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I have known Romano for many years; to go back to the first memory I have of him we have to go back to the early years of the new millennium, during a DH race in Sestola. I saw this guy riding a bike that I didn't know very well. Kava green colour, Iron Horse branded, Sunday model. Shortly thereafter this became the dream of a group of kids who, thanks above all to the exploits of a certain Sam Hill, who wrote some memorable pages of the discipline with that vehicle, (do you remember world championships in Val di Sole?) wanted to own one.
From there, our Romano has come a long way in the world of fat wheels, general manager of the Iron Horse Playbike Team, with Florian Pugin and Shaun O'connor; speaker of the DH World Cup, creator of the Gravitalia circuit and man who brought the Lapierre brand to our country.
Having heard the news of this new adventure, I decided to reach him by phone to talk a little about this new project and how Propain's presence in our country will be structured.
Hi Romano, here we are talking about a new professional phase, where did the Propain idea come from?
In reality it was born from a 'tip' from my daughter Carola, who as a Propain Ambassador advised me to hear David Assflag, CEO of the brand. From there a series of meetings arose, I liked their philosophy, I found the idea stimulating and here I am again on the road!
Propain is one of those brands that I like to define as a bit 'exotic', capable of attracting the attention of enthusiasts who are looking for a vehicle that they feel is theirs, do you agree?
Exactly, for me joining the Propain family was immediately exciting. It is a young company that was founded in 2006. In our sector it is part of that niche with a very specific identity that enthusiasts recognise, differing greatly from generalist brands. With Propain we speak to a specific audience, who love MTB and want an MTB that represents them. This is also thanks to the possibility of customizing your bike, a situation that is appreciated by those who experience off road as a great passion.
For you it's a bit like going back to the origins, I think that Propain is part of that world of which Iron Horse was a shining example.
You nailed the idea, there's a similar atmosphere and it was exactly what I was looking for, a return to my origins and partly to the origins of MTB, made up of enthusiasts who build bikes first and foremost out of passion. I like the idea of being able to immerse myself again in that environment that sees MTB as much more than a frame with two wheels and a few components.
How will your presence in Italy be interpreted?
Propain remains a brand direct to consumer, which has a very important added value in the possibility of customizing the MTB to the maximum. Our role will be to create a network of points of sale, called Propain expert center, which can support the buyer in choosing the vehicle, in its configuration and with professional installation. In this way we will be able to combine the advantages of online purchasing with a highly specialized local service. Thanks to this solution, the shopkeeper will be able to return to focusing on the development of specialized manpower, leaving everything else to the parent company
An idea that I share and that I talked about a few years ago with a certain Fausto Rosas, who you know well and which seems to me to be an excellent solution for those medium-small workshops, which in this way are relieved of problems related to the warehouse and economic management is not always simple.
That's right, the MTB world is now experiencing a paradox with several critical issues. It is capable of generating significant economic volumes, but suffers from a sales network that is often undersized compared to current needs. As I said before, with this solution we allow small businesses to focus on serving bikers, leaving all the commercial dynamics to the parent company.
Conclusion
This solution from Propain opens up a topic that deserves to be explored further; What will be the organization of the cycle sector in the near future? How will the passion element be combined with the entrepreneurial skills necessary to support current economic volumes? But these will be questions that we will try to answer in a future study. For now, let's enjoy this news while waiting to be able to carry out tests on these MTBs with a very specific soul.
