International Dealer News IDN 153 February/March 2020 | Page 64

news ROOM
NEWS
BRIEFS
Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali has
been appointed as the new President of
Motor Valley - a Bologna, Italy, area
promotional association that brings
together all the "Motor Valley" brands
of the Emilia-Romagna region - "this
unique motorcycle and car
manufacturing area has over 16,500
businesses (10% of Italy's national
supply chain) and employs over 66,000
people. It is home to a concentration of
brands, private collections, international
race circuits and specialised training
centres within a 150 km radius that is
like no other on the planet. Motor Valley
encapsulates Made-in-Italy automotive
and industrial excellence: it's a project
that highlights the area's capacity to
network and make the most of
internationally unique qualities."
WRS, the noted Italian windshield
manufacturer and distributor of
select top end parts and accessory
brands such as Ilmberger,
Rotobox, Suter and Bonamici, has
signed as a technical sponsor with
Ducati satellite Reale Avintia
Racing Team. This year Ducati has
signed Frenchman and two-time
Moto2 World Champion Johann
Zarco to replace Karel Abraham in
MotoGP at Avintia, racing on the
Ducati Desmosedici GP19 with
teammate Tito Rabat. WRS is also
official windscreen supplier for
the BMW WSBK team, factory
Ducati supported Pramac Racing
in MotoGP and 58 SIC Squadra
Corse in Moto3.
Bihr buys IP Store of Belgium
Bartenheim, France based Bihr has
announced that it has acquired 100%
of IP Store, a leading distributor of
motorcycle tyres and of selected rider
gear brands in Belgium - formerly
known as International Pneus.
As a result of this agreement, Bernard
De Longueville, currently CEO of IP
Store and one of the best known
motorcycle industry figures in Belgium,
has been appointed Sales Director
Belgium for Bihr.
Bihr states that the objective of the
transaction is twofold. First, that by
acquiring IP Store, Bihr will further
strengthen its commercial footprint in
Belgium. Second, and in the short term,
the transaction will allow the clients of
IP Store to benefit from the larger
product offering of Bihr.
Conversely, Bihr clients in Belgium will
soon benefit from the products
exclusively distributed by IP Store. In
addition to its impressive roster of tyre
brands (Pirelli, Dunlop, Bridgestone,
Continental, Mitas, Metzeler, Michelin),
IP Store currently sells for brands such
as Tucano Urbano, BS Battery, Kappa,
Sidi, SBS, Ixon and Scott - operating
from its own warehouse at Anderlecht.
"I am very pleased to join Bihr and to
grow our combined business to an
unprecedented level. The power of the
Bihr offering, combined with our very
deep Belgian roots, will be very
beneficial for our clients," said Bernard
De Longueville, newly appointed Sales
Director Belgium. Dominique Jamar,
who until now was in charge of Belgium
for Bihr, will fully focus on Business
Development (new products, services
and geographies).
Though founded in 1975 in France by
Cyrille Bihr, the distributor also now has
Belgian roots, being owned by the 2
billion euro turnover Kontich/Antwerp,
Belgium based Alcopa Group, which
traces its origins in the automotive and
motorcycle business back to 1937
when Albert and Constance Moorkens
started their motorcycle distribution
business.
Bihr has over 42,000 sq m of
distribution space in total in four
warehouses in France and Spain, is now
active in 13 European countries,
employing 400 people and selling some
230 brands and 200,000 items through
a network of some 11,000 dealers. Bihr
says it can supply almost all European
motorcycle dealers within 24 hours.
"We are very happy to partner with IP
Store," said Christophe Piron, CEO of
Bihr. "With this transaction, Bihr not
only becomes second to none in terms
of motorcycle tyre distribution in
Belgium, but we also have the
opportunity to add some brands we
were missing in our product portfolio."
www.bihr.eu
LeoVince raises € 10,000
Italian exhaust specialist LeoVince has
announced that it sold out the 58
limited edition LV-10 SIC58 Squadra
Corse exhausts in just two weeks!
An analysis by Bloomberg suggests that
even after the U.S. administration's
latest China trade deal, in 2019, dollar
terms losses from China tariffs
translated to $134 billion in lost GDP.
Bloomberg is projecting that China
tariffs will cost the American economy
$316 billion by the end of 2020.
64
Having sold IP Store (Anderlecht, Belgium) to Bihr, Bernard
De Longueville will become Sales Director Belgium for Bihr.
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020
"This initiative has allowed us to raise
€ 10,000, all donated to the Marco
Simoncelli Foundation. The funds will
be allocated to humanitarian and
social projects that have always been
supported by the Foundation, in
memory of Sic".
LeoVince and the Marco Simoncelli
Foundation thank all those who made
it possible to achieve such an
important goal.
www.leovince.com
www.idnmag.com