BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—Veltec Sports will no longer distribute Colnago bicycles in the United States.
The details for the transition of the distribution still need to be determined, and will be communicated at a later time, according to Manfred Krikke, chief executive officer of Veltec Sports in the United States.
Krikke said the decision was made with both Veltec and its retail customers in mind and that the economic downturn played a role. Veltec recently completed an analysis of its brand portfolio and made a decision to increase the focus and intensity of its support for its dealers with fewer brands.
“We are confident that an increased focus on our core product lines comprised of Sidi cycling shoes, Descente and Shebeest cycling apparel, Prologo saddles, Enervit nutrition and Vredestein tires, will enable us to perform better, faster and more efficiently as a business partner to our IBDs,” Krikke said.
Veltec aims to provide a very high quality of service to its IBD customers.
“To achieve that quality of service, we need the same from our vendors,” Krikke said. “While we respect Colnago, we have a different style of doing business and different beliefs of what it takes to successfully market high-end products in the U.S., especially in these unusual times. Delivery reliability, marketing and sales support, and payment terms, amongst other things, are more important now than ever.”
Krikke said that the change makes simple business sense, will help Veltec better support its IBD partners through the economic downturn and perform better as a business.
Veltec became the exclusive North American distributor for Colnago bikes and framesets two years ago. Trialtir previously distributed the Italian brand for seven years.
Colnago could not be immediately reached for comment.
