The manufacturer Villiger joins the group of traditional Swiss bicycle brands that have disappeared from the market. Brands such as Condor, Mondia, Titan, Tigra, Cilo and Mondia have been discontinued or even gone bankrupt. In 2003, Villiger set a new course and moved under the Trek umbrella. The Diamant factories were part of Villiger's portfolio at the time and also changed hands when Trek bought them. The acquisition of the Villiger-Diamond combo was interesting for Trek in order to increase its expertise in trekking and city bikes.

Targeting the Swiss market more effectively

Diamant looks back on 130 years of tradition in bicycle construction and is serving the German, Austrian and, for the first time, the Swiss market with 41 models in the 2015 model range. The 2015 Diamant product range will consist of 14 e-bike, 14 trekking and 13 city models, all of which are manufactured in the Diamant bicycle factories in Hartmannsdorf near Chemnitz. For Swiss dealers and consumers, this means a doubling of the models previously offered by Villiger. In addition, stronger synergy effects will be utilized in the areas of product development, customer service and marketing, which will lead to a significantly more effective cultivation of the Swiss market, Trek announced in a press release.

Broadly positioned for Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Harald Schmiedel, Managing Director of Trek Fahrrad GmbH based in Zurich, explains this step as follows: "With an expanded product range for all three countries, the availability of Diamant will improve significantly. Focusing our activities on the Diamant brand will make us a reliable and efficient supplier and service provider. As a result of this change, the value of every Diamant bike delivered will increase and I am absolutely confident that our business partners will experience great success through a sensational product offering."

Villiger and Diamant largely congruent so far

The Villiger models of recent years have been identical in construction to the Diamant models that went on sale in Germany and Austria, with minor differences. Trek also announces that there were fewer models in the Villiger range, but that they required more effort in terms of administration, stock planning and marketing.

Emphasis on the synergy effects

"By introducing Diamant in Switzerland, we are using synergy effects to improve the entire value chain for everyone involved, i.e. customers, retailers and us as producers. We are confident that we are taking the right step by also being able to offer Diamant bikes to our Swiss dealers," announces Anatol Sostmann, Communication Manager at Trek Fahrrad GmbH.