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Highway Two adds two new field reps, in Mid-Atlantic and New England

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ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Highway Two has hired two new field reps: a company-direct rep in the Mid-Atlantic and an independent rep in New England.

James Mattock is the new company-direct rep and Marc Sheehan has taken the independent rep role in New England.

"I'm really excited about both of our new hires. Our search for the right company rep for the Mid-Atlantic took some time but I'm more than confident we have the right guy in place with James Mattock. This is an important territory for us and I believe James has what it takes to bring the level of service we need in that region." said Brendan Gecik, H2's outside sales manager.

"Marc Sheehan has an exceptional level of knowledge of the New England region and represents the level of support we desire. Our brands and dealers need focus and Marc has that focus we need."


Brian Orloff heads up Bkool's US office

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MADRID (BRAIN) — Indoor trainer manufacturer Bkool SL has hired Brian Orloff to head up its new U.S. office and warehouse, which will handle sales, marketing and customer service.

Orloff started his new role as U.S. country manager on Monday. He was previously managing director of Sigma USA, a post he held for 14 years.

Orloff has begun setting up the business for Bkool outside of Chicago. Bkool is a Spanish company with headquarters in Madrid. Its trainers are distributed in the U.S. by Hans Johnsen and Downeast.

Joining Orloff is Craig Harrison as U.S. brand manager. Harrison, who handled Bkool with his previous stint at distributor Hans Johnsen, will continue to be based out of his home office in Vermont.

"Combined, Brian and Craig bring nearly 50 years of U.S. industry experience to Bkool," said Clara Pastor, Bkool's key account manager. "Bkool is fully committed to the U.S. market, and we are very excited to have Brian and Craig on board."

"With a warehouse in the upper Midwest and having Craig in New England, we are well positioned in two of the largest trainer markets in the U.S.," said Orloff. "We will be better able to support our distributors, retailers, and consumers, and will be able to ship to almost anywhere in the country in three days or less."

Bkool is sold through exclusive distribution in other countries. The U.S. office is the first wholly owned Bkool operation outside of Spain.

Orloff can be reached at borloff@bkool.com. Harrison can be reached at charrison@bkool.com.

BRAIN Video: What's next for e-mountain bikes?

Competition heats up as Chinese companies target global bike share markets

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BEIJING (BRAIN) — Ofo, a Chinese company with plans to rewrite the global rules on bike sharing, got a $700 million cash infusion last week in another round of financing. The cash will help finance its plans to more than triple its distinctive yellow bikes with a global fleet of 20 million units stationed in 200 cities worldwide.

And The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Mobike, Ofo's chief rival, began advertising for help in the Washington, D.C., area as the company makes plans to move into the U.S. market.

Mobike is seeking candidates for two positions in the nation's capitol — a social media creator and an operations manager. The operations manager would be responsible for overseeing Mobike's fleet of rental units. The jobs were listed three days ago on LinkedIn.

Also on Monday China Daily reported that Ofo will beef up its operations in the U.S. and in the United Kingdom as it stakes out markets against Mobike. Ofo has been running trials in both countries, Yu Xin, Ofo's co-founder, told China Daily.

Ofo's decision to aggressively enter countries outside of China got a boost after it launched its service in Singapore. The company claims that in 100 days it brought in 100,000 customers. In Singapore, the company claims to be processing 20,000 trips daily with some 10,000 bikes on Singapore's street. Xin said the company's experience in Singapore gives it the confidence to enter U.S. and European markets.

Ofo has been running trials in Cambridge in the UK and in two California cities, San Diego and Palo Alto near Stanford University. Ofo had put its yellow bikes on the University of San Diego's campus but was forced by school officials in late April to remove them. The company had failed to get permission for placement on campus.

Leading Ofo's search for expansion capital was China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, Hony Capital, and CITIC Private Equity. It was the largest round of financing in the bike sharing sector to date and makes Ofo the highest valued bike sharing company in the world.

