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I just spent a summer looking for a frame with the following characteristics- durable, easy to service, well priced and UK or at least European company. I bought the cotic but came across some other cool companies. Cotic- the company is seven dudes in Sheffield, amazingly helpful team making products well suited to local conditions. I got to test their bikes for size and chuck one on the car and take it for a test ride. Ended up buying one of their frames from eBay that needed some love. They hooked me up with a local paint shop and told...

Running a mtb focused shop: Marin Santa cruz One location based brand: decent XC/adventure/marathon crowd then Allied, steep techy region then RAAW or Forbidden, QC then Devinci. Personal favorite brand: Santa Cruz RAAW Frameworks (both)

Sorry in advanced for not directly answering the question: I second the idea that the answer is more specific to YOUR business' needs and not just what is cool to an internet forum. As a small or new shop my goal would be to choose a primary brand that is stable (hah, current times) and isn't going to compete against you (ie sell bikes online for less than your cost, or ship direct to your local client base). Primary brands also fill a store for less capital and sell to majority of your customer base regardless of brand name. "Cool"...

Kona or Norco Santa Cruz Giant

Those might be incongruent choices. The brands I would pick to run/stock a shop and the brands that I like or connect with most aren’t the same. Especially depending on location or target market. Transition would be a company I like and would consider bringing into a shop. Devinci and Knolly are companies I like, but would NOT bring into an American based shop outside of Washington and maybe the upper N.E. Specialized is a company I’m not always high on, but depending on shop location, might be a reasonable main line to run. Other contenders might be Yeti and...