At Interbike today, Currie Technologies announced the hiring of industry legend Hugh Walton as the company’s new Southwest territory manager. That territory was previously covered my Marty Schlesinger who now becomes Currie’s in-house events manager.
“The opportunity to bring an individual of Hugh Walton’s caliber into the Accell North America organization was something we couldnt pass up,” said Rob Kaplan, Currie Technologies vice president of sales. “As the eBike market continues to grow, his level of experience and overall understanding of the importance of the IBD’s role with consumers is invaluable.”
Currie Technologies, a division of Accell North America, is a pioneer in the U.S. eBike market and sister company to Raleigh and Lapierre, which both launched new eBike models at Interbike as well. Currie is the exclusive distributor of Germany’s Haibike eBikes, Swiss-designed eFlow, and designs and sells its own eBikes under the brand name IZIP.
Walton has a storied career in the bike industry. He started out as a professional racer in the early 1980s with team TI-Raleigh, where he was a training partner with Andy Hampsten. In 1984, Raleigh hired Walton as a product manager. Walton left Raleigh in 1988 and started Dash America where he launched the brand Pearl Izumi in North America and grew sales to $25 million. He later started the Hind cycling clothing company, where he was president for seven years. Recently, Walton worked for the Descente clothing company in sales, marketing and product development.
“I see a huge opportunity with the convergence of two growing trends, electronic technology and consumers active outdoor lifestyle across all demographic profiles,” said Walton. “Currie has the product, the resources and the leadership to support retailers with the growing eBike market, and Im excited to be a part of it.”
At Interbike, the Haibike, eFlow and IZIP brands showed they are bullish on the North American eBike market by launching ten new or upgraded models, growing the line from 17 to 24 eBikes. Improvements to the look and feel of e-bikes, as well as major enhancements to drive system technologies and lithium-ion batteries, are cited as reasons for the recent increase of eBike appeal to commuters, fitness, mountain, roadies and casual riders.