Backing Mofo, also known as Beijing Mobike Technology, is Tencent Holdings, the fourth largest internet company globally based on revenue. Tencent is traded on the Hong Kong Exchange under 700:HK. Other financial backers behind Mobike include private equity firms TPG and Warburg Pincus.

TPG, with headquarter offices in Fort Worth and San Francisco, was one of the first to enter Asia. It's TPG Capital Asia, with offices in Beijing and elsewhere, currently manages more than $6 billion in Asian investments. The company, as a whole, manages more than $72 billion in assets worldwide.

Warburg Pincus initially invested in Mobike in 2016. The company has headquarters in New York and currently manages more than $40 billion in assets.

Both Ofo and Mobike use dockless systems based on cellphone apps and GPS. Users can find and rent them on their cellphones. When done, users can leave them anywhere for another user.

Both companies are charging mere pennies to rent them based on dynamic pricing. In other words, the further a rider goes or how long a rider uses the bike generates a fee.

But financial analysts who are following the two companies are raising some concerns. Bike sharing companies are capital intensive; not only do they have to buy bikes but they must in some fashion maintain them. And fares for companies like Ofo, Mobike and others are low.

Paul Gillis, a professor and co-director at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management, told CNBC recently that the low fares charged at present are unlikely to earn a positive cash flow. The fleets are also prey for vandals and thieves.

Wang Chenxi, an analyst at Analysys, a Beijing-based research company, said Ofo is seeing explosive growth in the number of users, but how to maintain them will be a tougher question. And both are running into trouble with city authorities.

For example, on Friday, after continuous complaints from scooter users in Taipei, officials are expediting rules on regulating bike-rental systems. The new rules will be put in force early next year. Since the dockless bikes, owned by Singapore company Obikes, were introduced in April in ten Taiwan cities, they have been taking up parking spaces reserved for scooters.

That sparked a massive online campaign on Facebook that labeled them a nuisance. Taiwan has more than 13 million scooter users.

 

Echos Communications hires Fornes as senior account manager

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PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — Echos Communications has hired bicycle industry veteran Brian Fornes as senior account manager for the bike division. Fornes spent 10 years at Raleigh, most recently as marketing manager and product manager, and also served as brand manager at Kona Bicycles

"I am thrilled to have Brian join us. He brings a wealth of experience to the table and a passion for cycling culture that is authentic and strategic," said Billy Sinkford, senior partner at Echos. "We were looking for the right person who has a mix of industry knowledge, marketing experience, with a dash of radness — and I'm certain we've found him."

Fornes will focus on media communications and operational management for the Echos bike division, which includes such clients as Castelli, Paul Components, Showers Pass, Riese & Muller, Argonaut Cycles and the North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

"I've watched Echos grow for years within the industry and have respected their talent to partner with brands that truly define the cycling culture," Fornes said. "I'm eager to bring my history and experience to help the team continue to grow authentically."

Cobb Cycling hires Scott Warren as senior product manager

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TYLER, Texas (BRAIN) — Cobb Cycling has hired Scott Warren as its senior product manager.

Warren is a long-time colleague and friend of company founder John Cobb and brings more than 36 years of global cycling product management to Cobb. In the past Warren has collaborated with Cobb on product ideas, bike fitting, wind tunnel testing and other issues.

Warren said, “I’m excited to join Cobb. (Cobb CEO/COO Don Park) and John have assembled a strong team. The new products we will launch will expand the product range and continue to be the best in class.”

Park said, “With John being the the innovator and the mastermind of what Cobb represents, Scott will help John take his ideas and turn them into marketable, effective, quality products. Together, with our new strength of 100 percent quality manufacturing capacity and resources, I feel the perfect 'trinity' has formed towards the cycling industry.”

Warren can be reached at scott.w@cobbcycling.com.

