MONTREAL (BRAIN) — Dorel Industries is opening an office in Chile, the Canadian company announced Wednesday. Dorel Sports Chile S.A. will be based in Santiago de Chile and will lead all sales, marketing, distribution and customer service of Dorel Sport's brands, including Cannondale, GT, Schwinn, Mongoose, Sugoi and Caloi, in Chile and Peru.
Dorel said it has acquired the assets of Intercycles, a Santiago-based bicycle retailer. A long-time distribution partner of Dorel, Intercycles will be an integral part of Dorel Sports Chile, with the new division operating Intercycles' retail location.
The company said Dorel Sports Chile will combine the marketing, logistical and distribution expertise of Dorel's existing juvenile operations in Chile with Intercycles' market-specific bicycle knowledge and Dorel Sport's global brand expertise.
In addition to selling direct to mass retailers, sporting goods and independent bicycle dealers (IBDs), Dorel Sports Chile will grow the Intercycles retail concept to various locations across the region.
"The launch of Dorel Sports Chile provides an excellent opportunity to build on our presence in these areas where there is significant growth potential for the bicycle industry. We are already well-established in Brazil with Caloi. In addition, we are associating with our existing juvenile partners in Chile. The relationship established with them in 2011 has been most beneficial and with their strong marketing expertise and local connections, we are well positioned for further growth in South America," said Martin Schwartz, Dorel's president and CEO.