APRIL 7 - Sorta Cutting Edge News

I called up Montgomery and got his two cents on the return of Scott USA. What follows are excerpts from our interview and some Q&A that Montgomery prepared for the cycling press.

Vernon: Scott USA pulled out of the American market in the late 1990s. Will that tarnish the brand's image with consumers, as the company re-enters the U.S.?
Scott Montgomery: "I don't feel that way or I wouldn't have joined on to do this. I think the thing to understand is that in the mid-'90s, Scott was a strong marketing brand, but it wasn't an innovative brand until, really, the last five or six years. So, I think that the chances of doing well in today's U.S. market are considerably better than the odds the company faced back in the '90s. When you have real, innovative product like Scott does, people gravitate to the product. We, for instance, have, arguably, the lightest full-suspension mountain bike and production road bike available. That's why Scott has emerged as one of the biggest brands in Europe where there are many more competing brands than in the U.S. I think people will very quickly not care about when Scott left, when it came and all that."

Vernon: Some bike companies have a very strong, singular identity. By that I mean that they are strongly identified with either cross country or freeride or road or some other single segment of cycling. Is Scott going to be aligned with a certain type of cycling or is it going to be an all-styles sort of brand?
"We're definitely going to be an all-styles-welcome brand. At first, however, we will specialize in high-end mountain bikes. For the first year, we're not going to focus on volume, but rather on bringing in the top quality, higher-end of the Scott line. We want to position Scott as a high-end brand because they have a lot of performance bikes in their line. At this point it's really about emphasizing the brand's identity as a high-tech, high-performance brand. I mean, when you get down to it, most companies' $600 bikes are pretty generic. There's not much you can do to set your bike apart from other peoples' bikes at that kind of price point. Companies really make their statements on the higher-end bikes, and that's what we'll be focusing on in 2005."

Vernon: What's your first task as the new general manager and VP?
"I've got on my desk a stack of, literally, a hundred e-mail print outs from mountain bikers in the U.S. who wanted to buy Scott mountain bikes. I guess they read about the bikes in the British cycling magazines and then e-mailed Scott trying to buy one. Once the company realized they'd be coming back to the states, they started printing out the emails and filing them away. Anyway, my first job is actually customer service--e-mailing all these people and telling them that they now get a Scott. We'll be shipping certain models as early as July of 2004."

The following is a Q and A session prepared by Montgomery and answers some important questions.

Why didn't you choose to work with another big, established, American brand?
I have been fortunate to have been involved with starting subsidiaries twice in my career and it is really exciting. It is great to have the opportunity to build a group of individuals into a team and hire passionate, smart studs. I felt going into an established company in a senior position was less exciting, less challenging and therefore not as interesting.

Why not purchase a small company?
As you know, I lived the development of the bicycle going from steel to aluminum and, in a small way, helped lead that change. It is very clear to me that the next big innovation in performance bicycles is increasingly going to be made of carbon fiber. That requires large investments in tooling, engineering and technology. I was fearful that some of the niche bike players might find it challenging in the coming years. Scott Bicycles already has a Tour de France-proven 895-gram road frame that has been tested and delivered with outstanding results. That really impressed me, and I am sure these bikes will lead in North America just as they have Europe.

So what do you think about what is going on at Cannondale at the moment?
I still have many good friends there and I truly hope everything works out well for them in the years to come. I am basically a lucky guy; I have been exposed to many opportunities. I feel I learned a great deal there that will benefit the Scott company in the future.

Do you miss Cannondale?
Of course I miss the people, but the bike industry is a big family. And just like families, people get married and move to other towns. I can honestly say I love the bike world--it is sort of like a big extended family. I know I will remain friends with competitors, and will compete all day, but still enjoy a beer and a laugh at night.

How does a dealer or consumer learn more about Scott USA?
Call us at Scott USA, toll free, at 1-800-292-5874. Or visit us online at www.scottusa.com