The closure of ski lifts, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, depriving skiers of their favorite sport, but also the envy of nature have benefited the flagship product of the French company. p >
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We must push the walls! In Annecy-le-Vieux (Haute-Savoie), in its 7,000 m 2 premises, TSL (for Thônes Sports Loisirs) Outdoor feels cramped! With the Covid-19, the world leader in hiking snowshoes is bombarded with orders, says its CEO, Philippe Gallay. Before buying the company, created in 1981 in Thônes (Haute-Savoie) with Raymond Thovex – father of Candide Thovex, professional skier – the man was a ski instructor. He only snowshoeed at night, “because it was so out of date,” he jokes today. “We have developed the market and the company, since the market did not exist.”
In recent weeks, up to “10,000 pieces per day” leave the workshops for the restocking of shops, against a thousand usually. Sales have even increased sevenfold in the United States and Canada, he explains. “For us, the Covid was a great opportunity this year, with the desire for nature, physical distancing and the closure of ski lifts. The misfortune of some makes us happy, it is sad to say,” admits -il.
“One of the only companies that hire”
And Philippe Gallay tries to play the solidarity card. Since it was necessary to almost double the workforce and hire, he spread the word in the resorts of the Aravis chain, in ski schools and on social networks. He recruited from sectors which are today deprived of activity – monitors, people usually working for the hotel and catering industry, and even an employee of a nightclub. “We are also there to help each other among mountain people. And they know what they are talking about, with the snowshoe,” says the entrepreneur. But the working day is not enough, so two shifts, one evening and one night, have been set up for these crazy weeks, with about twenty hires for each.
At the workshop, Patricia, 54, is a restaurateur “at the foot of the slopes”, in Chinaillon (Haute-Savoie). But she has not opened her establishment since March 15 and admits to having “mourned” the season. She assembles the parts of future rackets with Aline, 22 years old. “[TSL Outdoor] is perhaps one of the only companies hiring today,” she explains. Further on, Alexis, 28, a ski instructor in Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), says that “there is no job for everyone” at the resort at the moment.
“I am complete”
Philippe Gallay must manage his success. “We deliver, we deliver, but we pedal a little in the sauerkraut. Today, we still have more than 30,000 pairs of delay,” he says. If the snowshoes “are made at home” – with in particular, a few kilometers away, two plastic injection sites belonging to the same group, or with metal parts coming for many from the Arve valley – it However, one of the elements comes from China and screws from Spain, which can slow down production.
No need to worry. “Until January 18 [2021] at least, I am complete. The turnover we made in three months last year, we did in one month this year,” notes Philippe Gallay. The record for the SME is 230,000 pairs of snowshoes sold. “This year, I think we will make 200,000, or a turnover of more than 12 million euros”, against 10 million euros, on average, in previous years. And if the ski lifts don’t reopen this season, the happy CEO thinks, then maybe it will be more.