BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Bob Elliot has announced their new, exclusive UK partnership with Crud Products.
Launched in 1991, Crud estimates they may have sold “over 2 million CrudCatchers since,” says Peter Tomkins, Managing Director.
At Home with Mr Crud: An interview with Peter Tomkins
Discussing the new partnership, Peter admitted it was a birthday gift to his daughter, who runs the distribution and packaging side of the business. According to Peter, his daughter told him to narrow distribution down to one wholesaler because it would make her life so much easier.
Peter asked who her favourite was, “Bob Elliot, they are the most efficient and easiest to deal with”, she replied, presuming I was joking, he said.
Due in part to the fact that Bob Elliot imports Fulcrum Sharq wheels. Crud reached out to Paul at Bob Elliot and “offered him exclusive distribution if he would sort me out a set for my beloved Pinarello Ekar gravel bike. He paid us a visit, and the deal was done,” said Peter.
After 35 years of dealing with multiple wholesalers, it felt like the time was right to simplify things, and the Elliot’s show all the enthusiasm for the job that I used to have at their age.
When we started CRUD in 1991, there were literally hundreds of wholesalers, from man-and-van local suppliers right up to the big boys.
We have dealt with most of them, including the legendary Kenny Wright, who used to ring us up for stock in his broadest of Sauchiehall Street accents whilst driving round the Highlands of Scotland visiting obscure bike shops in his battered old Transit van.
We had 30 wholesalers in the 1990’s. Most have now dissapeared, swept away by the march of progress.
We are excited to be in the hands of the team at Bob Elliot. They are a family affair like us. Efficient, enthusiastic, and most importantly, they always pay up on time.” – Peter Tomkins
When talking about the history of the business, Peter admits that at the time, he “had no experience of product design, manufacturing techniques, or marketing, but I did have one big plus. Thanks to the intimate nature of the race scene in the late 80s, I was personal friends with every MTB journalist in the UK.”
Reflecting on the past 30+ years, Peter said, “To say the crud catcher changed my life would be a hilarious understatement. I was the village painter-odd-job man, struggling to get by. Hand-to-mouth. I was racing MTBs every weekend, even though I really couldn’t even afford the entry fees.”
And when talking about how the idea came to him, he admitted, “In 1989-90, almost every weekend we raced in thick mud and rain. Everyone was struggling for vision, our eyes were literally clogging up. It was clear that something was needed, and I was the one who bit the bullet and designed a simple splash guard for the downtube.”
And from there, the rest is history, thanks to his close friendships with the mountain bike media, “They liked what I came up with, told their readers, and I was in business full-time from the day my first Crudcatcher came off the mould.”
Talking about the new Partnership, Paul Elliot from Bob Elliot said:
“When the opportunity came to work alongside Pete and his family to exclusively distribute Crud, it was a very exciting opportunity for us. We have worked with Crud for many years, understand the range inside out and feel well-positioned to support its position in stores and beyond.
Crud has a synonymous name in the cycle industry, one that holds huge respect, and we are keen to work hard alongside the Crud team to have excellent store-coverage nationwide. We will be working on a promotion which will be active for all stockists soon, and watch this space for future new product developments.”
For those interested in learning more, contact sales@bob-elliot.co.uk or visit www.bob-elliot.co.uk.
