Cannondale’s planned mid-summer move of its headquarters from Bethel, Connecticut, a few miles down Route 7 to Norwalk has local dealers cautiously optimistic. While the company hasn't officially announced the move, several local retailers contacted by BRAIN said they had been told about it.
“You always worry about how employees getting bikes for friends will impact you; in the past, before Cannondale was in Bethel and closer to me, this was an issue. But I’ve not heard this still is a problem,” said Rob Koshar, owner of Greenwich Bicycles in Greenwich, Connecticut. “But it is going to be nice having them a little closer, both to get demo bikes if I need them and for the sales and tech training they provide,” Koshar added.
Mike Conlan, who runs the bike department at the Outdoor Sports Center in Wilton, Connecticut, said Cannondales will end up about a mile down the road from his shop. Employee sales were so brazen during the years Pegasus Capital Advisors owned the company that he dropped the brand.
“But when Dorel purchased the company thankfully that ended. I picked up Cannondale again in 2009 and our sales have grown 20 to 30 percent a year ever since,” Conlan said.
Conlan also is looking forward to having Cannondale’s Retail Lab minutes away. From the shop, travel time to Bethel can be 45 minutes, so he sends employees for training once or twice a year. “Now if there is some new tech issue with a new model or I need someone trained, sending them a few minutes down the road is easy,” he added.
One thing Conlan notes is the access to mountain bike trails is limited in the new location. “At Bethel there is great riding right out of the parking lot. I think many are going to miss that,” he said.
