Reebok enters the bike biz

From a story in The Patriot Ledger:

Reebok Gears up to Peddle Pedals

"All of our research tells us it (cycling) continues to grow in terms of participation,'' said John Frascotti, Reebok's senior vice president of licensing.

Will they succeed?  Here's what Trek's Zapata Espinoza had to say:

"We wish them success, but we're not too worried about them right now, we've seen plenty of people come into the market and go away.''

And Megan Tompkins of BRaIN chimes in:

"I could see them doing well with a Reebok-branded line in sporting goods stores.  That would be a better distribution channel than the specialty market, as it would probably reach an audience that already buys Reebok in other categories.''

The big question is will they go to the mass merchants, sporting goods stores, or to real bike shops.

Whatever happens, it's another sign that the sport of cycling is alive and well in the U.S.  Having a company like Reebok committ to the bike biz is like seeing a Starbucks pop up in your neighborhood.  You have to know that they did some research before jumping in.  Guess we'll know more come Interbike.

Comments

[fixedgear]

Hasn't Reebok sort of peaked in terms of brand equity? Im a boomer, and I think of 80's aerobics classes when I think Reebok. Am I their target market? I could see the in Sports Authority/Dick's Sporting Goods, not my LBS or big box retailer.

[Tim Jackson]

Reebok has dabbled in cycling on and off for years. Anybody else remember the old Plymouth-Reebok pro road team? One of the riders I went to high school with rode for them the first year. The road shoes they developed, just like the first Nike road shoes, were horrible and got shot out the back of the pack almost instantaneously.

Any time one of these "big boys" joins the party, it draws more attention to the sport. I would be willing to bet that the Reebok bikes will last a couple of years at the most. They'll probably eventually end up deeply discounted in a "big box" store in liquidation of the stock. Once they see how hard it is to make any real money in cycling, they'll walk away from it again. That is of course just my guess and is not a dig at Reebok. Reality simply points towards other such attempts and how badly those companies have gotten burned. Cadillac and GMC Denali bikes will likely go the same way within another couple of years. Again, not bashing these guys for trying, it is just that Corporate America hates losing money and cycling is a great way to lose money.

Tim Jackson
Brand Manager
Masi Bicycles

[scarbon]

umm....Reebok pedals...no thanks!!! not a chance in hell!!

[Mike Geraci]

Some people and companies enter the bicycle market because they love riding their bikes; others enter the bicycle market because they love making money. Which ones do you think will remain committed (in every sense of the word?)

MG

[Jason Maggiacomo]

I just bought my 10 year old son a Reebok "Swagger" downhill style montainbike. I didn't want to spend too much given his age, but I didn't want to buy him a piece of crap either. The frame is aluminum which keeps the weght managable for him. I noticed too when I was checking it out that the welds are surprisingly well done for this category. More power to Reebok if they can produce a decent product at a decent price.

[marcus]

although you seem to refer to REEBOK specifically welding these frames, they come from a taiwanese factory, and you'll find that alot of the reeboks are heavier alu that that of saracen bikes, and the frame designs right down to the tubing design are the same, i would not trust my 10year old kid on a reebok DOWNHILL Bike, its a death sentence sorry.

Also, if you give you business card or sizzle card to a stranger and they look your business up online, the first thing they will do is type in the main domain (www. xyzbusiness. com) without your ID just out of curiosity. Don’ t lose sales and your credibility because of this– register a domain name and have it forwarded to your replicated company website.

Do you have user name(s) and password(s)? WHOIS Information Who is the registrant? Can you access the administrative email address? Is the domain name locked? Where the domain name is registered at?