WILTON – Cannondale Bicycles, one of the most enduring brands in the industry based in Connecticut, is getting a new owner in the Netherlands with an existing line of performance bikes including Cervelo, Focus and Santa Cruz.
Canadian company Dorel Industries is selling Wilton-based Cannondale and its other bicycle brands to Pon Holdings for $ 810 million. Dorel plans to use the net proceeds to pay down debt and focus on home textiles and children’s products such as car seats and strollers.
Dorel made the decision to sell despite calling this summer an “unprecedented demand” for bicycles as families seek outdoor distractions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales across all Dorel Sports bike lines were $ 588 million for the first half of this year, an increase of 24 percent over the same period in 2020.
“Demand for bicycles has not stopped and Cannondale models remain extremely popular,” said Martin Schwartz, CEO of Dorel Industries, in August. “2022 will be another year in which we will try to get as much supply as possible.”
Pon Holdings describes itself as a “mobility” company, with businesses ranging from marine propulsion systems to Porsche imports in the Netherlands.
Cannondale is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with Joe Montgomery Company founded in 1971 initially to manufacture bicycle trailers and other accessories. Within a dozen of years, the company shifted focus to making performance bikes.
A failed side business with off-road motorcycles brought Cannondale bankrupt in 2003. A private equity firm bought the company for $ 58 million and turned it over to Dorel for almost four times that in 2008.
Cannondale bikes sell for between $ 1,000 and $ 12,500, including new electric “gravel” bikes that sell for $ 3,500 and $ 5,000.
At the Outdoor Sports Center, not far from Cannondale headquarters, sales boomed from the start when the store reopened in May 2020, according to Jeff Koehler, the store’s sales director.
“There was a mad rush. I think we rode 300 bikes in 10 days, ”said Köhler. “We knew we wouldn’t be getting any bicycles anytime soon. This season we basically knew we were basically out when we were sold out. “
Inventory stockpiling remains an ongoing problem, Koehler added, as container ships loiter outside ports while waiting for berths to unload their cargoes.
Just last March, Dorel opened a fulfillment center outside of Savannah, Georgia, covering nearly 800,000 square feet, and the company is considering moving more bike assemblies to the United States.
In his speech in August, Dorel’s CFO said inventory remained an ongoing problem, highlighting the demand for Cannondale models in particular.
“Even if 50 percent more container ships were suddenly available, we would still have delivery bottlenecks because the factories are either closed or cannot keep up with demand,” said Dorel CFO Jeffrey Schwartz. “When they reach our warehouse, we mostly turn them over and then send them to the customers. … We ended the second quarter with 31 bikes available, so that’s pretty crazy for a company like us. “
Including prior coverage by Robert Brum.
Alex. [email protected]; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Comments are closed.