoke directly with Geoff Godsey during that time and recommended against selling Giant inventory to Flying Fish under those circumstances because it was not the right thing to do. I recommended that Godsey inform Fran Kane of Giant’s plan so that Flying Fish could make its buying and business decisions based on full knowledge. My recommendations were ignored by Godsey,” Frederick concluded.

Frederick, an 18-year veteran at Giant, was later let go after his position was eliminated in an organizational restructuring. (Frederick recently worked with BRAIN on its Retail Remodel Project.)

The jury — comprised of seven women and two men — took less than an hour to reach a decision awarding Kane $250,000 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. Anderson said he was surprised at how swiftly the jury acted.

“Less than an hour? That tells you that the jury figured this case out early and hard. It’s pretty insightful, after listening to eight days of testimony and seeing over 100 exhibits, that they understood and absolutely knew what to do,” Anderson said. (See jury verdict PDF.)

During the trial no Giant employees were on hand to testify. A volunteer reader was allowed by U.S. District Court Judge Steven Merryday to read questions and answers from a series of depositions taken prior to the trial.

“We were fully prepared and were hoping they would show up. But we had depositions from them and they were incredibly incriminating. So we used their (deposition) transcripts,” Anderson said.

Key Giant employees deposed in the case included Elysa Walk, Giant’s general manager, Thompson, Godsey, and several others. Giant attorneys Nhan Lee and Sergio Medina deposed Kane.

Anderson said there was never any discussion of a settlement. However an attempt at arbitration came to an impasse.

TORRANCE, Calif. (BRAIN) — Radial Sports, the exclusive distributor of FFWD 'Fast Forward' Wheels, has appointed Ty Daugherty its director of sales.

Daugherty brings more than 25 years of experience to the company with previous management roles both in Europe and the U.S. with brands that include Speedplay, Reynolds Cycling, and Fulcrum North America.

"We have had steady year-over-year growth with our brands and I am quite pleased that Ty has joined our management team to lead our sales efforts. With a wealth of sales, marketing and product development experience, especially in the carbon wheel category, Ty is the ideal candidate to further expand our business in North America," said Jon Davy, the president of Radial Sports.

Daugherty said, "FFWD Wheels is leading the bicycle industry with hand-built carbon wheel products and manufacturing expertise second to none. I'm really pleased to have this opportunity to work with the brand and the Radial Sports team and continue its strong growth path." 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) — 45NRTH is expanding and updating its line of winter cycling footwear with the release of the Japanther wet weather cycling boot, which will replace the discontinued Fasterkatt boot model.

The Japanther is intended for shoulder season and mild winter conditions, with a suggested temperature range of 25 degrees (Farenheit) and higher. They provides a high level of water resistance, moisture regulation and comfort in a performance cycling shoe.

They are constructed with a waterproof membrane and rubberized shell that extends above the ankle. They will be arriving at retailers in late September in sizes 36-50 (no size 49) in both 2-bolt mountain and 3-bolt road outsoles. Road and mountain versions will retail for $225.

More information: 45NRTH.com.

EAGLE, Colo. (BRAIN) — This month's Outlier Offroad Festival, to be held in Vail, Colo., will feature a consumer demo, enduro and cross-country racing, kids' activities, a nearby farmer's market, art fair, and distilled spirits festival, and events aimed at the cycling media. The event is Friday, Sept. 25 through Sunday, Sept. 27. The first day is open only to the media and VIPs. 

The festival is sponsored by  SRAM and Scott and being produced by Mike McCormark's Uncommon Communications. Uncommon also produces the Breck Epic offroad stage race and does PR and communications for brands including BH Bikes, Ergon Bike, and Alchemy Cycles. 

Organizers are promising that the event will create a meeting place for the industry's media, suppliers and enthusiasts. 

"The vision is to create the single largest MTB event in North America. We want to keep it inexpensive for the bike industry ... and make it a slam-dunk media event for the vertical and active outdoor media," organizers said. They said it will resemble the GoPro Games (a multi-sport event held in Vail each June, formerly called the Teva Games), "but cycling focused ... with a few notes of Sea Otter, Crankworks, PressCamp and Interbike thrown in."

The event will give some consumers their first look at products introduced at Interbike, which closes Sept. 18. More information: outlier.bike.

