Triathlon Business International (TBI), the industry organization dedicated to promoting the sport and the business of triathlon, and leading tri website Slowtwitch.com have announced the Top 50 Multisport Retailers in the United States at the 2014 North American TBI Industry Conference.
The Top 50 Retailer list was compiled by Slowtwitch.com publisher Dan Empfield through a rigorous voting process. This is weighted 80% on suppliers’ votes (run, bike, component/accessory, wetsuit and apparel manufacturers and/or distributors) and 20% on consumer votes, specifically the Slowtwitch.com readers.
Also, to be considered, the retailer must have a brick and mortar presence.
These are the Top 50 US multisport retailers for 2013 (sorted alphabetically):
| All3Sports | Atlanta | GA |
| Arts Cyclery | San Luis Obispo | CA |
| Athletes Lounge | Portland | OR |
| Austin Tri Cyclist | Austin | TX |
| Belmont Wheelworks | Belmont | MA |
| Big Shark Bicycle Company | St. Louis | MO |
| Bike Doctor | Arnold | MD |
| Bonzai Sports | Falls Church | VA |
| Brickwell Cycling and Multisports | Great Neck | NY |
| Britton’s Bike Shop | San Antonio | TX |
| Chainwheel | Little Rock | AK |
| Colorado Multisport | Boulder | CO |
| Contender Bicycles | Salt Lake City | UT |
| Davis Wheelworks | Davis | CA |
| Element Multisport | Chicago | IL |
| Endurance House | Middleton | WI |
| Fast Splits | Newton | MA |
| Fit Werx 2 | Peabody | MA |
| Fleet Feet | Sacramento | CA |
| Freshbikes | Arlington | VA |
| Gear West Bike and Triathlon | Long Lake | MN |
| Get a Grip Cycles | Chicago | IL |
| Inside Out Sports | Cary | NC |
| Inside Out Sports | Charlotte | NC |
| Jack and Adams | Austin | TX |
| Mack Cycle | Miami | FL |
| Moment Cycle Sport | San Diego | CA |
| Naperville Running Co | Naperville | IL |
| Northwest Tri and Bike | Kent | WA |
| Nytro Multisport | Encinitas | CA |
| Paragon Sports | NY | NY |
| Play Tri | Dallas | TX |
| Podium Multisport | Atlanta | GA |
| R&A Cycles | Brooklyn | NY |
| Richardson Bike Mart | Richardson | TX |
| Running Away Multisport | Deerfield | IL |
| Running Away Multisport | Chicago | IL |
| SBR Multisports | NY | NY |
| SBR Sports | Orem | UT |
| Speedy Reedy | Seattle | WA |
| Sunrise Tri | West Babylon | NY |
| T3 Multisport | Indianapolis | IN |
| Tri Shop | Plano | TX |
| Tri Town | Boise | ID |
| Triathlon Lab | Santa Monica | CA |
| Tribe Multisport | Scottsdale | AZ |
| TriBella | Boulder | CO |
| Trisports.com | Tucson | AZ |
| Urban Tri Gear | Chicago | IL |
| Wheat Ridge Cyclery | Wheat Ridge | CO |
Methodology
Ballots with approximately 300 retailer names divided among nine geographic areas – West; Rockies; Prairie; Northwest; Northeast; Mid-south; Mid-Atlantic; Great Lakes; and the Deep South – were distributed to 75 suppliers. These suppliers were allowed to select 3 to 6 retailers per region depending on the size of the region, up to 47 retailers in total.
Criteria that supplier voters were asked to consider included: technical and brand knowledge; significant triathlon-related in-store inventory; service to the local community; knowledge of the sport of triathlon; ability to work with and satisfy their customers when it comes to product match, size, fit and equipment set-up; and other value-added customer extras such as sponsorship of races; training rides; workshops and guest speakers.
Slowtwitch’s readers voted for retailers based on nine parameters, from inventory breadth and depth, to staff product knowledge, to parking and hours.
“Triathlon Business International has been honoured to partner with Slowtwitch.com the past four years to present the Top 10 and Top 50 Triathlon Retailers.” said TBI President Jack Caress when the list was announced.
“We think it’s important to recognize the best shops throughout the United States, ones who have done a great job offering the top products, technical expertise and professional services to their triathlete customers.”
From this list of 50, the Top 10 multisport retailers will be announced and honoured at the ACTIVE Network Awards Celebration along with the top triathlon product for 2013, the Triathlete’s Choice best events, best published triathlon article, best triathlon photograph and the male and female Ron Smith Award winners.
The first two years of TBI’s and Slowtwitch’s partnership, only the Top 10 retailers were identified and recognized. The selection was made through a consensus-based decision of TBI’s Board of Directors. The last two years, the list was expanded to the Top 50 and an algorithm for voting was created.
Voters are suppliers (manufacturers and distributors) and consumers (slowtwitch.com readers). Suppliers have the heaviest weight in the voting algorithm.
Triathlon Business International (TBI) is an industry organization dedicated to promoting the sport and the business of triathlon. Founded by a coalition of industry leaders, TBI advocates for the interests of triathlon businesses, provides educational and informative programs, and encourages increased participation in the sport.
Slowtwitch is a major online site that is ‘all about endurance sports, specifically swimming, cycling and running.’ With a team of expert writers, the staff ‘love bikes and cycling technology’; and the site itself has a major following across the US triathlete population and is highly popular with international multisport athletes alike.
www.triathlonbusinessintl.com
www.slowtwitch.com
