GHENT, Belgium (BRAIN) — The membership of the European Two-wheel Retailers’ Association (ETRA) has decided to dissolve the organization because of insufficient funding, the group said in a brief statement emailed Wednesday and posted on the association’s website.
ETRA was established in 1995 and worked to defend and promote the interests of European bicycle, moped and motorcycle retailers. It represented nearly 7,000 dealers employing 17,500 people in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, according to its website.
ETRA also had a large number of associate members, or non-retail companies, in seven EU-member states and in countries outside the EU, including Canada, Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, Taiwan and the U.S. These include Dahon, Giant, Schwalbe, Shimano, Maxcom and Flyer.