VENTURA, Calif. (BRAIN) — The new distributor Zeitbike has added De Marchi to its line of brands.

Originating in 1946, De Marchi was the first and main manufacturer for cycling jerseys at the Tour de France right after World War II. The brand is known for its heritage line of jerseys, and as an innovator and quality leader of high performance jerseys and bibs as well as simple cycling lifestyle clothing.

Most of De Marchi's products are handmade in Italy.

Fritz Bohl, the founder of Zeitbike, said, "We are extremely proud to be working with De Marchi. There is so much history and tradition with this brand, you can fill entire museums and hours with their dramatic stories ranging from death to birth in their tour jerseys. I am also proud to carry De Marchi's clothing since the products don't come from sweat shops in Asia, they don't feature just stupid Lycra and advertising, but finally combine naturally advantageous textiles with simplistic designs including a beautiful clothing line for women. In fact, sometimes a product is knitted out of just one piece of high quality yarn, which makes you immediately cherish the quality and design of each single piece. The whole De Marchi set up in the IBD makes shops just look like a million dollars. So cool and wow!"

TheDe Marchi products are limited in availability, MAP-enforced, and available with a shop-in-store options for shops with minimum buy-ins. The products range between $14.99 and $349.99 retail. Some limited quantity of products will be available in the U.S. and Canada, with an expanded selection in spring. 

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Interbike is planning two fundraising programs for World Bicycle Relief at the show's IB Awards Gala next week.

Interbike is donating $10 to WBR from each ticket sold for the event. Also, 80 unique centerpieces, hand-built by sculptor and artist Mark Castator, will be auctioned off at the gala. Several custom canvases painted by the Nutcase Unframed artists will be auctioned off as well.

The centerpieces, which will be placed at each of the tables at the Gala, will be constructed entirely out of bike parts donated by SRAM. Castator, a veteran artist and sculptor, has worked on several projects for SRAM and World Bicycle Relief over the past four years. His designs are influenced by Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement. According to Castator, the centerpieces will have a small footprint, but a big impact for those interested in purchasing them.

After having collaborated with Nutcase on new helmet designs that will be introduced at this year's Interbike, Nutcase Unframed artists Jobert Cruz (Phillipines), Carla Bartow (USA) and Tiago DeJerk (Brazil) will be creating original pieces of artwork live on the show floor during all show days. The unique canvases the artists create will then be on display and available for sale during the IB Awards. Both the centerpieces and the canvases will be sold via a silent auction during the IB Awards, with all proceeds raised going directly to World Bicycle Relief.

"The IB Awards night has developed into a magical evening – not only for WBR from the support of the cycling community, but for the attendees, nominees and winners," said David Zimberoff, the vice president of marketing at SRAM. "We need the support of the industry to help transform lives through the power of bicycles. And with the help of SRAM, Nutcase, Interbike and you, we can make a difference."

The gala begins at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in the South Pacific Ballroom, in Las Vegas. Tickets for the Gala can be purchased during the Interbike registration process or in advance directly through Interbike. 

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (BRAIN) — Endura is working with the e-commerce and order management provider Shopatron, to make their cycling apparel available for purchase online.

Consumers will be able to buy directly from the Endurasport.com website and the orders will be sent to Endura's dealers for fulfillment to the consumer.

"We're excited to be partnering with Shopatron; they offer a complete solution that merges brick and mortar stores perfectly with the consumer who prefers to shop online," said Mark Ashley, the general manager of Endura USA. "We want to keep the IBD involved in the transaction and Shopatron provides the best platform to achieve this."

Shopatron offers ship-from-store and in-store pickup. This allows dealers to manage inventory across online and offline channels, and provides online shoppers with more delivery option.

"All of our dealers have been notified of our working with Shopatron, and Shopatron have also notified their dealers how to add Endura to their list of preferred manufacturers," Ashley said.

"We now have the most competitive dealer program in the industry; with 100 percent stock rotation, easy opening orders, guaranteed 50 percent-plus margins, net 150 dating, and now Shopatron." 

WILRIJK, Belgium (BRAIN) — Sapim has moved its headquarters into a new 65,000-square-foot factory, about 40 percent larger than its previous building, which is in the same neighborhood. The company also is introducing a new carbon spoke at Interbike that it claims is the lightest and stiffest spoke on the market.

