Euride Closes After Championing Italian Thoroughbreds

Adelaide, SA

An Adelaide bike store that established Italian brand Bottecchia in Australia has closed its doors.

The Euride store, in the eastern suburb of Cambelltown, had been on the market for the past two years and officially shut shop late last month.

A spokesperson said Euride’s five partners had other businesses demanding their time and could no longer afford to dedicate sufficient time to operate a bike store with decreasing sales because of competition from online operators.

“We were just about ready to give the store away in the end, to see it continue, so it’s a bit disappointing to see the store close,” he said.

Euride had been established as wholesaler in 2007, focussing on high-end Italian brands such as Bottecchia and De Rosa, and distributing throughout Australia.

“A lot of people came around to our warehouse in Newton wanting to buy bikes, so we put a retail store in front of the warehouse,” he said.

In late 2012, Euride stepped up its bricks and mortar presence by merging with long-established Adelaide retailer Mega Bike, to give it outlets in Campbelltown, Hyde Park and the Adelaide CBD.

However, the merger was short-lived and, while Mega Bike reverted back to its own branding, Euride opted to have the Campbelltown store as its solitary physical store.

In 2013, Euride declared plans to develop a national franchise model, with a retail chain, online services, and brands that also included Fondriest, ITM, Vittoria, DMT and Catlike.

It formed a National Road Series team, Euride Racing Team, and had early success when it won the inaugural 2013 Adelaide Tour.

“Then the wholesale business was slowing down, with a lot people buying off the internet, so we stopped the wholesale and carried on with retail,” the spokesperson said.