WHAT'S NEW
CompetitiveCyclist.com Joins The Backcountry.com Family of Specialty Retail Stores
Park City, UT Effective today, CompetitiveCyclist.com is joining the Backcountry.com family of specialty retail stores. With this acquisition, Backcountry.com solidifies its commitment to the bike industry and to creating an unparalleled customer experience for cyclists.
Backcountry.com has built three unique businesses focused on three unique industries: Bike, Action Sports and Outdoor. Each industry-aligned business consists of specialty online stores core to that industry. Brendan Quirk, founder and CEO of Competitive Cyclist, will become the General Manager of Backcountry.com’s Bike Division. Numerous key Competitive Cyclist employees will also be making the move to Backcountry.com.
"Brendan’s operating experience, strategic insights, and bike industry expertise will be invaluable to Backcountry.com. We’re excited to welcome him to our executive team," said Jill Layfield, CEO of Backcountry.com. "And the employees that are joining us will be integral as well. They’ve invested personally and professionally in the success of Competitive Cyclist, and their industry relationships and passion about all things bike are going to fuel our bike business."
Backcountry.com’s bike strategy will evolve under Quirk’s leadership. The current plan is to continue to operate all existing stores: CompetitiveCyclist.com, RealCyclist.com and HuckNroll.com, as well Backcountry.com’s two one-deal-at-a-time closeout sites, Bonktown.com and Chainlove.com.
"Each company brings something important to this relationship. We complement each other well," said Quirk. "Backcountry.com recognizes Competitive Cyclist’s core understanding of the bike industry and we recognize Backcountry.com’s proven e-commerce capabilities. We’re going to work together to accentuate and build upon our strengths, with the wants and needs of our customers always in mind."
Backcountry.com and CompetitiveCyclist.com are initiating a thorough integration process. Vendors should expect business as usual and customers should expect the same great service and fast fulfillment to which they’ve grown accustomed.
"This is a new phase for Backcountry.com and Competitive Cyclist," said Quirk, "and we’re confident that what will come of our new relationship will be a better online experience for cyclists."
October 05, 2011
Comment boards suck. It brings out the worst in most of us. Congrats to CC, you guys have been outstanding and I wish you and your wonderful employees all the best.
- Love CC, Dallas
October 01, 2011
Well, I suppose the folks that actually own CC have the option to do with it as they please. I suspect the we're paid fairly well for the business AND are going to be paid fairly well to run the Bike portion of BC. The fact that ANY of the employees were offered the option to move to SLC means that the owner(s), in fact, DOES care about their employees.
Hey, I'd move to SLC if some one paid me to...(any offers?)
- owen, Kansas City, MO
September 30, 2011
I don't like the association with such a brand as backcountry.com. That brand is associated appropriately with backcountry sports. The acquisition will dilute the public perception of Competitive Cyclist. This happened with Montrail being acquired by Columbia Sportswear and Coast Mountain Sports being acquired by The Forzani Group in Canada. For the former being associated with a grandmother marketing image is really detrimental to a climbing brand. And for Competitive Cyclist being associated with the other mediocre bike e-tailers of backcountry.com is equally bad not to mention the association with a retailer with the generic image that is backcountry.com. I respect climbing and I've been climbing for over 10 years and I equally respect road racing, but the two should never be associated into one business. The reasons put forth for an acquisition is the same, but the result is never very good. My perception Competitive Cyclist has changed somewhat for the worse because of this merger just as my perception has changed for brands and retailers I once really liked in Canada. I hope it's reversible in the future when they part ways.
- Samuel, Vancouver, BC, CA
September 06, 2011
I completely agree with Jose and "Baffled". Another example of corporate greed screwing over the little guy. This move is happening for only one reason - money. All of this "commitment", "complement" relationship talk is pure marketing BS. While the CEO of a business gives it direction and vision, it's the employees that do the day-to-day hard work and are just as important for the company to exist. I hope they get something fair out of this deal besides a "thank you", while Brendan walks away with a ton of money from it.
- Charles, New York
September 05, 2011
What happens when you bite more than you can chew; i.e. debt? Sell out to corporate America and fuck the little guy! I remember Mr. Quirk when he use to wait tables in LR before becowing a multi-millionaire. He was good guy and fellow New Yorker. I don't know what happened to him. Good luck CC employees. I'm gonna miss you.
- Jose, Manhattan
September 05, 2011
I've been a customer for a while and have mixed feelings about this move. Its an understandable & often inevitable part of business and may lead to greater things but I'm sad to hear some folks are losing their jobs and that they will close the HQ. Compared to the other online stores around ( and even compared to most LBS) CC always offers good deals and a lot of expertise. Its this level of detail and focus on the products which I hope is kept. Discount wars online are all well & good but once the product is in use I tend to quickly forget the price and focus on how useful it is/isn't. CC has a great hit-rate in this area from me and I hope that doesn't change.
- Pete , Forresters Beach
September 05, 2011
How much does it actually cost to make a Taiwanese made $5K Pinarello? Theyre only painted in Italy!
- Paul, Treviso
September 05, 2011
@ steve I don't get the connection between angry comments on a blog and the selling of a business.
- Arturo, Santa Fe
September 05, 2011
After reading the commentary on this post, is it any wonder he's moving on? Some of you guys are truly damaged individuals in serious need of professional help. I'd shut the place down just to avoid reading the thoughts of self righteous twits and proletariat warriors. We're dealing with Pinnarellos and Assos here! And if LR can't absorb the loss of a bike shop...
