Syncros has been acquired by Swiss outdoors powerhouse Scott Sports.
At the moment, Scott’s not saying much other than that it’s purchased the brand name, but off the record our sources have said they bought the brand because they want offer a high end component brand and promises the quality will not suffer by trying to commoditize the line into a cost-based house brand. We’re glad to hear that.
In fact, Scott’s PR man for Syncros, Lars Johnson, says they’ve already put a full development team in place dedicated to the Syncros brand and that work’s been underway to update and improve the entire line for relaunch at Eurobike 2012.
Most of Scott’s gravity and long travel bikes have spec’d plenty of Syncros’ parts, while their lighter weight XC and marathon models were heavy on Ritchey Logic bits.
Prior to this deal Syncros was owned by Ritchey, who purchased it from GT in 2003. Sean Coffey, Ritchey’s PR manager, said “Scott had an interest in the brand and we’ve had a good relationship with them for years. We’ve done a lot to grow the brand, but we wanted to really focus our resources and efforts on one brand: Ritchey.”
We’re betting Scott’s 2013 mountain bikes will likely be spec’d heavily with Syncros parts across the range. Our conversations with them suggest the relationship between Scott and Ritchey appears to be perfectly fine, so we may see a smattering of Ritchey bits, too. After all, Ritchey’s still on board as a sponsor of the Scott SwissPower team for now. We’ve tested lightweight tires and a saddle from Syncros recently and have been impressed, so the move should help Scott remain competitive in their ever escalating (diminishing?) weight war with Cannondale.
Coffey says the deal’s been in the works for a while. PR from both Ritchey and Scott/Syncros after the break…
SCOTT SPORTS PR: SCOTT Sports today announced it will shift gears in the aftermarket bike accessories business and take over the Syncros brand to become a major supplier in the parts and accessories market. Syncros was founded in 1986 by Peter Hamilton and Pippin Osborne as a small, high-end components company on Vancouver’s North Shore. After a few changes in ownership, Tom Ritchey made the most recent buy in 2003, and under his guidance, Syncros returned to its roots as a leading manufacturer of high end mountain bike components focused on the All Mountain, Freeride, and Downhill categories.
SCOTT will give Syncros the necessary support to design outstanding products and will enlarge the line by expanding into Cross Country and Road categories. A dedicated design and engineering team has been created, and they have already begun developing innovative products for future Syncros lines. The products will be built to re?ect SCOTT’s high standards for technology while also keeping top-to-bottom integration in mind. This type of product integration will cultivate new levels of innovation, adding further value to SCOTT bikes.
“We have always believed that the Syncros name has had an excellent image in the industry,” adds SCOTT Sports Vice President, Pascal Ducrot. “Our priority was to ?nd a way to increase our o?ering of parts and accessories while still maintaining our relationship with Ritchey, our long-term partner. The purchase of Syncros was the perfect solution and we look forward to o?ering our dealers a full line of new parts and accessories with the same high quality standards as our bikes.”
Syncros will be distributed through the SCOTT network of dedicated dealers around the globe. SCOTT currently o?ers dealers a full range of bikes, clothing, bike shoes, and helmets. The addition of Syncros parts and accessories will further strengthen this package, giving dealers more to o?er. SCOTT will present the complete range of new Syncros products to the public during the 2012 Eurobike show.
(Editor’s Note: BikeBiz is reporting that Syncros parts will only be available through Scott stockists, but Johnson told us that the retail and distribution model hasn’t been finalized yet. Oh, and those super lightweight carbon 29er wheels? Yep, still in development and at this stage not likely to be shipping until Eurobike.)
RITCHEY PR: Ritchey Design today announced the sale of the Syncros component brand to Scott Sports SA. Ritchey, a world leader in the road, mountain and cyclocross components, acquired the Syncros brand in 2003 to address the freeride and downhill mountain bike segment.
The sale will allow Ritchey to focus on new product and innovations under the Ritchey brand. In 2011 Ritchey announced a return to the steel frame market with the P-29er and Swiss Cross, and launched the all-new C-260 stem design, several new wheel models and updated graphics across the line. Ritchey also has a broader range of trail components currently in development.
“We’ve had a great experience working with and developing the Syncros brand,” Sean Coffey, Ritchey Global Marketing Director, said, “But we want to shift our focus on taking Ritchey to a new level.”
Ritchey Design has a long history of OE sales with Scott Sports through both the Ritchey and Syncros brands, and was pleased when their longtime partner inquired about purchasing the brand.
“We love the Syncros brand and we’re happy to see it go to an industry powerhouse like Scott, who can give it the energy it deserves,” Coffey said.
