Ride: The new bikes run under the name Scor, why not BMC?
Thomas Knecht: When the project started, it was not the intention to launch a new brand. Mariano Schoefer and Christof Bigler wanted to design another potent, fun longtravel bike and had a free hand in doing so. During the development phase, they left the beaten track and explored the ideal geometry in various prototype stages, tinkered with new longtravel kinematics and also broke new ground in terms of design. It became clear to everyone that the new mountain bike would have its own character, be aimed at a different target group and also deviate externally from the familiar BMC design language. It was therefore decided to launch Scor, an authentic brand for progressive and fun-oriented mountain bikers.

What does the new Scor brand stand for?
Scor's claim is "Play the Mountains". With Scor, we are focusing on the fun side of mountain biking, on riding fun and great experiences, playing with terrain and gravity - whether in the mountains, on home trails or in the bike park. BMC, on the other hand, remains the performance and race-oriented brand with athletes such as Pauline Ferrand-Prevot and Filippo Colombo from the Absolute Absalon team.

Has this move to step out of the shadow of its well-known brother been well received?
The initial feedback from specialist retailers has been positive and reinforces our conviction to separate the brands. Firstly, because we can address the respective customer needs more specifically with the appropriate brand. Secondly, because we can also act more agilely with Scor, as we are starting on a smaller scale. This also allows us to break new ground in customer interaction, for example with a click & collect offer.

How big is this "smaller framework"?
On the one hand, we want to become a substantial player in the trail to freeride segments. Geographically, however, we are limiting ourselves to the Alpine countries of Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria and Italy plus the USA for the time being. It is conceivable that we will expand further at a later date. For the time being, we need to concentrate our resources and do a good job in these countries. After all, we are only just building the brand and want to ensure that we are close to our end customers and specialist retail partners.

That also means ensuring good service?
That's right. We want to ensure that we can offer both end customers and specialist retailers good support. Scor will also be present at test events and we are continuing to find out what other test experiences we can offer potential customers.

With the Scor, you are in a kind of luxury situation when you can launch a project like this under the pressure of having to bring something to market quickly.
It's remarkable that the developers had so much freedom to create a bike according to their own ideas with minimal restrictions. The absence of time pressure and a timely market launch also made it possible to go through several prototype stages and break new ground with calculable risks. Of course, the prototyping possibilities of our development lab came in handy here.

Is it a good time to launch a new brand when there is currently a shortage of materials?
The timing is generally good, as demand is high. In terms of procurement, we are benefiting from the synergies with BMC. The first Scor bikes will be available from stock at selected specialist dealers when we enter the market in the fall. It will also be possible to order bikes via Click & Collect on the Scor website from the fall. In this case too, delivery will be made via specialist dealers. In a second step, the larger quantities will then be available from spring 2022.

Selected means that not every current BMC dealer will be able to sell Scor at the beginning?
In the initial phase, we are relying on selective distribution with a limited number of dealers that we call "Scor Foundation Partners". In this way, we ensure that each of these dealers has a minimum number of Scor bikes in their store right from the start, despite the limited quantity. Our Foundation Partners are stores that have a strong mountain bike reputation and can serve our target group competently and authentically.

Where will you be able to see, touch and ride Scor for the first time in public?
That will be from September 17 to 19, 2021 at the Testride in Lenzerheide, where we registered a stand early on.

More detailed information on the individual Scor models will be available from September 8th on ride.ch and on the following channels.

scor-mtb.com
instagram.com/scor_mtb