Competitive Cyclist is being sold to the Backcountry.com family of specialty retail stores for an undisclosed amount, it announced Monday.
Brendan Quirk, founder and CEO of Competitive Cyclist, will become general manager of Backcountry’s new bike division. According to a news release, "numerous key Competitive Cyclist employees will also be making the move to Backcountry.com."
Backcountry is based in Park City, Utah. It is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media of Englewood Colo.
Competitive Cyclist’s facility in the North Shore Industrial Park in North Little Rock near Maumelle will remain open, the release said.
But Marit Fischer, communications manager for Backcountry.com, told ArkansasBusiness.com on Tuesday that the building would eventually be up for lease.
Fischer said that Backcountry.com had offered jobs in Park City to "the majority" of Competitive Cyclist’s 55 or so employees, who have 30 days to decide on the offer.
"From Brendan’s feedback so far, the employees are really excited about coming out and joining us here," Fischer said. "Our company cultures are really, really similar, in terms of loving to be outside and being passionate about the gear that we sell." She added, "We’re hoping that up to 25 to 30 people will come and join us here."
Fischer said the deal to buy Competitive Cyclist closed on Aug. 19, though she, too, declined to provide financial details.
Fischer said Competitive Cyclist was very similar in culture and philosophy to Backcountry.
"And we saw a natural fit between the two organizations. We believe that by combining efforts we’ll be able to build a world-class bike business online."
Liberty Media has interests in a broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses, its website notes. They include the Liberty Interactive group (Nasdaq: LINTA, LINTB), which includes Liberty Media’s interests in home shopping television network QVC, Provide Commerce, Backcountry.com, Celebrate Interactive, Bodybuilding.com, Evite.com and Expedia.com; the Liberty Starz group (Nasdaq: LSTZA, LSTZB), which includes Liberty Media’s interest in cable movie network Starz LLC; and the Liberty Capital group (Nasdaq: LCAPA, LCAPB), which includes all businesses, assets and liabilities not attributed to the Interactive group or the Starz group. These include its subsidiaries in the Atlanta National League Baseball Club Inc. and TruePosition Inc., Liberty Media’s interest in SiriusXM Radio Inc., and minority equity investments in Time Warner Inc. and Live Nation.
According to the news release, the acquisition enables Backcountry to solidify its commitment to the bike industry and to creating an unparalleled customer experience for cyclists.
"Brendan’s operating experience, strategic insights, and bike industry expertise will be invaluable to Backcountry.com. We’re excited to welcome him to our executive team," said Jill Layfield, CEO of Backcountry.com, in the release. "And the employees that are joining us will be integral as well. They’ve invested personally and professionally in the success of Competitive Cyclist, and their industry relationships and passion about all things bike are going to fuel our bike business."
Quirk called the deal a "new phase," and said the new relationship will make for a better online experience for cyclists.
"Each company brings something important to this relationship. We complement each other well," said Quirk. "Backcountry.com recognizes Competitive Cyclist’s core understanding of the bike industry and we recognize Backcountry.com’s proven e-commerce capabilities. We’re going to work together to accentuate and build upon our strengths, with the wants and needs of our customers always in mind."
Quirk said vendors and customers should expect business as usual.
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