America’s de facto magazine about the bicycle retail industry has featured Pedego in its most recent issue. Called “100 on the way to 500,” the article describes the company as “the fastest growing, and least traditional, bike brand in the business.” Founder Don DiCostanzo is quoted heavily in the piece and he says “his goal is to build Pedego into the brand that consumers think of when they think of electric bikes – just like Amazon is top of mind for online shopping, Harley-Davidson for motorcycles, or Tesla for electric cars.”

The story by writer Doug McClellan appears in the July 2017 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) magazine and features Don as well as various dealers of Pedego electric bicycles including Mike and Rachel Wolf. The couple opened Pedego’s 100th retail store in the United States in Simsbury Connecticut and Mike, who started working in the bike business 65 years ago, says he’s never met anyone like Don because “he’s a promoter. If you go to the toilet you’ll see a Pedego sign up there.” Mike also says he’s impressed with “Pedego’s investment in replacement parts. DiCostanzo said Pedego maintains an inventory of more than $1 million in spare parts and stocks every component for every Pedego bike ever sold.”

“A car dealership is not the right place to buy an electric car and, similarly, a traditional bicycle store is not the place to buy an electric bicycle.”

The July issue of BRAIN also features a guest editorial written by Don DiCostanzo in which he explains how retailers can learn about electric bikes from the car industry. “Some car companies, including Ford and Mercedes Benz, have already launched electric bicycle models. BMW is launching its line of electric bicycles in the US right now, and General Motors is reportedly developing one. The reason is simple — they understand that car sales are flat because we simply don’t have room for any more vehicles in our cities. Other forms of mobility are emerging and they don’t want to be left behind.” Don goes on to say the a car dealership is not the right place to buy an electric car and, similarly, a traditional bicycle store is not the place to buy an electric bicycle. Which is why Pedego has come up with a successful retail model in which store owners are licensees, not franchise owners. That means they can stock their shelves with whatever accessories they want provided the electric bikes are purchased solely from Pedego.

Don goes on to say in the column that bicycle retailers can learn the following from the automotive industry: “Open a separate location; offer just one brand that specializes only in electric bicycles; and locate it away from other bicycle stores. Pick a brand that offers plenty of choices and that has powerful systems and extended range batteries.”

To read the articles and column in their entirety, click here and download the PDF: BRAIN-PEDEGO-July-2017