Bicicletta Brand Embarks on a Revitalized Journey Under New Ownership
*VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 3, 2023 /* CSL Sports Ltd. ("CSL"), a Vancouver based collective of cycling enthusiasts is thrilled to announce that it has acquired all of the assets of La Bicicletta, Canada's preferred outfitter for premium cyclists. CSL will use the "Bicicletta" name and "bicicletta.cc" domain, ensuring that Bicicletta will continue to be able to operate as a premier cycling destination in Vancouver and beyond.
Leading the transaction for CSL was Alex Conconi, Malcolm Steenburgh, and Taylor Little, three Vancouver based entrepreneurs and long-time cyclists. All three are members of CSL's Board of Directors, and Malcolm will serve as Interim-CEO with Alex as Chairman of the Board. The trio are excited to breathe fresh life into this iconic brand, and have concurrently begun a search for a new full-time CEO.
All of Bicicletta's employees have been retained by CSL, while Bicicletta's former owners have been retained on transition agreements to help guide CSL with resurrecting the business.
Malcolm Steenburgh added that "We aim to make Bicicletta the most welcoming and helpful experience for aspirational and competitive cyclists in all of Canada - both in person and online. Knowing that Bicicletta has already served over 100,000 guests in the past three years, our vision is to continue to serve that community whether that be outfitting them for road, gravel or mountain biking. We wish to move beyond the stereotype that only hardcore racers can appreciate a premium experience, and seek to open our doors to the larger community of passionate cyclists who engage with the sport in their own way."
Alex Conconi said that "It was clear to us that Bicicletta was an iconic mainstay in the community and thanks to a successful digital transition during the pandemic it had built a national following. Unfortunately, scaling the business coupled with an industry slowdown led to the previous ownership filing for creditor protection. We believe that together we can restore the brand's heritage and are looking forward to the challenge."
CSL is also backed by former Canadian pro cyclists Ryan Anderson and Rob Britton, as well as Jared Boudreau, a mainstay in the Canadian cycling industry, Tiny's Andrew Wilkinson, Outway socks' CEO Rob Fraser, and Neighbourhood Holdings' Director of Finance and former MEC Controller Caroline Kenning.
Partnering with industry leading vendors is central to Bicicletta's new direction, a sentiment shared by Jared Boudreau who said, "Our vision is rooted in forging strong partnerships with top vendors. The overwhelming positive reception from major vendors who are excited about this next chapter reinforces our path forward."
As Bicicletta prepares to unveil its new location in East Vancouver, as well as a revamped brand catalog, the cycling community can support the company in this transition by shopping at bicicletta.cc.
*About Bicicletta:*
A beacon for Vancouver's passionate cycling enthusiasts since 1984, Bicicletta offers a curated selection of premium bicycles, gear, and accessories. Dedicated to fostering a warm, community-focused environment, the shop has ridden through multiple iterations over the decades, evolving and adapting, yet always rooted in its passion for cycling.
Press Contact: Taylor Little, taylor@bicicletta.cc
*FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*
*Who are Alex Conconi, Malcolm Steenburgh and Taylor Little?*
Alex and Taylor are business partners, and Malcolm is a friend and investor in one of their other projects. The three of them came together to form CSL Sports Ltd. when it became apparent that their favourite bike shop was going to cease operations. Fortunately, all three have been friends for a number of years and in an example of "bad situation, right timing" they quickly put together a plan to acquire the assets of Bicicletta from bankruptcy.
Malcolm Steenburgh was a founder of Point Grey Research, a global leader in the development of advanced visible imaging cameras and solutions that are used in industrial automation systems, medical diagnostic equipment, people counting systems, intelligent traffic systems, military and defense products, and advanced mapping systems. Point Grey Research was sold to FLIR Systems Inc. in 2016, freeing up Malcolm's time to resume his passion for cycling which was ignited in 1999 when he raced Sea2Summit on a Gary Fisher hardtail. A software developer by training, Malcolm loaned his expertise to the Bicicletta team to help them build out bicicletta.cc in 2018 and has been a long-time supporter of the business. Despite achieving his goal of pulling more than being pulled at the Whistler Gran Fondo, Malcolm is hard at work honing his mountain biking skills around Lost Lake in Whistler on his Yeti.
Alex Conconi is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Lendesk Technologies Ltd., a digital mortgage origination platform that was acquired by Rock Holdings Ltd. (the parent company of Rocket Mortgage) in 2019. He is also the Founding Partner of Conconi Growth Partners Ltd., a Vancouver-based family office and investment firm. In addition to CSL Sports Ltd., Alex currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Conconi Family Foundation, and Neighbourhood Holdings. Alex is a long time participant of the Ride to Conquer Cancer, where he has been a participant 9 times and co-founded the Knight Riders as a cycling club that trained and raised over $250,000 for cancer research. While not a competitive cyclist, Alex has found himself traveling with his
bike all over the world, and was inspired the most by bike touring through France. After moving to the North Shore last year, Alex is quickly ramping up his mountain bike skills with and bought a gravel bike after his ever first gravel ride on Fisherman's.
Taylor Little is the CEO of Neighbourhood Holdings, an Alternative Lender based in Vancouver. He is also a partner in Conconi Growth Partners, a Vancouver-based family office and investment firm. In addition to CSL Sports Ltd., Taylor currently sits on the Board of Directors for 7mesh Industries Inc., the Conconi Family Foundation, and was previously on the Board of Directors for Cycling BC. A lifelong passionate cyclist, Taylor got hooked on cycling training for the MS Bike Tour as a 9 year old, bikepacking with his Dad as a 13-year-old and then entering his first bike race that same year. Since then Taylor has competed across Canada, the US and Asia on the road, mountain bike and gravel. These days, Taylor is more likely to be found bikepacking with friends or working on his mountain bike skills chasing more talented riders down the trails in North Vancouver where he lives.
*Do you plan to open a brick and mortar retail store?*
Yes. We have a signed offer to lease for a new space in East Vancouver, and just need to finalize long-form lease terms before announcing our new address. We are working as hard as we can to have it ready to launch as soon as possible.
*What will remain the same with the shop, and what will be different?*
We want to retain every bit of positive contribution that Bicicletta has given the cycling community over its nearly 40 years of operating in Vancouver. That includes great service and being a leading provider of bikes, bike accessories and apparel. Our goal is to be the trusted outfitter for passionate cyclists. But more than that, we want to re-establish the business as a community mainstay. Our location in East Vancouver will plant us right in the heart of one of the busiest bike routes in North America where riders can pop in to learn all they need about outfitting their next ride or adventure. We will be ready to serve.
One major difference will be our emphasis on providing an open and welcoming experience for anyone who walks through our door. It used to be that serious cyclists were almost exclusively bike racers. Today, that has changed. There are so many different ways to engage with our sport, but the uniting factor is passion.
*What are your plans for service?*
The pandemic made it difficult to keep our service centre open, but we are very excited to be reopening a full-service bike shop to be at the ready for all of our guests' needs.
*Do you plan to retain support for the local community?*
A big part of the old business was supporting a number of local clubs and events, such as Escape Velocity and Red Truck Racing. We intend to lean into the local community as much as possible going forward, and look forward to using our retail location to help serve local clubs and group rides.
*What brands will you carry?*
We are actively building up inventory and working on building our brand bench, but you can expect a number of returning brands plus some new exciting ones.
*SOURCE: *CSL Sports Ltd.
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