Presenting the 1st Annual Cargo, Family and Electric Bike (CFE) Symposium in Las Vegas NV

Santa Monica, CA, September 10, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Keynote Address: Jay Townley, 58 year industry veteran, former president of Giant Bicycles and Partner of The GluskinTownley Group.

Eventbrite Registration: bit.ly/cfesymposium, dinner and after-party to follow

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 15th, 12pm-6pm, Las Vegas NV

Trends the Bicycle Industry Can No Longer Afford to Ignore: Cargo, Family and Electric Bikes. Jay Townley, former president of Giant Bicycles and keynote speaker at this year’s Cargo, Family and Electric (CFE) Bike Symposium, believes the US bike industry has systematically failed to introduce new consumers to bicycles.

Outsiders are surprised to hear about double-decade declines, especially as bicycles become increasingly visible in mainstream media. Why is the industry contracting? Historical mainstays for bike shops - road and mountain bikes - no longer fuel growth. Where is growth happening? Growth is happening in sales of cargo, family and electric bikes. Can retailers adapt and thrive? The CFE Symposium created by Ross Evans, Xtracycle CEO, aims to guide the way on September 15th.

“A more savvy consumer is looking for smarter and better solutions to their daily transportation needs, and has become a big influence on not only the development of new products, but also how those products are being purchased,” said Ross Evans. “While the underlying technology becomes more sophisticated, consumers are much more interested in what it does for them and how it contributes to their experience.”

The ‘Fourth Era’ In Bicycle Retail

Townley predicts the segment of existing retailers serving emerging market segments like cargo, family and electric bikes, will survive and constitute a more progressive “fourth era” in bicycle retail. These new wave shops are now thriving in cities all over the US. Trends suggest that large bicycle chains are struggling, while fourth era shops are experiencing double-digit growth year over year.

Aika Trading (www.aikatrading.com), presenting symposium sponsor and importer of YEPP, the award-winning front and rear child bike seats, has been watching this trend develop for many years. Anne-Marij Berendsen, president of Aika Trading agrees, saying, “The same customers who have been driving Yepp’s product development and sales have become one of the most important factors in the direction of the entire bike industry.”

Aika Trading (www.aikatrading.com), presenting symposium sponsor and importer of YEPP, the award-winning front and rear child bike seats, has been watching this trend develop for many years. Anne-Marij Berendsen, president of Aika Trading agrees, saying, “The same customers who have been driving Yepp’s product development and sales have become one of the most important factors in the direction of the entire bike industry.”

Joel and Barb Grover started Splendid Cycles in Portland, OR in 2008 to focus specifically on electrified cargo bikes. Importing European cargo bikes for the US market, Splendid expects 40% growth in 2015. G & O Family Cyclery, started in 2012, became a top seller for brands like Xtracycle, Bullitt, and Brompton in under 24 months. The New Wheel bike shop in San Francisco brings professionalism to the sale and service of e-bikes, doubling their growth year over year for five years running.

“These entrepreneurial retailers are people-focused, solution-oriented, and business-savvy,” explains Evans. “...and like Jay Townley, I believe they are the future of this industry. The CFE symposium gives these retailers a chance to teach what they’ve learned to others.”

CFE Symposium Sponsors

Ross Evans, inventor and founder of iconic cargo bike brand, Xtracycle, has brought together a group of CFE focused brands and retailers to sponsor this year’s CFE Symposium. Sponsors include:
- YEPP, Dutch child-seat manufacturer
- Bosch, electric bike drive system manufacturer
- Faraday Bikes, San Francisco electric bike startup
- Splendid Cycles, Fourth era Portland bicycle retailer
- New Belgium Brewing, Fat Tire-friendly fine beer purveyor
-Tern, Folding bikes for urban transport

About Yepp

The YEPP brand is owned by GebroedersMelkert Gouda (GMG) is a Dutch company with a long history of selling child bicycle seats and is the manufacturer of the YEPP child bike seats. GMG has been making child bicycle seats since 1934. Since the day the company was founded, over 4 million seats were produced and sold. Aika Trading is the exclusive importer and distributor of the YEPP child bicycle seats in North America. Aika Trading will be present at this year’s Interbike and at the Cargo, Family and Electric Bike Symposium (www.aikatrading.com).

With the use of a new material and a contemporary design, YEPP has redefined the world of child bicycle seats. YEPP shows that safety, ease of use, comfort and design can go hand-in-hand. Since their introduction in 2009 the YEPP seat have been honored with over 15 awards, among which the Reddot Design award.

About Xtracycle

Twenty years ago an idealistic Stanford engineering student, Ross Evans, landed in war-torn Nicaragua. In a tin and cinder-block shed, he welded together a revolutionary invention: a long-tail cargo bike that empowered farmers to pedal their produce to market. Returning to California, Ross founded Xtracycle with a vision for transforming American transportation. Together, with countless early riders, Xtracycle ignited a cargo bike movement that is spreading across the globe.

Today, the pioneering XtracycleEdgeRunner design leads the way in the LongTail category they created. Realize your dreams. Sweeten your days, one pedal stroke at a time.

For more information, or to schedule an interview, please call 510-567-4640, send an e-mail to evan@xtracycle.com or visit xtracycle.com.