Dorel is launching Cannondale Sports, its first company owned store, to sell and display bikes from Cannondale, GT, Schwinn and Mongoose as well as Cannondale and Sugoi apparel, and parts and accessories. It will also offer Guru fit.
Dorel will use the new store to test retail concepts and ideas that it can then pass on to its retailers.
The 4,200-square-foot flagship store is set to open in May in Carle Place, New York, and is an extension of the retail laboratory it launched last year at its Bethel, Connecticut, headquarters. The retail lab showcases new retail design and merchandising fixtures for its Cycling Sports Group brands and houses a training facility for retailers.
Since launching the retail lab last year, Cycling Sports Group has worked with close to 100 retailers to remodel their showrooms using its branded merchandising displays and fixtures.
“We are deeply committed to the IBD channel. We’ve made a series of investments in the past year that have significantly enhanced the retailer experience while exciting consumers and encouraging them to visit their local bike shops,” said Robert Baird, group president and CEO for Dorel’s recreational and leisure segment. “The Cannondale Sports store takes this to the next level by allowing us to get even close to the consumer to understand exactly what our retailers want and need on a daily basis.”
The Cannondale Sports store will feature a high-tech, multimedia product presentation. It will operate a proprietary mobile point-of-sale system and offer customer-accessible WiFi. The storefront will be made from carbon fiber, modeling the performance found in Cannondale and GT bikes.
