Performance Bicycle

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (BRAIN)—Performance Bicycle has appointed Mark Leydecker senior vice president of merchandising. Leydecker, who served in various capacities with the brand from 1995 to 2005, will be responsible for all brand merchandising activities, leading a team focused on development and innovation to continue the company’s rapid growth and commitment to quality service. “We are excited to have Mark back with Performance Bicycle in a senior leadership role,” said David Pruitt, CEO of Performance Bicycle. “Mark’s unparalleled expertise in merchandising management and strategic point of view on the brand will be of great benefit to our company.” Leydecker

The cross-channel retail industry is at a crossroads. For starters, due to the economic downturn, the past couple of years have been difficult for the retail sector. But that's changing. Retailers are starting to see signs of life and are breathing a sigh of relief. At press time, for example, it was announced that February retail sales increased 0.6 percent over January and 4.2 percent year-over-year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Performance Bicycle will open six new retail stores in four states nationwide. The new stores are slated to open in major markets, including Sacramento and Berkeley, Calif.; Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin, Texas; Atlanta; and the company's first-ever expansion into Idaho, with a new store set for Boise.

Did anybody else get an inferiority complex over the Thanksgiving weekend? I’m referring to the hoopla that surrounded Black Friday on Nov. 23. Like just about anything else in America, Black Friday gets bigger every year, and this year really went over the top. It got me thinking about the future: Does this “holiday” have to be a retail-only one? I certainly read enough about it. I saw plenty of TV news clips of those crazy, sleep-deprived shoppers lining up outside the stores in the wee hours of that Friday morning. I sifted through enough Circuit City, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Wal-Mart circulars about their