How does a carpenter become a bike importer?
It had little to do with my trained profession and much more to do with my work as a service man in ski racing. After the 1989 Junior World Ski Championships in Alaska, I flew to Salt Lake City with a friend, where we bought our first bikes. Back in Switzerland, there was a lot of interest, especially in my Haro mountain bike. I then made contact with the US distributor of Haro Bikes - that was the first brand I wrote to. A short time later I was given the distribution for Switzerland and soon the first container with two models was on its way to Switzerland. Smith ski goggles and Nishiki bikes were added the following winter.

What became of Haro Bikes in Switzerland?
Similar to GT, Haro was a BMX brand that produced mountain bikes. At some point, we only sold BMX bikes from Haro, but after the brand was taken over by Kenstone Metals, the quality dropped. They produced steel frames that didn't even run straight. We had to do a quality check on every frame and we had to end the collaboration. A shame really, because Haro was a cool brand.

Did you organize the entire distribution yourself back then?
The first 20-foot container was delivered to Effretikon, in the single-family home neighborhood where we lived. My mother helped me unload it, handed me the cardboard boxes from the container and I ran to the garage and back with them. I also sold and shipped the bikes myself, riding to dealers all over Switzerland in a discarded VW bus with a garage license plate. I was completely unfamiliar with the prices. Of the two models, the expensive one was far too cheap, the cheap one far too expensive and the margin was also too small. Initially, I thought that if I could earn 200 francs on a bike, that would be enough for me.

How big was the economic risk 30 years ago? Was it an all-in business or was it a sideline?
In the beginning, I lived from hand to mouth. A 20-foot container could hold 127 to 136 bikes, depending on the size. I couldn't finance more than that at first. However, whenever I pre-sold half a container, I was able to order another full one. As the numbers increased, I founded a limited company. I also worked two days a week at Adidas Switzerland, where my boss at the time was basically my mentor. This allowed me to take over the old computers and software, which served my business well for a few more years. I also made the right contacts minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:DE-CH;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:
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And how did you come to be a Rocky Mountain importer?
At the time, the German Rocky distributor BikeAction served Switzerland via the Velowerkstatt Olten. However, Rocky Mountain wanted to organize the distribution differently, and so I was called to Biel late in 1990, where I met with Grayson Bain, the owner of Rocky Mountain, and Craig Pollak from Race Face in the restaurant of a retirement home. The meeting was organized by Bruno Graf, owner of the Jumpin' Ghost bike store across the street. At one o'clock in the morning, I was handed the price list. Virtually overnight, in a retirement home, I had become the Swiss importer of Rocky Mountain.

Why did you decide to import instead of founding a cool brand yourself?
We used to build no-name bikes in small series, but I was never really keen on building frames myself. I found the brands and their history, as well as all the marketing with the racing teams, much more exciting. I was also always very North American-oriented, which is why I never went to the Taipei Cycle Show, but instead visited the bicycle trade fair in Anaheim or later in Las Vegas. I was also interested in festivals like the Sea Otter Classic, the niches. I also sold a lot of "junk", niche products with which there was hardly any money to be made, white-industry hubs for example. We didn't turn over 20,000 francs with them, but it was still great. I just liked the massive hubs.

In the nineties, not only were mountain bikes imported, but a lifestyle was also established. Did you do that consciously too?
No, we were simply part of the sport. I probably couldn't even write lifestyle back then. However, we had a stand at Swiss races every weekend back then and also rode in the Hobby and Masters categories ourselves. I was actually just living my dream and I had a gift for getting others excited about niche products. This usually led me to the right bike stores.

How do you see the import business today and what do you still value about it?
When we talk about big players like Giro or Bell, the dealings are still very relaxed. When it comes to the supply chain, on the other hand, it's very stressful. But that affects everyone in this industry. Overall, I think the bicycle industry is still not professional compared to the automotive industry. But the fact that not everything is always well planned and organized makes it exciting for many people. For example, the fact that improvisation skills are required from time to time, such as when certain parts for 800 bikes are missing, but a solution still has to be found. It may sound a bit weird, but I think it's a good thing that this is the case. The entire bike industry, including specialist retailers, offers space for career changers, and the sport thrives on them - for me, it's this "pile of pigs" of career changers that makes this industry what it is.

Were there moments when you thought everything was going down the drain?
No, we never had that. We were careful and thrifty. I built up a healthy level of equity so that the company could get by with as little borrowed capital as possible. But of course I also made mistakes, for example I sat on beach cruisers for two years, which we were only able to sell with difficulty and some outside help.

Mountain biking has had its ups and downs over the last three decades. How did you experience that? Around the mid to late noughties, Rocky Mountain struggled because there was a lack of innovation. In those years, we sold around 300 fewer bikes a year in Switzerland than before. After that, the level of innovation increased again, we moved away from cross-country and took a more commercial route with enduro, which paid off for Rocky Mountain. Of course, sales never went up in a linear fashion, but moved in waves. At the moment, however, we are clearly on a high. According to our average figures, 2020 was a record year.

When did the first boom phase come for Rocky Mountain?
The first boom phase came when the big brands such as Specialized and Co. were able to sell more expensive bikes. And at that time, Rocky Mountain opened up a new price level, because previously a Trek might have cost a maximum of CHF 2,800, while a Rocky Mountain Altitude cost CHF 3,400 and the absolute high-end models around CHF 5,000. After that, racing teams from brands such as Scott provided that certain something and from then on, Scott's prices also rose. Rocky Mountain had to react and consider whether they wanted to stay in this price segment or become more affordable. Under the new brand owner, there were opportunities at the time to bring affordable models onto the market at 600 francs. But that never happened, which was a good decision.

How do you keep a brand like Rocky Mountain attractive for so long?
The answer to the last question also answers part of this question. But the key is to remain selective with retailers. Those who can sell a niche product like Rocky Mountain have a passion for the brand and its history. There are dealers who sell Scott or Trek and want a niche product on top of that, whether it's Rocky, Yeti or Santa Cruz. Then they have the feeling that these bikes sell themselves. But that only works if these dealers live the spirit of a brand and build up a clientele that wants such niche bikes. It takes a lot of work and passion. For me, 30 years of Rocky Mountain in Switzerland is no proof of performance. The credit goes to the dealers and end customers who buy these bikes from us, because they have made us what we are today. For our anniversary, we should be celebrating our customers and not ourselves.

Is the current mountain bike boom just the beginning of an even greater demand or is the next crash inevitable? I think both, and at Chris Sports we are reacting rather cautiously. We are increasing by around 15 percent, we are hardly taking on any new retailers with Rocky Mountain, but we are trying to serve them as well as possible. The decline will definitely come and probably when people are able to travel regularly again. But that won't happen immediately. I also see the current boom as being triggered by the pressure to stay in the country. The capital is still there for many and is being invested, but not just in mountain biking. That applies to outdoor sports in general. You have to ask yourself whether you want to overheat this engine. That's why we are concentrating on our workshops, so that the many bikes from this boom can also be repaired when the boom is perhaps over.