The company said the new factory will help Sapim improve production of its spokes and nipples, especially in the warehouse and the loading areas. "The workers of Sapim will also benefit greatly from this move because of the improved comfort due to the use of the latest technologies in terms of insulation and lighting. The new headquarters of Sapim will also host a fitness center for the use of its workers and associates," the company said.

Sapim's new carbon spoke is 25 percent lighter than the lightest steel spoke, the company said. It has very little elasticity, adding stiffness to the wheel. It has a laminated steel inlay that allows use of standard nipples and rims, but the spoke head requires a special hub.

Sapim also has released a new spoke calculator mobile app that is currently available on Android and will soon be available for iOS devices. The mobile app uses the same technology as Sapim's popular web-based app, available at sapim.be/spoke-calculator.

WILTON, Conn. (BRAIN) — Dorel Sports has appointed Russell Merry as senior vice president and general manager of North America and the U.K. for Cycling Sports Group. He takes over following the departure of Dave Manchester, who had been with CSG for 18 years, the past 10 as senior vice president of marketing and sales for North America.

Manchester resigned from the business to pursue other opportunities, CSG said. He could not be reached by phone for comment for this story.

The move is part of continuing brand changes and restructuring at CSG, which began in April 2014 under the helm of Peter Woods, who took over as president and CEO of Dorel’s bike business, said Michael DeLeon, a spokesman for the company.

Changes have included the promotion of Nick Hage earlier this year to VP, sales and operations for CSG’s Cannondale brand, as well as multiple hires across global marketing, engineering, product management, global sourcing, quality and compliance, human resources and IT in recent months.

Merry will take on leadership of Cycling Sports Group’s North American business. He reports to Woods. Merry has more than 25 years of experience in the bike industry, and six with Dorel Sports as managing director of Cycling Sports Group UK.

“Russell is an industry veteran and proven leader who is bringing his expertise as a general manager to one of our most critical markets,” said Woods, in a press release. “Under Russell’s leadership, we will be investing in improvements in supply chain, logistics, technology infrastructure and marketing to become a more effective partner to our North American retailers and dealers.”

Merry started in the bicycle business in 1989 when he and his brother worked in their father’s bicycle shop in Poole, U.K. The shop was the springboard for a distribution business that was acquired by Dorel Industries in 2009, creating CSG UK. Since then, the CSG UK business has tripled in size.

“One of my aspirations is to make it easier to do business with us,” said Merry. “To have best in class in terms of logistics. We have to have a strong focus to improve the supply chain and logistics and infrastructure to make sure we match industry’s best.”

In addition to Merry’s new role, Hage, who has had full line management of the Cannondale sales force in North America since April, will now also pick up the GT/Schwinn sales team. This gives him full sales leadership responsibility for IBD bike, apparel and parts and accessories for CSG North America.

Merry will be based out of the U.K. but will travel extensively to the U.S.

Dorel Sports also recently hired Alfred Chan as chief operating officer. And the company is in the process of hiring a North American head of marketing and dedicated head of finance, Merry said, to strengthen its organizational structure that supports its U.S. business.

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — The Outdoor Industries Women’s Coalition will present leadership awards to Erin Sprague of Specialized and Jessica Klodnicki of Bell Helmets and Blackburn at its annual awards presentation held the first evening of the Interbike show.

“An important part of OIWC’s mission is to highlight and award women who are paving the way for other women. By shining a spotlight on these exceptional women, we demonstrate and celebrate the incredible impact women have on business in the industry,” the coalition said.

Sprague will be presented with the First Ascent award. Sprague is the director of market development for the USA at Specialized, where she works in partnership with top revenue retail accounts to drive business strategy, retail innovation and sales growth across the bicycle industry.

“Erin has led the women's category at Specialized and inspired the entire organization to take the women's category seriously. This had translated into empowering many female employees to excel in the organization and to increase the market share of Specialized women's products. Erin has increased sales, increased the percent of women in the organization, and shows a clear career path for female employees with increased opportunities," said Jennifer Capasso, in her nomination.