Strider forms nonprofit foundation to distribute balance bikes to organizations

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RAPID CITY, S.D. (BRAIN) — Strider recently formed the Strider Education Foundation, a nonprofit corporation with a primary purpose of distributing Strider Bikes to children with mental, physical, or financial challenges, through organizations committed to teaching them how to ride.

"At Strider, we love riding bikes and we love inspiring kids to ride," said Strider Bikes' founder and CEO, Ryan McFarland. "However, we know that many kids face much greater obstacles than learning to ride a bike. To do our part, we created the Strider Rider Fund to support charities addressing these challenges."

Since 2014 Strider has committed 1 percent of gross revenue from all sales worldwide to this fund.

"To date we have donated over $850,000 in cash and Strider Bikes to organizations that serve children in need," said McFarland. "And now with the formation of the Strider Education Foundation, a portion of the Rider Fund goes directly to the foundation. With nearly all of the Foundation's overhead expenses covered, contributions from other donors can go directly toward getting bikes into the hands of organizations that teach riding."

This new 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is committed to improving the lives of children by using a structured environment to teach them how to ride. Children with intellectual disabilities, members of communities in financial need, and other deserving schools and organizations can all benefit.

The official public launch of the foundation is slated for Aug. 9. Provisional Donation Request Applications are now being accepted at stridereducationfoundation.org/application.

More information at StriderEducationFoundation.org.

Yakima names Pacific Rep Works as its agency of the year

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Company establishes award in honor of Bill Kaplan.

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (BRAIN) — Yakima recognized its top reps at its 2018 sales meeting last month, naming Pacific Rep Works as its Agency of the Year, and recognized longtime Yakima representative Bill Kaplan with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Led by Bob Westler and Mitch Lemas, the Pacific Rep Works team of Matt Gaudette, Jeff Nelson and Dave Goulet represent Yakima in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montan and has represented Yakima for 12 years.

Yakima established the Lifetime Achievement Award this year in honor of Yakima sales representative Bill Kaplan, who passed away in February 2017. The inaugural award was established to posthumously recognize and honor Kaplan for his lifelong commitment to the Yakima Brand. BP Associates – where Bill worked for 32 years – accepted the award on behalf of Bill's daughter, Erica.

"Bill Kaplan was truly an inspiration for all who benefitted from his passion, energy, and love of the industry," said Jason McGibbon, vice president of sales at Yakima. "Though the Yakima family is mourning his loss, this award is a small token of our deep appreciation for all he did for Yakima, both professionally and personally, over the years."

 


Retailers face bike tax burden in Oregon

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SALEM, Ore. (BRAIN) — Retailers will take on a new burden come January 1, 2018, as a new bike excise tax takes effect in Oregon. State lawmakers recently signed and passed a transportation bill that requires that retailers collect a $15 flat fee on the sale of bicycles with 26-inch wheels or larger that retail for more than $200.

The bike tax is part of several new measures in the bill to generate revenue to fund the state's roads and highways, which include increased car registration and title fees and vehicle fuel taxes. The bike tax is expected to generate $1.2 million a year over the course of 10 years and will cost about $100,000 a year to administer.

The transportation funding bill, HB 2017, awaits Gov. Kate Brown's signature to become official. But Oregonians expect the governor to sign off on the proposal. It passed the state house and senate with 39-20 and 22-7 yay/nay votes, respectively.

Oregon currently has no sales tax on products and goods sold so the bike tax becomes the first in the state.

"We maintain the position that there should be no bike tax in the bill," said Alex Logemann, director of state and local policy for PeopleForBikes, which worked with local advocacy group, The Street Trust, to amend the bill. "We don't think it's a strong way to raise revenue. It was the situation of trying to eliminate it, but if something was going to get pushed through, we wanted it to be much less of a burden to bike shops and purchasers and wanted to reduce it from 3 percent."

