When the SAZ desk called last week to download the current STEVENS logo, insiders knew that it would be used on the podium of the yearly vendor's poll. Internal bets on the sequence of the finish were made not only for the Cyclocross world championship, but also for the SAZ Poll.

The SAZ Ranking has been the most important ranking of all bicycle brands industry wide. It shows the satisfaction of Germany's specialised vendors with the brand and is an indicator that, beyond the quality of the product alone, shows the professional cooperation between manufacturers and specialist retailers.

In the past, STEVENS received the title in the overall ranking several times, as well as numerous wins in individual categories of the criteria polled.

The Result: In 2013, the readers of the trade journal elected the Hamburg brand STEVENS the overall winner among all brands. On top of that, STEVENS was able to improve in almost all ranks relative to the last year.

Volker Dohrmann, Brand and Marketing Manager, summarizes the rankings: “Two and three years ago, we already made Gold. The new win has us excited, above all, because there was a constant optimisation in almost all areas. We advanced 4 ranks in brand attractiveness, the back office went from rank 8 (Mark 1.91) to rank 2 (Mark 1.62). We are also ranking near the top in the category Delivery Time – coming up from a mid-field position last year. Our team has done outstanding work last season!”

Managing Director Wolfgang von Hacht: “We thank the specialist retailers sincerely for the great marks. This result confirms our consistent path as a partner of the vendors and as a quality brand. The trust of the retailers is an incentive for our crew and for me to keep working on optimising our processes and products. We have an open ear for our partners and quickly implement trends. That has distinguished STEVENS since the beginning of the brand in 1991.”

The internal bet went to marketing man Nico Schild, by the way: The back office account manager for  Austria and postcode areas 4-6 was the only one to predict Gold.