Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner
1 - 15 of 15 Posts

· Registered
Joined
·
46 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Thule Acquires Sportworks' Quick-load Bike Racks Division SportsNewsSource

Thule has reportedly signed a letter of intent to acquire the Quick-load Bike Racks division of Sportworks Northwest, Inc. In accordance to the LOI, Thule will acquire the Quick-load Bike Racks' assets from Sportworks and will make the line available to Thule dealers on May 9, 2005.

Read more for further details....

"We continue to be on the lookout for companies that fit in well with Thule's product and growth strategies," said Fred Clark, Thule, Inc. President. "This acquisition fit all our criteria and the addition of the Quick-load products to the Thule line, gives us the most comprehensive and innovative offering of bicycle racks in the industry."

Under the letter of intent Thule will distribute Sportworks Quick-load Bike Racks with Sportworks branding, while Sportworks will continue to manufacture and distribute their Bike-Rack-for-Buses line under the Sportworks brand. Over the next year the Sportworks Quick-load Bike Racks will be fully integrated into the Thule line with Thule branding. "We are proud of our accomplishments of taking the Sportworks brand of consumer rack systems as far as we did," said Mike Reeves, President of Sportworks. "This opportunity with Thule will expand the distribution of our consumer products, while allowing us to concentrate on our original business of serving the transit market."

"Sportworks has always had very innovative products and they are the true originator of the platform hitch rack system," said Chris Dannewitz, Thule, Inc. VP of Business Development. "Their new T2 platform hitch rack and the Insta-Gater truck bed rack are fine examples of Sportworks products that will be worthy of the Thule brand name." Thule and Sportworks are in the process of due diligence and will be communicating with their customers in the next few weeks on how the relationship will affect their business.

Thule and Sportworks will formerly announce the agreement at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA April 14-17
 

· I wanna talk to Samson!
Joined
·
3,297 Posts
I don't really know what to think. I guess this will mean cheaper prices, but the guys at thule really are tools....
 

· Registered
Joined
·
627 Posts
konabiker said:
I don't really know what to think. I guess this will mean cheaper prices, but the guys at thule really are tools....
We are told up here in Canada that it will actually mean higher prices. The Sportworks T2 presently sells for $520, they figure after Thule takes over it will compete with the Yakima Hookup at ~$800.
 

· Glad to Be Alive
Joined
·
42,881 Posts
davet said:
We are told up here in Canada that it will actually mean higher prices. The Sportworks T2 presently sells for $520, they figure after Thule takes over it will compete with the Yakima Hookup at ~$800.
yikes that sucks big time
 

· I wanna talk to Samson!
Joined
·
3,297 Posts
Speedub.Nate said:
Cripes! That's good and bad. Wow.

Hey, does this mean all our local buses will sport huge Thule fairings?
while Sportworks will continue to manufacture and distribute their Bike-Rack-for-Buses line under the Sportworks brand
I was a lil' confused about that too, but I think Sportworks will keep the part of the business that does the racks for buses, but eventually the rest of the company will be changed to the Thule brand name.

~$800? Jeezus christ.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
811 Posts
AsianPersuasion said:
I'm sure they will jack up the prices. Glad I got mine last season. I love it. Better go tell my buddy to get his Insta-gator soon.
I'm 100% sure the prices will go up. It's obvious - by this acquisition Thule effectivelly got rid of a competitor, and in a market which is as close to a monopoly as you can get, there's going to be no reason for them to keep lower prices now.... It's ridiculous, really.

Arek
 

· Derailleurless
Joined
·
9,119 Posts
Arek said:
Iin a market which is as close to a monopoly as you can get, there's going to be no reason for them to keep lower prices now
Huh? Yakima. Saris. Hollywood. 1up. Surco. Swagman. BVG.

Those are all companies that will be happy to step in and fill any void cause by Thule pricing themselves out of the market.

You may not know all of those names, but you can be sure the consumer will figure things out pretty quickly if they feel like they are being taken advangage of.

Point is, there is nothing close to a monopoly in the car rack market.
 

· hands up who wants to die
Joined
·
1,406 Posts
What a bummer... Sportworks should have dominated the hitch rack market. Their product is far and away the best I've seen.

Thule is all about mediocre products (*plastic" locks for god's sake!), slow innovation and high prices aimed at the 1st-time/uneducated customer. :( Yakima is about the same as Thule.

-rob
 

· Derailleurless
Joined
·
9,119 Posts
rpet said:
What a bummer... Sportworks should have dominated the hitch rack market. Their product is far and away the best I've seen.

Thule is all about mediocre products (*plastic" locks for god's sake!), slow innovation and high prices aimed at the 1st-time/uneducated customer. :( Yakima is about the same as Thule.

-rob
I like to think Yak is a little better than Thule, but admittedly I haven't been 100% impressed with the engineering behind my King Cobra.

Thule had a chance to improve on the Cobra with their Super-G, but between the plastic locks, needlessly bulky construction, and abundence of wheel straps, I gave up hope.

I learned years and years ago when I bought my Hollywood hitch rack that I made a mistake, and should have choosen the Sportworks instead. Hopefully Thule will adopt Sportworks' "KISS" mantra.
 
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top