Hi guys, while visiting the manufacturer and foreign product areas of Interbike this year, I met with the managing director of BTN Innovative E-Bikes, a Chinese company that has been working in the space since 2009. These guys sell blank non-labeled ebikes to shops in Europe and the USA (since around 2015), and can even white-label them if 50+ are ordered. It's a way for shops to maybe dabble in ebikes or just have an affordable option on the floor.
What I thought was really neat here is that the minimum order quantity is just one unit and they ship internationally for $100. This company is only targeting independent electric bike shops and dealers vs. going direct. They are offering a two year warranty on parts, but do charge some for shipping, and have a couple of folding ebikes in the $1k MSRP range all the way up to full suspension carbon models in the $3k range. Later in the interview, I was told that over 100 shops already carry these bikes in the United States... and I'm guessing that they are expanding in North America due in part to the "anti dumping" legislation in Europe. In any case they didn't give me a specific shop name, maybe to protect the rebranding that they can do?
Both Kevin Fang and Nicolas Zhang had accents because Mandarin and Cantonese are their first languages, but their English was good enough to speak and get things worked out for the most part. These guys finished up by telling me about their warehouse with parts in Las Vegas, that is meant to help service and support products around the country (reducing turnaround time). They created a brand called Concord which was named for Concord California, where their US offices are based.
To run the forums, host the site, and travel, I have introduced a service fee for my reviews and some in-depth videos like this. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and post are not meant to be an endorsement but I did receive payment from BTN to spend extra time and make this video.
What I thought was really neat here is that the minimum order quantity is just one unit and they ship internationally for $100. This company is only targeting independent electric bike shops and dealers vs. going direct. They are offering a two year warranty on parts, but do charge some for shipping, and have a couple of folding ebikes in the $1k MSRP range all the way up to full suspension carbon models in the $3k range. Later in the interview, I was told that over 100 shops already carry these bikes in the United States... and I'm guessing that they are expanding in North America due in part to the "anti dumping" legislation in Europe. In any case they didn't give me a specific shop name, maybe to protect the rebranding that they can do?
Both Kevin Fang and Nicolas Zhang had accents because Mandarin and Cantonese are their first languages, but their English was good enough to speak and get things worked out for the most part. These guys finished up by telling me about their warehouse with parts in Las Vegas, that is meant to help service and support products around the country (reducing turnaround time). They created a brand called Concord which was named for Concord California, where their US offices are based.
To run the forums, host the site, and travel, I have introduced a service fee for my reviews and some in-depth videos like this. My goal is to be transparent and unbiased, this video and post are not meant to be an endorsement but I did receive payment from BTN to spend extra time and make this video.