With Oregon becoming the first state to adopt a bike tax, other states could take note as they work on new transportation funding packages and struggle to come up with revenue they need for projects. Originally, the bill proposed a 5 percent tax on bikes sold for $500 or more, then it was reduced to 3 percent on bikes with 26-inch wheels or larger. The last amendments changed the excise tax to a flat $15 and the threshold to bikes sold for over $200.

"At least it's not a percentage tax as originally proposed," said Kelly Aicher, co-owner of Bike Gallery, with six stores in Portland. "We'll have to submit quarterly taxes to the state, which is a hassle. We're not used to collecting taxes so we're going to have to build that, plus bookkeeping and administration. The number I look at is way north of $50,000 a year for us in just fees alone that we're going to have to collect and send in. It's really hitting the small retailer. In our world where we keep losing business to e-commerce, there's no provision for e-commerce in it."

Dave Guettler, owner of River City Bicycles, sent letters to legislators and even a representative to testify on behalf of the shop. He said that while the $15 flat fee will be a burden on his business, he doesn't think it will impact sales. He's takes the long view.

"I don't think it will cut down on sales," Guettler said. "It's misguided but it's not the first time misguided efforts are put into law.

"It's a transportation bill not just a bike sales tax and there's a whole lot of things in it that are really positive for bikes," Guettler added. "Bottom line is Oregon is going to have a huge amount of money allocated to pedestrian and bike and alternative transportation efforts not because of a $15 fee on a bike but the transportation bill that passed. We'll see how it all shakes out."

E-bikes would be taxed as motorized vehicles in Oregon and be subject to a 0.5 percent tax under this bill. So retailers would have to collect and track taxes for bikes and e-bikes separately, another potential burden.

For more on what retailers think about this new law about to get signed in Oregon, look for the story in the August 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer.

Rossignol moves Time Sport’s Canadian management to Rossi’ headquarters in Montreal

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PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Rossignol Group has moved all management of Time Sport in Canada to the group's Canadian headquarters in Montréal. The company also has appointed Spaso Sports to represent Time products at the wholesale level for Canada.

Spaso Sports was founded in 2002 by Carol A. Adams and Bruno Warnotte and became the exclusive distributor of Felt Bicycles in Canada. Spaso later transitioned from being an independent distributor to be an exclusive sales agency for Felt in Canada. Rossignol Group completed its purchase of Felt in March 31 this yer.

"Carol, Bruno, and the team at Spaso Sports have proven their effectiveness as wholesale cycling specialists," said Ron Steele, the president of Rossignol Group North America. "Considering their previous and current success with the Felt Bicycle brand, we feel very confident that we've chosen the perfect agents to generate increased exposure and sales opportunities for Time products in Canada."

Carol Adams, the general manager of Spaso Sports, Inc., said, "We're very excited for the opportunity to work closely with the Rossignol Group as we add Time products into the Spaso portfolio." 

Silca re-introduces Pista track pump to celebrate anniversary

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INDIANAPOLIS (BRAIN) — Silca has brought back its Pista pump to celebrate 100 years as a tool brand. The new Pista is made in the U.S. and takes cues from the original with some modernized features. It will be available separately or with a travel bag. 

The new Pista has a steel barrel and an ash wood handle and is designed to be fully servicable. It's rated to 220 psi and has Silca's trademark leather plunger piston design. It comes with a push-on alloy presta chuck with pressure bleeder valve.

The optional 600D nylon and canvas travel case has pockets for other accessories, tools, or water bottles.

The pump alone retails for $125, or $199 with the travel bag.

To celebrate 100 years as a brand, Silca also is offering a special edition of its HX-ONE hex keys.

The anniversary edition of the keys come in a limited edition box made from the heartwood of American Walnut trees. Each box is adorned with Silca's centennial emblem, hand-painted on 304 stainless steel. 

The kit includes S2 Steel hex keys in 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, 10mm. It also includes an S2 steel bit adapter to standard 1/4-inch bit with 10 steel bits: Torx T8, T10, T15, T20, T25, T30, and two sizes of each Phillips and flat screwdriver heads. MSRP: $185.

