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Easton Cycling sold to Race Face
Last Post 04/23/2014 09:08 AM by j t. 12 Replies.
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Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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04/21/2014 04:18 PM
Hmmmm......things are going to schitt rapidly over at Easton. Theya re selling everything off.

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — BRG Sports, Inc., has agreed to sell its Easton cycling business to Chris Tutton, an industry veteran who owns Race Face Performance Products and a former Easton OEM sales rep. The Easton cycling division has been an underperformer recently for BRG — known until recently as Easton-Bell Sports. The company recently sold its Easton-branded softball and baseball business to Bauer Sports and has plans to sell off its last remaining Easton-branded business, its hockey division. The terms of the deal were not disclosed and it is expected to be completed in the next 60 days. "We are very pleased that the Easton Cycling unit will be under the leadership of an accomplished industry veteran and business professional like Chris," BRG Sports executive chairman and CEO Terry Lee said in a press release. "We have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with him both in business and in our shared passions for cycling, and when he put forth an attractive offer, we felt the timing was right to proceed with a deal. We are confident that Chris and his team are the best candidates to create a bright future for the Easton Cycling brand." Tutton joined Easton-Bell Sports in 2008 as OE Sales Manager; he became the principal shareholder in Race Face in 2011, retaining his Easton-Bell position. BRAIN plans to speak to Lee later Monday. BRG's main brands now are Bell, Riddell, Giro, and Blackburn. Tutton said he was excited to "renew the entrepreneurial roots of the brand and re-focus on technology, quality and service." According to a Race Face statement, the two brands will "continue to operate as separate entities." However, the statement said the brands would have a shared cost agreement to reduce overhead. Tutton plans to build a R&D Service Center in California that will house wheel service, wheel testing and the Easton engineering team. The recently launched Race Face wheel program will also be developed and serviced from this facility. Easton's marketing, global sales and customer service departments will be relocated to the Race Face headquarters near Vancouver, British Columbia. "The team at Race Face is very excited to welcome Easton to the RF family," said Tutton. "The core competencies of both companies will help to strengthen and expand both business units. There are also undeniable synergies in sales and distribution to be realized worldwide as well as wins with off-shore vendor production networks currently in place."
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Oldfart

Posts:511

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04/21/2014 04:30 PM
That was Race Face only a couple years ago. Going to the dogs that is.
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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04/21/2014 04:49 PM
Sooooo a mtn bike component company will now have road wheels and ... baseball bats???
ChinookPass

Posts:809

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04/21/2014 04:50 PM
nevermind! Of course I didn't read the whole thing.

But they will have road wheels which they really don't need.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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04/21/2014 05:07 PM
Posted By Andy Eunson on 04/21/2014 04:30 PM
That was Race Face only a couple years ago. Going to the dogs that is.


Yeah, that was my iniitial reaction.....I don;t think this bodes well for some of these brands.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Ride On

Posts:537

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04/21/2014 06:18 PM
One of my neighbors is an IT guy for the BRG sports web site. I'll have to ask him if he is moving to CA.
Oldfart

Posts:511

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04/21/2014 08:05 PM
The rumour around here about Race Face going down three years ago was that the guy running it was skimming profits as well as mismanaging. RF has always done well around here because they are local. Spun out of Rocky Mountain Bikes years back.
Dale

Posts:1767

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04/22/2014 01:05 AM
Bell recently bought back distribution rights for Bell motorcycle helmets in most of the world markets. Until a little over a year ago Bell motorcycle was owned by Easton Bell Sports only in the US and, I think, Canada. Now it's again worldwide. It appears with the sell off of the other divisions they are primarily focuses on head protection-- Bell bike, Bell motorcycle, Giro bike/ Giro snow, Ridell football… not sure what other brands currently but the noggin is the focus. Bell auto is a separate entity and is not owned by this group. Bell motorcycle helmets are on a really strong growth curve.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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04/22/2014 09:14 AM
Oh wait....I thought they sold all of the bike stuff to Race Face, including the helmets. So did they just sell the Easton branded stuff (wheels, forks, HB / stems)?
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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04/22/2014 09:43 AM
Just the Easton branded stuff. The company retains Bell/Giro/Blackburn on the bicycle side, Bell motorcycle and Riddell football.

The wheels which for years had failure-prone hubs and mediocre aerodynamics got a total overhaul last year-- much better hubs, wider rims, better wind profile, and now they dump them. I bought a set of the new tubeless compatible road wheels last fall and ran them with tubeless tires for cross-- pretty nice wheels. I just switched them over to road tires (w/ tubes) for the summer.
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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04/22/2014 11:09 AM
Gotcha....in that case, the deal makes a bit more sense, although I seriously doubt anyone at Race Face understands the demographics of the Easton road consumer base. Will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
Dale

Posts:1767

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04/22/2014 11:20 AM
What makes this even more interesting is the 800,000ft/2 brand new facility Easton-Bell Sports moved into a few months ago. Build the facility then sell off hockey, baseball/softball and Easton?

Makes me go, hmmmmm

http://news.eastonbellsports.com/info/releases/easton-bell-sports-breaks-ground-on-new-distribution-assembly-and-shared-services-center-in-champaign-county-illinois
jrt1045

Posts:363

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04/23/2014 09:08 AM
Just hope that Bradway Financial isn't involved
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