PHOENIX, AZ (BRAIN)—Looking to expand its U.S. market presence, Italian road bike brand Carrera-PODIUM has brought aboard Phoenix, Arizona-based Icycle Bicycles as Western regional distributor.
Carrera-PODIUM has been distributed in the U.S. since the mid-’90s through Red Rose Imports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The high-end brand is currently available in 20 to 25 stores, mostly between Massachusetts and Florida, said Stuart Kleinberg, founder and owner of Icycle Bicycles.
It is now Kleinberg’s charge to grow Carrera-PODIUM in the 12-state Western region, with a goal of bringing on 24 to 36 dealers in the first year.
In addition to its race-bred road bikes, Carrera-PODIUM historically has also sold cyclocross, mountain, fixed-gear and singlespeed bikes in the United States. But for 2012, Kleinberg said, the company has focused its U.S. lineup on 10 performance road models: one aluminum, one steel and the rest carbon fiber.
Kleinberg said he has already seen strong interest in hotbeds of road biking such as Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, and that he will focus his efforts on similar territories.
Carrera-PODIUM was founded in 1989 by Davide Boifava, former professional racer and manager of the famed Carrera Team. Its bikes have been ridden by such champions as Stephen Roche, Claudio Chiappucci, Marco Pantani and Micheli Bartoli.
“They’ve had a rich race history and hope to parlay that into success in the domestic market,” Kleinberg said.
