The Infotech organizer Velosuisse - the branch association of Swiss bicycle suppliers - was satisfied with the fact that the two-day event (4 and 5 January 2017) at the Army Training Centre in Lucerne was once again "full house" at the start of the year. This is the 15th Infotech, where specialist retailers can get in the mood for the new season in an uncomplicated and comprehensive way. Visitors to the event will take away numerous inputs - from bicycle technology to the presentation of suitable operating software.

Digitalization in focus

While the Swiss franc shock was still a prominent topic at Infotech 2016, digitalization was a frequently discussed topic this year. And on several levels: Circuits can now be adjusted using a smartphone or tablet app. Numerous providers presented software solutions at Infotech that bike stores can use to manage their orders, workshop capacity utilization and customer relations. There were workshops on how Facebook, Instagram, WhattsApp and Snapchat can or should be used today. And today's customers are demanding solutions that make it easy to book a bike service online.

BWL versus advertising

Speakers and specialist retailers have repeatedly emphasized how multifaceted employees in specialist bicycle retail are. Of course, a craftsman or mechanic is required in the store - and in the case of e-bikes, they are also involved as mechatronics engineers and IT specialists. At the same time, the store is a salesperson, i.e. a communications expert, knows how to deal with social media, is familiar with nutritional issues, is knowledgeable in the field of ergonomics and is also familiar with accounting and VAT issues.

These numerous requirements for bike store employees are also reflected in the courses on offer at Infotech: seminars and lectures in the field of business administration are well attended and the rooms are full to bursting. Seminars and lectures that focus exclusively on presenting individual products and are therefore ultimately purely promotional events are often poorly attended and are often punished with miserable attendance figures in the single-digit range.

A constant highlight of Infotech is the panel discussion. This takes place in the plenary hall, which is once again filled to almost the last seat in 2017 with well over 200 participants. K-Tipp editor Darko Cetojevic and consumer advocate Sara Stalder are at the lectern. They will be joined by Harry Ramsauer, specialist dealer in St. Gallen and president of the bicycle division of 2Rad Schweiz, and Yolande Spicher, specialist dealer in Bösingen. Communications trainer Andre Peter will act as sidekick, while Marius Graber, a bicycle journalist and specialist bicycle retailer, will lead the discussion.

Not at eye level

The topic of the discussion is "Is the customer always right?" and the discussion begins with the question of whether customers today - with the tailwind of the enormous (price) transparency offered by the web - are becoming increasingly demanding or even cheekier and more indecent. There is talk of advice theft and too few encounters between seller and buyer that take place at eye level.

The price is hot

The topic of the panel discussion then changes abruptly. Cetojevic's opinion that the hourly rates in specialist retail are too high caused little sympathy in the audience. Consumer advocate Stalder's comment that she buys her cosmetics in Germany because of inflated Swiss prices caused a real red eye. Stalder then presented the recently launched Fair Price People's Initiative, one of the aims of which is to establish prices in Switzerland that are only 10 to 15 percent above the level in other countries. There were several interesting views from communications expert Peter. For example, that when it comes to shopping tourism, it is important to consider how much time these tourists spend in their cars and how much fuel they burn.

Adieu Lucerne

For Infotech 2018, it's time to say goodbye: Goodbye Lucerne. The event will no longer take place at the Lucerne Armed Forces Training Center. As part of a reform, it is no longer possible to clear out the seminar rooms there for the specialist dealer event.

The organizer Velosuisse has already found a replacement: Infotech will take place on Thursday, 4 and Friday, 5 January 2018. And at the Seminarhotel Sempachersee. According to the organizer, the dates of Infotech are set to be adjusted for the coming years: it is scheduled to take place in the second week of January 2020 at the latest.

Participating dealers / Counted admissions: 670 (2016: 630, 2015: 625, 2014: 586, 2013: 599, 2012: 611)
Participants from seminar providers/speakers: around 305
Number of seminars: around 70
(Information provided by Bernhard Loosli, Velosuisse Event GmbH)