Rocky Mountain acquires German distributor, BikeAction

Canadian mountain bike brand Rocky Mountain has announced the acquisition of BikeAction, its German distribution partner.

Building on a 30-plus-year partnership, the alliance vertically integrates the Canadian manufacturer into the European market.

Speaking on the announcement, Rocky Mountain CEO Katy Bond said: “In many ways, we’ve been working together as one for years, bonded over a love of two wheels. As we move into a new chapter for Rocky Mountain, it became clear we needed to be under one roof.” She continued, “the vision for Rocky Mountain and BikeAction’s future is singular and focused.”

“By growing a strong European foundation for the brand, we can encourage more people to get out and experience the pure joy of bikes.”

Since 1988, BikeAction has been servicing Rocky Mountain fans in Germany, Austria, the Benelux, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia. This move will bring a united future for both companies, allowing Rocky Mountain to better serve, understand and support riders in BikeAction’s Northern European region.

“Rocky Mountain has a rich history with BikeAction. When we began offering bikes internationally, Germany was the first market we expanded to”, reflects Rocky Mountain Executive Chairman, Raymond Dutil. “Since our early beginnings in Germany, BikeAction has always played an integral part in the internationalization of our product and design; driving us to have a competitive global lineup, including the notable progression of our E-bike offering, Powerplay. This marks a truly special milestone for both businesses.”

Looking ahead, BikeAction will remain operating as a separate entity with the support of the brands Canadian headquarters. BikeAction will continue to work with its loyal customers and dealers as it has in the past, with no changes to staff positions or headcount.

BikeAction, Owner, and President, Christoph Goebel explains, “as I transition into retirement, finding a
home for BikeAction within Rocky Mountain felt like a natural fit for the business. Mr. Dutil has always
instilled a family-owned tradition for Rocky Mountain that parallels the ethos of our distribution
business.”

Industry observations

The move from Rocky Mountain is entirely in keeping with consolidation actions which have taking place across the industry, at all levels, over the past 24 months.

At retailer level, taking in the North American field of view, Rick Vosper penned ‘Supplier-owned bike shops are the ultimate concept store‘ for BR&IN, exploring the ‘brands buy into retail’ subject in detail.

In the UK, Specialized and Trek both own and operate retail stores. Whilst Giant is a presence in UK retail, this remains a partnership with existing retailers approach.

Globally, Trek and Specialized have also made D2C moves in the past 24 months, with Giant also moving into the D2C space with a ‘click and collect’ announcement.

At global business level, the movement in the market seen Dorel Sports bought by Pon Holdings in $810 million deal.

When the deal closed in October of 2021, Dorel had, for FY21, registered an annual revenue of around $1 billion, up 14.9%. Meanwhile, PON Holdings turned over nearly €7.58 billion, of which €875 million was attributed to the bike division. For Pon it is said that 70% of its sales now revolve around electric bikes.

2022 then saw external investment in the industry with Accell Group bought in a €1.56 billion ‘go private’ deal via a KKR-led consortium.