RadPower raises $25m from VC funding

[Dewey]

BRAIN report RadPower Bikes raised $25 million in a round of Venture Capital funding, source: https://www.bicycleretailer.com/ind...ion-investment-plans-more-stores#.XjsvkC9Omf0

Rad says they will use the money to expand both their bricks and mortar stores and investment in Velofix mobile vans branded Rad Mobile Service

 

[rich c]

Very ironic that businesses that built there wealth by internet sales, maybe caused some local shops to close, are now investing in brick and mortar. I guess that will open the door for another internet only business to increase their marketing and put a beating on RadPower.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Very ironic that businesses that built there wealth by internet sales, maybe caused some local shops to close, are now investing in brick and mortar. I guess that will open the door for another internet only business to increase their marketing and put a beating on RadPower.

Sounds like an Amazon story, though Amazon took longer to do the store thing. Market share battles will be inevitable. Rad caught a lot of regular bike firms flat footed, who added ebikes to their line up, or even the ones who added ebikes before Rad existed, but they didn't take it seriously enough or got greedy pricing too many models at prices that were out of reach for a large population of new buyers. Many early players are being forced to totally re-think their line ups and go to market strategies. I think it's fascinating to see what Rad has done. They identified a way to bring what previously may have been viewed as an esoteric product into the mainstream, with out a lot of glitz or fanfare, but something that just works at a reasonable price point. They jumped the technology adoption 'market chasm' that many firms fail to grasp how to exploit. (Cited clearly in Geoffrey Moore's book “Crossing the Chasm" - amazingly prescient book written back in the early 90's - seems like yesterday when I first read that book back in the mid 90's. It went on to become required reading for many an MBA student)