Klodnicki will be presented with the Pioneering Woman award. She is the executive vice president and general manager for Bell Helmets and Blackburn, part of the BRG Sports portfolio. Klodnicki is responsible for growing both brands globally.

Klodnicki also started a Santa Cruz-based women’s mountain biking group called Girls Rock that works with local bike shops, companies and other donors and volunteers to put on a monthly ride.

Klodnicki was nominated by 20 individuals. The OIWC said she could hold the record for most nominations for an OIWC Leadership Award.

“Jessica has succeeded in what I would have to say is a male-dominated sport and work place,” one of her nominators said. “Her diplomacy and dedication has served her well, and is changing the industry's view on the tremendous and growing female market.”

Both women will be honored at a presentation Wed., Sept. 16, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Mandalay Bay, South Pacific F Ballroom.

RSVP is requested but not required. To RSVP, go to oiwc.org. 

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Outdoor Retailer is about to re-enter the publishing business with the re-launch of its original publication – Outdoor Retailer Magazine.

"We've been talking about if for a couple of years," said Marisa Nicholson, Outdoor Retailer's vice president. "We keep hearing about the magazine and when we do it brings back the nostalgia from back in the day," she added.

Ryan Johnson, who was just named publisher of the bi-annual title, said he and staff have been reviewing old issues, snapping photos of ads with their cell phones, and emailing them to various companies in the industry.

"It's fun to look back and send them old ads," Johnson said.

Outdoor Retailer Magazine was launched in 1981. Executives at VNU, OR's owner at the time, killed the magazine in 2002.  

The new magazine is to be published in November and June to coincide with the winter and summer buying cycle and OR's two trade shows — Winter and Summer Market.

Jennifer Holcomb, content director, said she welcomes inquires from freelance writers and photographers. Contact her at editor@outdoorretailer.com

The print-only magazine will have a circulation of approximately 11,300 readers. The circulation breakdown includes 7,300 retail buyers, 1,500 exhibitors and industry professionals, and an additional 2,500 to be distributed at each show.

The magazine's prospectus said it would engage the outdoor industry in "thoughtful, complex conversations about the business of retail and the outdoor experience (that) will contribute to the vibrancy and growth of the outdoor industry."

For more information, contact Johnson at (949) 226-5788 or at ryan.johnson@emeraldexpo.com.

Editor's note: Bicycle Retailer, like OR and Interbike, is owned by Emerald Expositions. BRAIN is operated independently under license by NBDA Services, Inc.

DUXBURY, Mass. (BRAIN) — Bern Unlimited has appointed bike industry veteran Jeffrey Cavicchi to lead the company’s U.S. sales efforts for the bike category. Cavicchi will oversee distribution strategy and the brand’s U.S. sales force across all product categories including head protection and apparel.

“Bern is excited to welcome someone as well-respected within the bike industry as Jeff to our team,” said Dennis Leedom, Bern founder. “We believe he is the right person to drive the company ahead within bike, and we look forward to him helping with the introduction of our newest flagship cycling helmet for spring 2016, the FL-1.”

Cavicchi joins Bern after nearly two decades at P&A distributor Downeast Bicycle Specialists, which was acquired by the Hans Johnsen Company. He served in a variety of capacities across departments, most recently as the national sales manager.

Cavicchi brings a native understanding of the industry retail landscape, product and market trends, and trusted relationships with bicycle retailers across the country, the company said. He has degrees from Yale University and Columbia and is an avid cyclist.

In addition to guiding the sales team in the U.S., Cavicchi will be focused on introducing Bern’s new operational enhancements at the retail level in an effort to provide the best possible support to dealers. This includes a new B2B platform currently being established and the opening of a West Coast warehouse facility to streamline distribution and shipping.

Bern is also adding resources in other areas of the company including sales management and support, product design and development, market research and operations.

Cavicchi is based in Bern’s Duxbury, Mass., headquarters and can be reached at jcavicchi@bernunlimited.com.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (BRAIN) — Velo Orange is offering a new 27-inch rim, designed as a replacement for the hard-to-find rim size on many American, European, and Japanese bikes built for the U.S. market in the mid 70's-80's.

The PBP 27x1-¼-inch rim comes with 36 spoke holes, and is a double-wall, single-eyelet design that weighs approximately 484 grams. It's inside width is 13.2mm inside, outside is 19.3mm. It has a 12mm sidewall and a 615mm ERD. It features a high-polish finish and Velo Orange graphics.

