Accell Group, the owner of Raleigh, Diamondback, Redline, iZip and Haibike, has increased its majority share of mobile bike service provider Beeline to a full 100%.
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What's Beeline?
Beeline Bikes is a mobile bike service shop in a van that comes to your home, work or event you're participating in.
The company claims a full range of repairs and maintenance are available as well as new bike assembly from any of Beeline's partnering brands.
According to the website, appointments can be scheduled online or over the phone.
"Beeline Bikes enables us to offer expansion to our IBD partners; it brings convenience, high-touch service, and an experiential and data-driven solution that rapidly expands our consumer reach while bolstering value to our growing franchise network in North America,” said Accell Group CEO Ton Anbeek.
It was also noted that the acquisition will allow Accell to bring the Beeline mobile bike service to Europe.
More choices for consumers
While somewhat unheard of just a few years back in the US, direct-to-consumer bikes are now becoming commonplace.
Less expensive bikes are the allure of online purchasing, but the possibly challenging realities of sizing, building and fitting a bike without the experts at the bike shop remain.
Building up a Canyon Spectral AL 6.0
German-brand Canyon expanded into the US in 2017 and has partnered with Velofix in a similar fashion as Beeline and Accell's bike brands.
Online retailers have gotten into the mobile shop game as well. Competitive Cyclist is partnered with Beeline for delivery and assembly of its online bike sales.
For consumers, it puts a third purchasing option out there that melds the two previous offerings of either going to a local bike shop to buy a complete, ready-to-ride bike or buying directly off the internet with little to no assistance.
Buying a bike from a bike shop vs buying online
“To win locally in the North American market our strategy will focus on the needs and wishes of consumers through a true omni-channel approach. We want to empower IBD’s to serve cyclists the way they research and buy today – across multiple channels. We have been partnering with Beeline Bikes for quite a while and have found that their mobile model and technology platform offer highly attractive synergies with the traditional brick and mortar channels.” said Accell Group CEO Ton Anbeek.