GT goes IBD-only in US

October 17th, 2005 by Carl

Via BikeBiz

GT Bicycle said it is transitioning to an IBD-only distribution strategy, beginning with its 2006 model year products. In the UK, the brand will remain in Halfords and Independent Bicycle Dealers.

�In the 2006 model year, GT is introducing the largest number of product and platform expansions in its history,� said Pacific Cycle CEO Chris Hornung.

Pacific Cycle owns and distributes the GT Bicycles brand globally.

�We are emphasizing our investment in the technology, marketing, sales and distribution strategies to support GT, and we feel that the IBD channel is best suited to provide GT and its customers with the highest level of service and knowledge,� said Hornung.

Keep Reading.

4 Responses to “GT goes IBD-only in US”

RSS & Trackback

1 Guitar Ted on Oct 18th, 2005 at 7:13 am

Good luck! It really doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the actual products, ( GT has always had a marketable product line) but the mere fact that GT is owned by the same company that sells Mongoose, Schwinn, and Pacific bicycles through “department stores” makes them the “devil” in the eyes of most independant bike shop owners eyes. The U.S. market will be a hard one to crack for GT, at least to the levels that they used to enjoy, pre-buyout.
Imagine this; a local bike shop owner gets GT as a line, and has a customer tell him that they are too expensive, and that he can get a Mongoose at Mall Wart cheaper. How ironic is that?
2 Tim Grahl on Oct 18th, 2005 at 10:26 am

Yeah but how many casual riders actually know that they are owned by the same company? I know in my newbie days I figured if the bike had a different name it was a different company.

I can see the LBS owners shying away from carrying them more as an overall grudge against them having the bikes in the chains in the first place instead of actually worrying about selling them.

The casual rider that hits a bike shop has probably already been to Walmart and decided he needs a “bike shop bike” anyway.
3 Guitar Ted on Oct 18th, 2005 at 7:46 pm

Tim, It doesn’t matter what the “casual rider” thinks so much as it does what the retailer is willing to sell. On your second point, You are correct, but it runs deeper than that, and it’s more complicated. Looking at it through the LBS eyes, Pacific has a major grip on low end sales that “could be” had at an independant retail outlet. Instead of just turning your head and saying “Oh well, let them have the low end sales”, ( which in reality, isn’t doing the consumer any good either, but that’s another story!) the independant dealer sees those sales as money ripped out of their bottom line. Look at it this way, and you’ll see why the LBS isn’t going to be willing to line Pacifics pockets with even more of “their money”.
4 Fritz on Oct 19th, 2005 at 12:44 pm

Regarding whether the Local Bike Shops are going to sign up GT: Did you guys read the original press release from GT/Pacific? They’re partnering with Performance to distribute GT Bicycles.

GT goes IBD-only in US

4 Responses to “GT goes IBD-only in US”

Leave a Reply

Bike Sites:

Bike Blogs: