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ATB Sales will no longer distribute Marin to the UK cycle trade.
The shakeup – which sees the long-running deal come to an end with effect from Friday October 18th 2013 – comes after Marin’s takeover at the start of last year by Minestone Ltd.
Thanking dealers for their support for the brand over the last 25 years, ATB MD Derek Farrant revealed the company had been working under "an interim gentlemen’s agreement" since the takeover, effectively allowing Marin "to end our distributorship without notice".
After the cut off date, bike retailers should contact Marin directly by telephone on 001 415 382 6000 or by email at sales@marinbikes.com
Here’s the full statement from ATB Sales:
"It is with great regret that I have to inform you that my company ATB Sales Ltd will shortly no longer be representing Marin in the UK.
Unfortunately, under the new ownership of Mr Soejanto Widjaja, Marin have advised us that they consider the increasing success of Whyte will inhibit ATB from giving suitable support to the marketing of the Marin brand. This is something I feel we have done for what must be an industry record 25 year partnership, initially building the brand into a leading position in the U.K. and more recently keeping it alive and active in the market while the new team attempted to repair and recover from a period of underdevelopment and lack of investment under the previous ownership.
Since the change of ownership we had been working under an interim gentlemen’s agreement and without a formal contract, enabling Marin to end our distributorship without notice and this has left us with no alternative but to effect the change as soon as possible. With this in mind, we will cease all distribution responsibilities for Marin effective Friday October 18th, 2013.
After this time we would ask that any queries concerning distribution or backup are directed to Marin directly either by telephone 001 415 382 6000 or by email at sales@marinbikes.com In the meantime we will do everything we can to support our customers.
We would have appreciated a little longer changeover time but having been told we were no longer needed on Thursday 10th October, the following day Friday a.m. we had a call from a member of the trade saying, “You are no longer the Marin distributor” and questioning how bikes would be distributed in the future. Things get around fast in this industry!
Ultimately, this turn of events will cause us to focus our efforts on developing the Whyte and Wilier brands, both of which are thankfully still exhibiting the very encouraging growth that drove Marin away. It will also free up some bandwidth for us to possibly pursue other opportunities as they may arise.
I would sincerely like to thank all of our dealers, past and present for their support through the years and look forward to new and exciting opportunities together in the future.
Yours sincerely
Derek Farrant
Managing Director"
