Thomas Frischknecht and Alain Schmid from Scott Sports at the Infotech seminar: Wheel sizes - How do I design the range?

Ride: What is your impression of Infotech?
Thomas Frischknecht: For me, the event reflects the spirit of optimism in the scene. An event like this is something you could hardly have imagined ten or twenty years ago. The market was much more manageable and less complex then. The product ranges were nowhere near as large as they are today - there were only a handful of mountain bikes to choose from in the store. As the variety is much greater today, the need for knowledge and experience is much greater. It's great that the participants here are so committed to taking the time to get the information, to educate themselves and to exchange ideas. The event is very well attended and that shows that the industry is not sleeping.

How do you experience the bike dealers here?
They are very committed and interested. A big well done to them for keeping themselves informed and keeping their know-how up to date. Because it's a complex situation in the bike sector with three wheel sizes.

What do you mean by complex in terms of wheel sizes?
The retailer has nothing to envy with the situation with the three wheel sizes present, but it is also a great opportunity. I am clearly of the opinion that there is no right or wrong when it comes to wheel sizes. Nevertheless, specialist retailers need a very clear strategy on how to deal with wheel sizes. Today, it is a tricky task for a specialist store to order the right bikes. The range on offer today is so huge that the specialist retailer has to make an accurate selection.

You mentioned opportunities, what do you mean by that?
If the specialist retailer provides good advice - especially with regard to wheel sizes - offers testing options and if the service is also right, of course, a specialist store can set itself apart very well from the competition from specialist retailers or Internet providers.

www.velosuisse-event.ch