More information: silca.cc

 

Amelia Kegel joins NBDA board

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LAFAYETTE, Colo. (BRAIN) —  The National Bicycle Dealers Association has announced that Amelia Kegel, marketing manager for the Milwaukee retailer Wheel & Sprocket, has joined the NBDA's Board of Directors.

"I am excited to be a part of the collaborative effort of the leaders in the bike industry to unite and inspire shop owners across the U.S. to be successful for the next wave of bicycle retail," said Kegel.

Todd Grant, the NBDA's president, said, "Amelia is incredibly well respected within the cycling community and we couldn't be more pleased to have her joining the NBDA's board of directors as we tackle the challenges that modern day retailers face.

"Having just spent a week with Amelia at the Places For Bikes conference held by PeopleForBikes, I can say without hesitation that she brings an incredible blend of retail experience, a continually forward-thinking viewpoint and boundless energy."

Amelia was born into the bike industry as the oldest daughter to Chris Kegel of Wheel & Sprocket. Her love for cycling started young with family bikes that scaled up to cycling tours across the U.S. and Canada.

She returned to Wheel & Sprocket after earning a degree in forestry and natural resource conservation. She has been heading the marketing and events departments at Wheel & Sprocket for the last five years, helping to find creative ways to get more people on bikes while focusing on year-round cycling initiatives. Amelia has been active in cycling advocacy locally and nationally, serving as chairperson for the Milwaukee County Trails Council and speaking at events like the recent Places for Bikes conference.

Sally Jewell to deliver keynote at Outdoor Retailer breakfast

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BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Sally Jewell, the former Secretary of the Interior and former CEO of REI, will deliver the opening speech at the Outdoor Industry Association Industry Breakfast at Outdoor Retailer show this month.

According to the OIA, Jewell will urge the outdoor industry to use its influence to drive smart policy that supports public lands and their importance to outdoor recreation and economic opportunity. 

"America's public lands — like Yosemite, the Statue of Liberty, Bears Ears National Monument, and more — each tell a unique story and help protect and honor our nation's natural, cultural and historic heritage," said Jewell in a release Thursday. "The outdoor industry depends on our nation's public lands and waters, and I am proud to see leaders help policymakers understand the profound significance of these places to our economy and the health of our nation."

Amy Roberts, the OIA's executive director, said, "Public lands are the very foundation of the outdoor industry's massive outdoor recreation economy, which employs more than 7.6 million Americans and generates more than $887 billion in consumer spending.

"Secretary Jewell brings incredible experience and perspective to help guide the industry as we collaborate to protect the lands we love."

The breakfast is at July 27 at 7 a.m. at the Marriott City Creek in Salt Lake City. Other speakers at the breakfast will include Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and The North Face-sponsored athletes Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright.

DRAFT: LA Meetup planned for July 20 in Burbank

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BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — PeopleForBikes' next beer, bikes and biz gettogether is planned for next Thursday in Burbank, California. 

The DRAFT: LA Meetup is the latest stop in the group's nationwide series intended to bring together bike industry entrepreneurs.

Speakers for the event include Chris Demarchi of Race Across America / WorkingNation and Jenn Hannon of Machines For Freedom, a women's clothing brand. Representatives from Assos and World Bicycle Relief also will speak.

The event is from 6-8 p.m. at Pure Cycles, 713 North Victory Boulevard in Burbank. 

Attendees are asked to RSVP. More information at: Facebook.com/DraftMeetup.

Chrome makes key hires and promotions at Portland headquarters

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PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — Chrome Industries has added marketing and product veterans Roberto Suarez and Gerben Gerritsen to its leadership team.

Suarez joins Chrome as its new product director, overseeing bags, footwear and apparel. Most recently Suarez was with Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco as the global senior merchant for the Dockers brand and prior to that was the director of product management for premium luggage brand, Tumi, in New York City. He spent the first ten years of his career with Coach.

