Bell Sports has purchased Sports Instruments a manufacturer and designed of heart rate monitors, cycle computers and sports watches. Bell will market and sell the Sports Instruments product line through its network of more than 3,000 independent bike dealers, 1,000 snowsports retailers, and more than 40 international distributors.
Electronic accessories make up one of the largest sporting goods product categories, behind apparel and helmets, respectively.

The Sports Instrument product line will be managed by Bell’s Specialty Retail Division, and Bell’s sales force will sell the existing Sports Instruments product line. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are highly focused when it comes to the types of accessories we deliver to the specialty channel,” said Kwai Kong, President of the Bell Specialty Division. “The Sports Instruments products were created through close collaboration among sports physiologists, engineers and industrial designers who are also athletes. These products offer athletes and fitness enthusiasts the tools they need to improve their performance. We have plans and people to create a steady stream of great products in this field.”
BOSS spoke with Greg Shapleigh, VP of Marketing at Bell, who said that electronics is a category that the company has been interested in for quite a while, and they have some very “innovative ideas for both product and marketing.”

Bob Reid, Sports Instruments’ founder, and Bill Corliss, the head of product development will both become Bell employees, but will work from their current location in Park City, Utah. Shapleigh said that Bell may or may not use the Sports Instruments brand name.

“That is really still up in the air, but obviously we have several brands that could easily bring performance electronics and heart-rate monitors to market,” said Shapleigh.

In September, Bell Sports announced it was purchased by Fenway Partners, a private equity firm managing a fund exceeding $900 million. Bell also announced a merger with Riddell Sports Group, another company owned by Fenway. The two companies together formed the largest protective helmet and sports accessories company in the world. The acquisition of Sports Instruments is an example of growth opportunities afforded by the new company’s improved capital structure.

Bell has dabbled in electronics to a small extent with bicycle lighting systems and head-phones built in to SnowSports helmets, but this acquisition marks the company’s first foray into performance electronics going head-to-head with companies like Polar, Suunto, and CicloSport.

Bell Sports has purchased Sports Instruments a manufacturer and designed of heart rate monitors, cycle computers and sports watches. Bell will market and sell the Sports Instruments product line through its network of more than 3,000 independent bike dealers, 1,000 snowsports retailers, and more than 40 international distributors.
Electronic accessories make up one of the largest sporting goods product categories, behind apparel and helmets, respectively.

The Sports Instrument product line will be managed by Bell’s Specialty Retail Division, and Bell’s sales force will sell the existing Sports Instruments product line. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are highly focused when it comes to the types of accessories we deliver to the specialty channel,” said Kwai Kong, President of the Bell Specialty Division. “The Sports Instruments products were created through close collaboration among sports physiologists, engineers and industrial designers who are also athletes. These products offer athletes and fitness enthusiasts the tools they need to improve their performance. We have plans and people to create a steady stream of great products in this field.”

BOSS spoke with Greg Shapleigh, VP of Marketing at Bell, who said that electronics is a category that the company has been interested in for quite a while, and they have some very “innovative ideas for both product and marketing.”

Bob Reid, Sports Instruments’ founder, and Bill Corliss, the head of product development will both become Bell employees, but will work from their current location in Park City, Utah. Shapleigh said that Bell may or may not use the Sports Instruments brand name.

“That is really still up in the air, but obviously we have several brands that could easily bring performance electronics and heart-rate monitors to market,” said Shapleigh.

In September, Bell Sports announced it was purchased by Fenway Partners, a private equity firm managing a fund exceeding $900 million. Bell also announced a merger with Riddell Sports Group, another company owned by Fenway. The two companies together formed the largest protective helmet and sports accessories company in the world. The acquisition of Sports Instruments is an example of growth opportunities afforded by the new company’s improved capital structure.

Bell has dabbled in electronics to a small extent with bicycle lighting systems and head-phones built in to SnowSports helmets, but this acquisition marks the company’s first foray into performance electronics going head-to-head with companies like Polar, Suunto, and CicloSport.