Bihr acquires Race FX in UK
Bartenheim, France based distribution group Bihr has moved to further reinforce its UK market position by acquiring British off-road specialist Race FX.
Bihr and Race FX owners Samantha and Paul Irwin signed and closed an agreement that gives Bihr 100% ownership of Race FX, one of the UK market's leading B2B distributors of motorcycle parts, accessories and rider gear for the off-road segment in the UK.
Owned by Kontich, Belgium based Alcopa Group and headed up by CEO Christophe Piron, Bihr is one of Europe's fastest growing distributors and brand owners. The Race FX acquisition complements its 2019 purchase of MotoDirect, the owner of the RST apparel brand and UK Arai distributor.
Piron stated that the objective of the Race FX deal was to get better access to the UK off-road distribution market and complement the position Bihr currently has in the "Street" segment in the UK through MotoDirect.
In addition, Race FX will serve as the logistics platform to deploy Bihr's motorcycle parts and accessories distribution activity in the UK.
"The fit of Race FX and Bihr together just made perfect sense," said Paul Irwin, former owner of Race FX. "Race FX and Bihr have a number of brands in common (Race FX in the UK and Bihr on the continent), and this transaction will allow us to get full access to both the off-road and road distribution channels in the UK."
Christophe Piron, CEO of Bihr, said: "Welcoming Race FX into the Bihr group is a real opportunity for us to truly accelerate our deployment in the UK. Beyond the 34 brands currently distributed by Race FX and MotoDirect in the UK, the brand and product team of Bihr has worked very hard last year to secure the distribution of 150 additional brands in the UK."
Terry Birtles, Bihr's UK Country Manager, said: "The expertise that Race FX has in off-road rider gear and parts and accessories distribution is critical for us. In the coming weeks, we will leverage the Blackburn warehouse to progressively introduce the newly distributed products in UK."
In terms of organisation, Paul Irwin has been appointed Off-Road Business Development Manager UK for Bihr, reporting to Terry Birtles. Bihr UK will operate under two commercial names - Race FX powered by Bihr and MotoDirect powered by Bihr.
Founded in 1975 by Cyrille Bihr, the company now employs some 650 people, including 74 in-house sales representatives and 35 customer service representatives. Present in over 14 countries, the Bihr portfolio includes about 230 brands and 200,000 items, distributed to a network of 11,550 dealers from five warehouses, totalling more than 44,350 m2. The company says it can supply almost all dealers in Europe within 24 hours.
Paul and Samantha Irwin established Race FX in 2003. The company has a 30,000 sq ft distribution centre in the north of England and has a handpicked specialist portfolio of 28 brands - most of which are exclusive to Race FX in the UK.
www.bihr.eu
