The founders of Kona buy back the brand

The legendary brand Kona returns to its origins. A few weeks ago we learned that Kent Outdoors was putting Kona up for sale to focus on the rest of the brands in its catalog, now we know that the transaction has been completed and the new owners of the brand are none other than Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron, the original founders of Kona Bikes.

Kona Bikes returns to the hands of its original founders

Just two years after Kona Bicycles passed into the hands of Kent Outdoors, the brand changes owners again, but this time more than a strategic move between business groups, it is a return to the origins of the brand.

Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron, founded Kona Bicycles from Canada in 1988 and now they are buying back their brand from Kent Outdoors.

In an extensive statement, the new and original management of Kona Bikes has confirmed the operation and have hastened to announce that their main intention is to maintain the brand's philosophy and renew relationships with their network of distributors of almost 1000 people in North America and Europe.

"Most of us started in bike shops, and in our eyes, IBDs are our strongest advocates and allies. Healthy retailers are essential to ensure that Kona fans everywhere experience the ride of their life. To better honor our relationships with dealers, we are pausing D2C for all bikes. Konaworld will show changes to reflect this, and our social and communication channels will also be revamped once things get going. Please be patient with us and we will keep you informed as we move through this transition."

Furthermore, they ensure that the prices of Kona Bikes will become more competitive with the new management:

"Another good news, we are now in a position to price our bikes much more competitively. Private ownership allows us to be more streamlined, more flexible, and quicker on our feet. This, combined with the support of our suppliers, means we can offer high-quality bikes in a distinctly Kona flavor at super attractive prices. We will never do a BOGO sale again, so don't ask, but we promise to offer good value for money, always."