PRESS
A Broad Avenue bike shop just announced a new international partnership.
Victory Bicycle Studio and Italian company 3T Cycling have teamed up to bring the first North American customer service and repair center for 3T wheels to Memphis.
“This is a new, cutting-edge industry being created in Memphis, and it’s going to have a large, positive economic impact on the city of Memphis,” said Clark Butcher, owner and CEO of Victory Bicycle Studio and leader of the partnership.
Founded in 1961, 3T Cycling manufactures some of the lightest bicycle components and equipment for every kind of bike racing, from handlebars and seat posts to wheels and aerobars. In 2015, the company added five new service centers across Canada and in Europe.
A location for the 3T service and distribution center is not yet finalized, but a 6,000-square-foot warehouse with an option of an adjoining 6,000-square-foot warehouse has been selected in the Binghampton area. The warehouse should be ready by August or September 2016.
Until the site is ready, the 3T servicing will occur out of Victory Bicycle Studio. Local residents will staff the center. They plan to hire two to three people within the first year with hopes to grow that number in the following years.
“My main goal for the repair and customer service center is for it to be located within walking distance to Binghampton,” Butcher said. “I want to give young men and women in the community the opportunity to learn a skill that leads to a full-time career and clear path to prosperity.”
Executives from 3T Cycling will travel to Memphis from Milan, Italy, in the next few months to tour Memphis.
“Victory Bicycle Studio is a highly skilled outfit with all the resources needed to maintain and repair our wheels,” said René Wiertz, president of 3T. “We have no doubt Clark Butcher’s team at Victory Bicycle Studio will meet the high standards we set for 3T Service Centers. Our customers in the United States can buy our wheels with the assurance of world-class service backup.”
Butcher founded Victory Bicycle Studio in 2010. The shop is located at 2549 Broad Ave. While there is already a 3T service center in Oklahoma, it does not service 3T wheels. Victory Bicycle Studio will handle all 3T wheels.