Gerritsen is Chrome's new marketing director. He previously handled sales and marketing for Rapha in the Netherlands and Belgium, after first joining Raphas as its experience marketing manager at its North American headquarters in Portland. Prior to Rapha, Gerritsen led Columbia Sportswear's marketing communications and spent two years with Nemo Design in Portland.

This spring Chrome also promoted Wes Ballew as director of DTC to lead all retail and e-commerce and promoted Dan Copeland to director of sales. Chrome also hired Phil College as the senior director of finance and operations.

"With the move to Portland and adding these strong leaders to the team, the energy and momentum at Chrome is going the right way," said Slate Olson, the president of Chrome Industries. "We're heading into the second half of year strong, with the upcoming opening our Hub in Brooklyn next month, and with a renewed focus on helping inspire people push forward in the great cities around the globe."


Shades Monkey offers handlebar stem storage for sunglasses

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PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Shades Monkey is a product to "semi-securely" store sunglasses on uphills or other times while riding. 

The patent-pending design comes in two colors, blue or orange, and fits a variety of stem sizes with a self-hooking band. The product was developed by Park City mountain biker Andy Houston. It retails for $9.99.

More information: shadesmonkey.com.

Accell Group to appoint Ton Anbeek as its next CEO and chairman

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HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (BRAIN) — Accell Group N.V.'s Supervisory Board intends to appoint Ton Anbeek as the company's next CEO and board chairman.

Anbeek is the permanent replacement for longtime CEO and chairman Rene Takens, who announced in February that he was retiringHielke Sybesma, Accell's CFO, has served as interim CEO since April.

Anbeek will take over as CEO on Nov. 1. He is currently CEO of Beter Bed Holding N.V.

Ab Pasman, chairman of Accell's supervisory board, said, "We are very pleased that we have found Ton Anbeek willing to join Accell Group as its new CEO. Ton Anbeek has experience in the field of marketing, sales, retail and omni-channel e-commerce. His experience combined with his personal integrity and leadership style make him very suitable to head Accell Group."

Anbeek studied Business Administration at Rotterdam's Erasmus University and Organisational Psychology at Utrecht University. He started his professional career in 1987 at Unilever, where he held various positions in marketing and sales at various operating companies in the Netherlands and abroad.In early 2007, he joined Koninklijke Auping B.V. in Deventer as the company's general director. In early 2010, he was appointed CEO of Beter Bed Holding N.V.

Accell Group's best known bike brands are Haibike (Germany), Winora (Germany), Batavus (Netherlands), Sparta (Netherlands), Koga (Netherlands), Lapierre (France), Ghost (Germany), Raleigh and Diamondback (UK, U.S., Canada), Tunturi (Finland), Atala (Italy), Redline (U.S.), Loekie (Netherlands) and XLC (international). 

BRAIN seeks retailers to join State of Retail panel for upcoming year

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LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. — Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is looking for retailers to participate in our 2017-2018 State of Retail panel. Shop owners, if you have opinions and want to your voice to be heard, this is the place for you.

Retailers selected for the panel will weigh in on business-related topics affecting the industry. Responses are printed in each issue of the magazine, and State of Retail is one of the most widely read columns in the magazine.

The State of Retail panel is made up of 10 retailers in North America. Shops are selected to represent a diverse cross section of bike retail, geographically and with regard to the customer base they serve. We're looking for shops of all shapes and sizes, from the new and trendy to the seasoned and traditional. Whether you have one store or 25, you're welcomed to join BRAIN's State of Retail panel!

The panel is a one-year commitment and requires retailers to provide timely responses for 18 issues. In order to be considered, retailers must be willing to communicate via email on a regular basis and promptly meet deadlines.

We do our best to provide questions with at least a one-week lead-time, but note that BRAIN's bi-weekly print schedule falls during many shops' busy selling season. Please consider this before applying.

