The owner of six Bike Gallery retail store locations in the Portland region has decided to sell the business to Trek Bicycle Corp.
Mike Olson bought the Bike Gallery chain from founder and owner Jay Graves in 2012. Olson announced the news in an email to employees Monday. A source shared the email with BikePortland. Below is an excerpt:
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“I was not looking to sell the stores, I believe it’s the best time ever to be in the bike business… I am excited to see what Trek can do with the company we built over the last 18 years. Although I know this is the right decision. It is made with mixed emotions… I know that this team, combined with tricks forward thinking plan and vast resources will be even better able to accomplish our mission of making people’s lives better with bikes… Let the new adventures begin.”
According to Olson all current Bike Gallery employees will be offered a job in the newly-branded stores.
In addition to the six Bike Gallery stores, Olson also owns a chain of six stores (five in San Diego, one in New Mexico) under the Trek Bicycle Superstore banner and Nytro, a triathlon-specific store in San Diego. All of them will be sold to Trek as part of this deal. Olson purchased the Trek stores in 2003 and has become the top Trek bicycle dealer in the country.
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This move comes at a time of upheaval in the bike retail business. A major bike boom from the Covid-19 pandemic and federal stimulus grants have given independent bike dealers the ability to pay off debts and re-assess their business plans. Bike Gallery received $714,738 from the Paycheck Protection Program.
The bike boom has also infused the larger players with heaps of cash from sales and investors. Trek is the biggest player in the retail market and is on a bit of spending spree of late. In December Trek made headlines for buying another major independently-owned, multi-store chain in Texas.
It remains to be seen what these changes will mean for Bike Gallery customers. Bike Gallery has always been a major Trek dealer, so expect even more bikes and products from Trek and Trek-owned brands like Electra and Bontrager.
In the announcement to employees yesterday, Olson said, “Times change and we need to change with them. I believe Trek has a great model to adapt to our changing times. They have a plan to get more people on bikes, create a great place for people to work and to make the world a better place.”
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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