- steve, Miami
September 05, 2011
The bike industry in the USA has been selected for extinction. This is true of both on-line retailers and those brick-and-mortar shops that charge $10.00 for a lousy inner tube. The market of douchebags willing to pay >$8000 for a crappy 12 lb. plastic bike with electronic shifting has already been saturated. The pretend-bike-racer market probably peaked 5-10 years ago and is now a virtual dry hole. There are no new markets-- most people loathe bikes. Even if gas were to hit $50/gallon, Americans would go back to horse-drawn wagons instead of turning to bikes. Kids probably hate bikes even more than adults do. No, this sell-out was a smart and necessary move by CC.
- Charles Adam Darwin Smith, SS Beagle
September 05, 2011
Mike, you must be the groupie they all talk about. Why do you even care? Gonna miss those midnight ball shaving sessions with a Campy razor?
CC is selling out to the Family Dollar of on-line retailers that is a lot bigger than them and their company. The CC guys will be gone in a year or 2 as clever clever land will not be tolerated by Realcyclist. They just wanted a few things, which they will take and cut loose the rest, especially management. Hope they got their$
- Francisco Mancebo, Continental Pro
September 04, 2011
Arturo, My first comment was in response to "Baffled" and "Notbuying" and other of that ilk that have posted comments on this blog - on this and numerous other topics. My second comment was in response to "jesus" who seems to argue that if I could imagine what it felt like to lose my job, or if I knew his version of the the birth narrative of CC - then I would see the vitriol was justified. Because after all, "jesus" points out "Love can't exist without Hate." Geez, I feel sorry for the folks with this "jesus" in their lives. I'm all for reasoned and rational commentary on the tragedy that some hard-working folks will lose their jobs, or disappointment that a local business is closing. But a lot of what is written here is the equivalent of a flaming bag of crap left on CC's doorstep for an imagined slight suffered by folks who have yet to indicate any personal involvement in the situation. I meant no ill toward anyone, and only hoped that discourse could be more like an adult conversation and less like a drunken rant..
- mike, salt lake city
September 03, 2011
@ Mike
"it seems to me unrealistic to imagine a business that could thrive solely by adapting to the desires of anonymous critics on a marketing blog."
So far I haven't heard anybody suggest that. You might want to actually read all the comments here. Many are responding to the very real fact that people are losing their jobs and Little Rock is losing an important business.
- Arturo, Santa Fe
September 03, 2011
Jesus, I'll resist the temptation to debate theology with you - though if LOVE can't exist without HATE there is no chance that you will ever triumph and bring creation back to where your dad intended it to be. That's a shame. *** True - if I lost my job I'd be troubled. I've started businesses, folded businesses, hired fired and laid-off folks. I've been squeezed out of a job when a big name iconic brand was purchased by another iconic brand. Life is full of ups and downs.
And I don't know the story of CC's birth. And I don't know Brendan personally. Maybe you do and that might make you better equipped to judge his actions. For me, I guess I'm incredibly naive to assume good intentions, and to assume regrets any for bad consequences. And maybe I'm jaded but it seems to me unrealistic to imagine a business that could thrive solely by adapting to the desires of anonymous critics on a marketing blog. Maybe the business you've started works that way?
- Mike, Salt Lake City
September 03, 2011
Mike, how would YOU feel if you lost your job? Do you even know how CC got started? Before corporate America came into the picture (to satisfy its shareholders), CC was a small and local business founded by 2 men with a passion for cycling and racing. Unfortunately, all of that 'love' will soon be forgotten along with their fairly new million dollar building in North Little Rock. By the way, Love CAN'T exist WITHOUT hate. And have a "3-2" beer on me! Cheers.
- Jesus, Nazareth
September 03, 2011
I've never really understood why people would go out of there way to visit a site - regularly it would seem - only to drop a load of negative sh*t. Almost always nameless cretins from made-up locales, I guess because they're so proud of what they've said.
I've bought here before, and I've bought elsewhere when it was cheaper. I've bought from my LBS and I've bought from chainlove.com and bonktown.com. As for the Service Course, I've been impressed by some of what Brendan has written. But I have never felt offended, attacked, abused, or insulted - so have never felt the need to rage or retaliate.
So WTF? Why the hate?
- Mike, Salt Lake City
September 03, 2011
From the pompously styled "the service course" section of competitivecyclist's website: "In the bike industry the act of re-printing press releases passes as journalism. (...) That's lame, and it's exactly what our weekly What's New dispatches are not." Really? What is the above then, (a) a Sonnet, (b) a Haiku or (c) a press release? Winner gets an autographed "I'm real sorry you lost your job" post card signed by the new bigwig at backwoods.com!
- Baffled, Loosingcustomerland
September 02, 2011
So this places has been selling things like $100 leg warmers and 5K plus frames for years and yet they are firing 15 people?!? (that's what 20-30% of the workforce?) What about the endless boasts of success and the repeated predictions of demise for Trek, Specialized et al? I guess some folks are getting left out in this "new relationship" -- but it doesn't look like Mr. Quirk gives a toss. I know where I won't be going to buy my gear from now on!
- Notbuying, Fromhereagain
September 02, 2011
All corporations merge into OmniCorp.
- Troy, Portland
September 01, 2011
Wow. What happened here?
- Tom, Fruita