While it is a time commitment, many past State of Retail panelists agree that the experience has helped them better understand their businesses. Topics may include current trends, staffing, service and repair, online competition and opportunities, social events and races, technology, and broader subjects like bike share, mobile repair, e-bikes, trade shows and more.

To apply, please send an email no later than Monday, July 31, outlining why you would be a good fit for the panel and a bit about your market to features editor Val Vanderpool at vvanderpool@bicycleretailer.com.

DT Swiss signs distribution agreement with Outdoor Gear Canada

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OGC will take over from Cycles Lambert and Live to Play Sports in Canada.

MONTRÉAL (BRAIN) — DT Swiss has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Outdoor Gear Canada for the Canadian market. OGC will take over distribution from both Cycles Lambert and Live to Play Sports in Canada.

Beginning this autumn, OGC will stock DT wheels, rims, hubs, hub conversion parts, and spokes in its Montreal and Vancouver warehouses. It will also set up service centers in both facilities for DT OE and aftermarket products in the coming months. Vancouver-based Suspension Werx will continue to service DT Swiss suspension products in Canada. Cycles Lambert and LTP will continue to sell DT Swiss products through the current season.

Christian Pelletie has been appointed OGC's brand amnager for DT Swiss.

"We are very proud and pleased to add DT Swiss to our lineup of premium brands," said Louis Boissinot, OGC's vice president of sales. "DT Swiss is a recognized market leader and they've earned that reputation through many years of outstanding innovation and manufacturing."

DT Swiss' general manager, Chip Barbieri, said, "We are impressed with the style, professionalism, and commitment that the entire team at OGC brings to the table in our mutual effort to enhancing DT Swiss' presence and support in the Canadian market. We look forward to our strong future together!"

OGC will begin taking orders for DT Swiss products in August.

BRAIN and USA Cycling survey bike retailers about youth cycling programs

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Survey respondents eligible for prize drawing.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BRAIN) – USA Cycling Foundation has partnered with Bicycle Retailer and Industry News to get retailer feedback on what youth and junior cycling programs exist in your area, how you're involved in them, and what impact they have on creating future cyclists.

USA Cycling will use the results to help determine future cycling development programs. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News also will publish the results in a future issue.

In the last 16 years, USA Cycling athletes have consistently grown the annual World Championship and quadrennial Olympic medal counts. This success is a direct result of the annual funding provided by the USA Cycling Foundation. And that success begins with youth and junior development programs.

"Rio was historically our best Olympic result outside of a boycotted games, with 5 medals and an additional 4 top-10 finishes," said Steve McCauley, director of programs for USA Cycling Foundation. "We consistently rank in the top-5 world nations' rankings in almost every discipline, and our women and juniors, (road, BMX, Track, cyclocross), have produced a number of individual and team world cup overall winners. USA Cycling athlete development programming is widely considered to be the best in the world, and operated at a fraction of the cost compared to some of the other top nations in cycling."

"The USA Cycling Foundation believes the root of our success has been, in part, the consistent programming for juniors, and we are keen to explore additional program support opportunities for new local and regional youth cycling programs." McCauley added. "We also believe partnering with retailers will be a critical component in achieving our goals to expand youth cycling in the USA."

Retailers can participate in the brief, 5-minute survey. 

The survey is at: Surveymonkey.com/r/JuniorCycling. The survey link will go live at 8 a.m. MT on Monday and the survey will close at 6 p.m. MT on Friday, Aug. 11.

All survey participants may enter their name into a drawing to win a USA Cycling Foundation finish bag and t-shirt, along with a complimentary USA Cycling Ride Membership. Membership benefits include $25,000 supplemental medical insurance at events such as gran fondos, fun rides, and gravel grinders, 24/7 roadside assistance, limited edition USA Cycling T-Shirt, phone pouch and decal, 12 month subscription to Bicycling magazine, legal assistance from our partners at Bike Law, partner discounts with Training Peaks, Bike Flights, and more.

The drawing winner will be notified by email on Aug. 18.

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