Madison takes on Pearl Izumi

At the beginning of 2008 Shimano Inc. acquired the apparel and footwear brand Pearl Izumi. This has now led to a change for Pearl Izumi’s distribution in the UK and Ireland.

Pearl Izumi distribution in countries where Shimano already had their own sales offices – such as the Benelux,Sweden, Finland, France and Poland – was immediately handled by those distributors.

Jürgen Sprich, managing director of Pearl Izumi Europe said: “With Madison we add a great regional player to our distribution model, allowing us to work as close as possible to the market. This change in the UK and in Ireland will enable us to accomplish our target of being one of the leading cycling and running brands in the European market.”

Madison managing director Dominic Langan said. “With Pearl Izumi we have a premium brand that is complementary to our existing ranges such as Shimano cycling wear and shoes and Madison apparel.

"Madison has left this sector of the market wide open to competitors for too many years. With our new brand offering and a restructured sales force to provide the specialist clothing knowledge required to properly service the market, along with significant investment in marketing and stock, we can serve our customers better than ever.

"As a business we will now be able to offer a full and complete cycling apparel solution to our customers which is what we know they want from us. Furthermore, Pearl Izumi gives us an exciting opportunity within the sporting goods industry, where we already have many good customers but now we can also offer quality running gear.”

The cooperation between the two companies will be effective from 1st January, 2010.