The Raleigh News & Observer today reported that Chapel Hill-based Performance Bikes has been sold to a private equity firm, North Castle Partners of Connecticut.
According to the article, North Castle, “targets companies that benefit from the trend toward healthful living.”
Performance, which also operates Bike Nashbar, currently has 74 retail stores in 14 states and also sells through catalogs and over the Internet.
Aggressive expansion is in Performance’s future. Plans call for 90 new stores over the next four years.
The article points out a trend in the bike industry: The number of mom-and-pop shops is declining.
There are about 4,600 independent bike shops nationwide -- down from 7,000 a few years ago, according to one industry source. The stores that are left are generally getting bigger, the article states.
I like Performance and sometimes shop at the company’s Cary store. But I'd hate to see the company’s expansion cause further declines in the number of small indie shops. Because I'm a fan of them.
The guys at Performance weren’t the ones who taught me how to build a wheel. Or helped me get a stuck stem out of an old Raleigh Pro. That was my longtime friend Ed at Cycle Logic in Raleigh.
And they’ve never given me one bit of randonneuring advice. Or had the small bits I needed for my 1971 Raleigh International. Or sold me spare bulbs for my E6 light. I had to get those from Gilbert Anderson’s North Road Bicycle Company, which is now located in Yanceyville. Gilbert is a PBP ancien.
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