Flurry of activity at storied brand
Following last autumn’s hire of Crank Brothers, Patagonia, and Cannondale alumnus Chad Peterson as Chief Operating Officer, Intense Cycles has brought on another two executives and is promising to “excite the industry and riders with a major product launch” come March. Co-founder of Pedros, new Intense CEO Andrew Herrick has served as Vice-President at GT, on Selle Royal’s Board of Directors, and most recently as President of Crank Brothers. He joins new Chief Financial Officer Eelco Niermeijer, founder Jeff Steber, and partner Marv Strand at the dirt-only frame and bicycle builder.
Following a year in which revenues grew by more than 40% and a strong US push into online retail (through its own online store and partner PricePoint), Intense is investing heavily in what it calls an “exciting strategy.” Brick and mortar retailers are not being left behind, with Intense’s drive to “begin building [their] finished goods inventory to make sure dealers and distributors can get bikes at very short notice.” The company’s confidence in the forthcoming reveal is reflected by its plan to build “a historic high level of inventory of our new bike” for its launch on 17 March.
Intense Cycles are distributed in the UK by Extra UK.
From Intense:
INTENSE CONTINUES FORWARD MOMENTUM WITH CEO AND CFO ANNOUNCEMENTS AT TEMECULA, CALIFORNIA MEDIA EVENT
January 14, 2014, Temecula, CA – This evening, at a media event held at The Mercantile in Temecula, Intense Cycles founder Jeff Steber and partner Marv Strand, announce that Andrew Herrick is joining the company as its Chief Executive Officer.
Herrick had spent the prior 11 years in an executive leadership position at crankbrothers, having sold the business 5 years prior and staying on as CEO until handing over the reins last summer. At that time, he stated that he wanted to find the next great opportunity in the complete bike industry.
“This is another piece of our plan to transform Intense” said Jeff Steber, company founder and partner in Intense, “We had hoped we would find someone with Andrew’s experience and passion for smaller companies. Andrew comes with a proven track history to grow companies both domestically and internationally with his marketing and sales knowledge.”
Herrick added, “When Jeff approached me, I had been looking at some other opportunities but Jeff, Marv and their team convinced me that they were ready and committed to doing something very special with Intense. With the heritage of this great brand and incredible product, I was convinced that this was my next opportunity.”
“However”, Herrick went on to say, “I knew I couldn’t do it without a strong Chief Financial Officer to guide the company on the envisioned growth path, and the company’s recent addition of Eelco Neirmeijer as CFO made the choice easier for me.”
Steber and Strand had recently welcomed Eelco Niermeijer as the company’s CFO. Eelco had come from a larger company environment where he held several financial positions at a public industrial group..
“I have spent some time looking at the Intense business and the bicycle market and I am thrilled to be joining the team, Niermeijer said. “This company just finished a year in which revenues grew more than 40% and this type of success is giving Intense the freedom to execute an exciting strategy and invest in its future. Andrew’s ability to join the company is a direct result of our recent growth, and the strategic opportunities available to us. We will immediately begin building our finished goods inventory to make sure dealers and distributors can get bikes at very short notice from Intense and we will have a historic high level of inventory of our new bike which will be released in a couple of months from now. These are major initiatives for me personally in my role at Intense.”