It retails for $65. More information at velo-orange.com.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (BRAIN) — If the voices on the phone at Phil Wood seemed a bit harried, consider for the past four months the company has been in the process of moving a mile from their old cannery location to a new location in San Jose. And in addition to the move they were doing their best to service customers and dealers.

"I'm glad to say that move is over. Right now we are in a slightly smaller space than we were, but eventually we will end up with 20,000 square feet here," said Garrett Enright, Phil Wood's president.

The company's old location was about 15,000 square feet.

"Unlike the multiple additions we had in our old location, we are now in a single large space and we really streamlined the work flow so the space seems much larger. We also brought another mill online, which we didn't have room for in the old location," Enright added.

The City of San Jose had rezoned the company's cannery location from light industrial to residential, and the cannery's owners let Phil Wood know they wanted to put in residential units, hence the need to find a new place. The company received invitations to relocate to Oregon, Nevada and elsewhere, but given the company's more than 40-year presence in San Jose, Enright said it didn't make sense to move out of state and leave its long-time employees in a lurch.

"Because so much of this last year has been consumed with the move many of our new products were put on hold. But this next year that will change as we have a few new projects in the works," he added.

One change to free up machine time is the company's plan to discontinue its track crank. Enright said they start with a 10-pound block of alloy for the drive crank and end up taking off more than nine pounds, a process that takes a lot of machine time. The company will be taking orders at Interbike for the last 100 cranks it plans to make before turning resources to other projects.

Phil Wood's new address is:

Its phone number remains the same: (408) 298-1540.

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — PressCamp Summer will be held for the eighth time next year, and for the seventh consecutive year it will be held at Park City's Deer Valley Resort.

LifeBoat Events, the company that produced PressCamp, was purchased by ECRM earlier this year. The company said some brands have made early commitments to attend the event, including CamelBak, Kali Protectives, Ridley Bikes, Enve and Blue Bicycles. Media titles including BikeRumor, Outside Magazine, Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, Road Bike Action and Velo also have committed.

Participation is limited to 25 companies meeting with 25 editors. The event is June 20-24.

"We really enjoy receiving so much early interest, as it creates momentum to assure we produce the most productive and best event possible,"said Lance Camisasca, ECRM's VP of sports.

"We are determined this year to assemble the best media with the finest brands eager to launch their products at our critically acclaimed event."

Next year ECRM will add an Outdoor PressCamp, held concurrently with the bike event, and based at an adjacent resort, The Lodges. "This alignment will allow us to bring both event's attendees together for strategic networking opportunities, while still offering individual, intimate and targeted media attention at each respective event," the company said.

More information: bikepresscamp.com.

DENVER (BRAIN) — Brian Hawkins and his company, Fixture Labs, will be at Interbike seeking new customers after Hawkins ended his 17-year relationship with Giant Bicycles this week.

“Why make the move now? What Giant needs from a partner in our position is no longer consistent with where we need to be taking our own brand,” Hawkins said. In addition, he pointed out, some of the work his company once performed for Giant has been brought in-house.

“Giant is simply moving in a different direction. This is a very strategic and risky move on our part. It's going to be a real adjustment, but we are hoping that this move frees us up to pursue new, long-lasting relationships with others in this industry that we love so much,” Hawkins said Thursday.

Hawkins had helped Giant implement a variety of programs over the years including advertising, brand strategy, and development of the Giant Retail Partnership program, which included store design and special events.

“We still plan to have close relationships with all of our friends at Giant and we will miss working with them on a day-to-day basis,” Hawkins added.

Hawkins began the Giant Retail Partnership program in 2005 when Skip Hess was the company’s president. He also began research on women cyclists and helped start Giant for Women the same year.

As Hawkins' ties to Giant grew, he launched Fixture Labs — a company that makes fixtures specifically for IBDs. Giant retailers used many of his fixtures for in-store remodels. Hawkins said he will continue providing fixtures and has new ones under development.

“This is very tough decision for us, as Giant has been a large and vital part of our business for a long time. Financially, it is a serious decision, but after careful consideration we feel this is the best time to make this change,” he added.