Irvine, CA (April 12, 2022) – The National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) has strengthened its mission to serve all North American retailers and industry partners by building its relationships and resources for Canadian members. The NBDA has announced collaborative relationships with Velo Canada, Outdoor Gear Canada, Live to Play Sports, HLC, and Martin Merry Reid.
Since 1946, the NBDA has existed to strengthen specialty bicycle retail businesses through education, research, communication, and advocacy. With over 500 retailer members and 200 industry partners, the NBDA serves all North America with weekly webinars, a timely podcast, dealer forum, special member savings, retailer groups, and networking opportunities.
Heather Mason, NBDA President, said the organization began focusing on developing their programing and content for Canadian members last year. "We have several Canadian members, some part of our P2 Program. It became clear that there are unique circumstances that our Canadian based members face. We know many of our programs are relevant, but we wanted to make sure we had a better pulse on the specific needs of our Canadian members. I recall a distinct moment when I realized we could do better," she said. “We did our due diligence, taking our time to speak with many leaders in Canada and learn about how we could best position our resources to help as many retailers as possible.”
The NBDA currently has more than a dozen Canadian retailer members and hopes that other retailers in Canada see the value in membership. With many peer-to-peer events, having more Canadian retailers will strengthen the takeaways from these moments.
When asked what he sees as the value of NBDA membership, Rick Synder, Owner of Mikes Bike Shop Canada, stated, “Mike’s Bike Shop has been a member and supporter of the NBDA for many years. We find incredible value in participating in their Retailer Excellence Awards, as well as the various webinars and podcasts they provide for their members to help sharpen our business acumen. We have taken part in their P2 Profitability Program for over 10 years, which provided us opportunity to work with the very smartest bicycle retailers, and the value that has brought us impacts our business every day.”
New NBDA Member Dane Stennes, Co-Owner & Bike Shop Manager of Western Cycle Source for Sports, added, “As a new member of the NBDA I’m looking forward to taking advantage of as many of the programs as possible. It all started for me by tuning in regularly to the Bicycle Retail Radio podcast. I’ve implemented several positive changes to my business brought on by ideas and insights from the show!”
The NBDA made sure to not only reach out to Canadian retailers, but also made sure to connect with and form relationships with some of Canada’s largest distributors in order to share the importance of the independent bicycle retailer.
John William, President of Live to Play Sports commented, “At LTP we have always supported the Independent Bicycle Dealer as we understand and respect that they are the backbone of our industry. IBD owners and employees are extremely passionate and very knowledgeable about the sport of cycling – they strengthen local cycling advocacy efforts, nurture and build cycling community, and independent retailers are often the fabric that bring communities together. The bicycling sector is stronger with healthy and prosperous dealers. The NBDA is 100% focused on supporting IBDs in helping them build stronger businesses and make a bigger difference in the communities they serve. We are proud to support the NBDA as they grow their footprint in Canada.”
Anik Gariepy, Marketing Lead HLC Canada added, “We’ve seen the value that the NBDA adds to our industry in the US, so we thought… hey, why not work with Heather and Rachelle to bring some of that value north of the border. Our hope is that by facilitating healthy conversations and sharing of best practices, that retailers in both the US and Canada can help each other become stronger and more prepared to meet the ever-changing expectations of the consumer.”
The NBDA sees this as only the beginning. The Canadian retailers that have joined the NBDA are all exemplary retailers. “We have had several Canadian Retailers win our Bicycle Retailer of Excellence Award. We grow stronger every day another unique retailer joins our organization. We need more culture, more vision, more diversity. It’s how we all thrive,” added Rachelle Schouten, NBDA Development Director. dvocacy organizations, brands, suppliers and retailers interested in joining the NBDA can do so online on the NBDA website. For more information, contact Heather Mason at heather@nbda.com.
The National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) is the bicycle industry retailer association formed in 1946, representing and empowering specialty bicycle dealers in North America through education, communications, research, advocacy, member discount programs, and promotional opportunities. Some of its programs include Profitability Project (P2), a mastermind group for bicycle shop owners and the Bicycle Retailer Excellence Awards credentialing program.
NBDA member benefits include credit card processing and POS discounts, programs, access to an online dealers' forum, educational webinars, and virtual member peer to peer learning events. The NBDA additionally offers member savings with association members on software, communication and website service providers. Annual dues are $250 for retailers; $195 for mobile bike shops; $129 for Individuals; $999 for companies associated with the bicycle industry with over $500,000 per year in sales; and $699 for smaller companies and industry sales representatives.
