Rapha announced today that Brendan Quirk will join the company as President of its North American business, effective September 1, 2015. Quirk was Co-Founder and long-time CEO of Competitive Cyclist, before serving as Executive Vice President of Backcountry.com. He will be responsible for developing an aggressive growth strategy for the U.S. market and for the execution of an increasingly U.S.-centric go-to-market plan.
“Rapha has established a solid and successful business in the U.S. since we first came over in 2006,” says Simon Mottram, Founder/CEO of Rapha. “The U.S. is the world’s largest road cycling market and therefore it needs our full focus at the executive level. We are raising new capital specifically to invest in our U.S. business, to expand the number of Rapha Cycle Clubs in key American cycling cities, as well as further the reach of our e-commerce business.”
“Brendan and I have been friends and business colleagues for a decade, which counts for a lot. In addition, the growth of the Competitive Cyclist brand was due, in large part, to its engaging content and effective retention marketing. This aligns closely to what we do at Rapha. Between this and the experience he gained at Backcountry in scaling an e-commerce business, we’re confident in how he’ll lead our increased investment in the U.S.”
“Rapha has long been the most compelling brand in the road cycling market,” says Quirk. “The design and the quality of Rapha apparel and accessories are industry-leading. But what makes the brand so amazing is the variety of ways it gives joy to road cyclists. The writing and photography on Rapha.cc evoke the romance of the sport, the intensity of the experience you get inside a Cycle Club is the next best thing to being roadside during a stage of the Tour de France, and the sense of community Rapha creates at every touchpoint of the brand brings together road cyclists from all over the world.”
“The growth of Rapha in the U.S. over the last two years shows the appetite for the brand here, both in retail and online. Much of the credit for this success goes to Hillary Benjamin. I’m excited to learn from her and work alongside her.” Benjamin will continue in her role as Head of Sales and Marketing for North America. Her team will expand as part of Rapha’s U.S. investment.
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