SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Longtime Southern California retailers Mark Smits and Dominic Galenti have expanded with a fifth Incycle Bicycles store following the recent acquisition of Performance Cyclery in Santa Clarita, about 20 miles west of the Pasadena Incycle location.
Smits, who opened the first Incycle store in 1991 in San Dimas, wasn't looking to add another, but when Performance Cyclery founder Fred Hoblit offered the opportunity, Smits said he couldn't pass it up. It was Incycle's first acquisition.
"Santa Clarita is a bit outside our target market, but Fred has been a friend for a long time. He's basically retiring, and he made it really simple. It was a smooth transition," Smits said. "It taught me a lot because we've always done things from the ground up. We closed for a week and did a little remodeling to put our Incycle spin on things. We also had to match up inventory and put it into our system because they had used a different point of sale. But it was short and sweet and could have been a lot worse."
Hoblit opened Performance Cyclery after he sold Answer Products, the bike and moto component company he co-founded with former motocross pro and entrepreneur Eddie Cole, in 1990. Smits said the 8,200-square-foot shop, which is located in a building Hoblit still owns, was once a Specialized concept store. Incycle retained Performance Cyclery's main brand, Specialized, and has added Santa Cruz, Cannondale, Cervélo and others, which are sold in all Incycle stores.
"We're seeing a lot of growth in e-bike and gravel, and high-end models are driving it," Smits said. "Mountain bikes are also doing well, and we're seeing a kids' bike resurgence, which I always love to see because it means customers for the future."
The shop has 15 employees, and Smits said almost all of the staff stayed on board and only one new person was hired following the sale. Incycle has other locations in Pasadena, Chino Hills, San Dimas and Rancho Cucamonga.
