LAS VEGAS, NV (BRAIN)—Jamis Bicycles started off Interbike on a sore note as 13 high-end 2010 full-suspension mountain bikes disappeared after leaving Jamis’ warehouse in New Jersey.
Jamis employees noticed the theft on Tuesday as they were setting up the booth at the indoor show. Under supervision, Jamis employees had loaded the bikes shrink wrapped, 10 to a skid, and sent them in a sealed container to GES’ Advanced Warehouse in Las Vegas, said Carine Joannou, president and chief executive officers of G Joannou Cycle, parent company of Jamis.
As Jamis employees were unpacking the bikes before the show, they began noticing empty boxes inside the shrink-wrapping. The bikes, mostly models from the Dakar line, are worth $40,000 at retail.
Joannou doesn’t think the culprit acted alone.
“For sure it was deliberate, and I don’t think it was just one person; it was a team of people,” she said.
Joannou has notified GES, as well as filed a complaint with the Las Vegas Police Department, and an investigation has been launched. If you know anything about the thefts, call Jamis at (800) 222-0570.
GES has begun its own internal investigation. Based on its initial findings, including the fact that the bikes arrived shrink wrapped to the show floor, the company doesn’t believes any of its employees were involved,” said Detra Page, who handles public relations for GES.
In separate incidents, Kona and SuperCross both had a bike snatched from their respective booths sometime on Wednesday evening.
In Kona’s case, the 2010 Cadabra that the company planned to raffle off as part of an IMBA benefit disappeared from its booth sometime before 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday. The bike, worth $2,700, wasn’t bolted in place as Kona has done in the past, so it was easier to lift from the rack, said Jake Heilbron, head of Kona.
“It’s not the end of the world or anything, but it’s unfortunate,” Heilbron said, of the theft.
Kona made just 20 of the Cadabra models, but was able to build up another for the raffle.
SuperCross’ Bill Ryan stacked four complete bikes, unlocked, in the corner of his booth on Wednesday and found the one-of-a-kind 2010 Mission, valued at $1,200, missing Thursday morning.
Camelbak’s Shannon Stearns also noted a unusually high number of thefts from the booth this year, as did nearby exhibitors like Pedro’s.
Andy Tompkins, Interbike show director, said Interbike provides security on the floor and at the hall’s doors, but it’s difficult to keep watch on all 10,000 bikes and 20,000 people on the floor. He recommends that exhibitor have personnel at the booth until 7 p.m. when the hall’s doors are locked.
Also, securing product with wire and lock should prevent thefts of opportunity, he said.
—Nicole Formosa
