MILTON KEYNES, United Kingdom (BRAIN) — UK dealers are being offered a peek at Shimano's 2021 model year offerings at IceBike, the large annual open house hosted by the UK distributor Madison.
At the event, which closes Thursday, dealers who attend a Shimano seminar where the MY21 products are unveiled are being asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
"If you want to get the inside scoop on the next game-changing products from the world's number one components brand, this is a must-see. Seriously, these are the things that will be defining the marketplace from next year onwards and missing out is losing a chance to get one step ahead with your future planning," the IceBike website reads.
Asked if Shimano planned a similar disclosure in the U.S., a spokesperson for Shimano North America Holding said the company would have no comment.
But Shimano did something similar globally last year. In a departure from its normal practice, the company's U.S. sales reps began telling dealers about its then-forthcoming 12-speed Deore XT parts about two weeks before the parts were made public, on condition that they sign NDAs. Shimano also made a limited number of the Deore XT groups available to dealers worldwide to sell soon after the public announcement, on a date promoted globally as the first day the parts would be available. The company allocated 3,000 parts groups globally, with about 500 for the U.S. market.
In the UK, some bike brands are uneasy about the disclosures at IceBike. While the NDAs should prevent dealers from telling customers about the forthcoming parts, the bike brands fear retailers will reduce wholesale orders for bikes spec'd with MY20 components or motors.
