Hello! WINTERSTEIGER is strengthening its position in Switzerland

The WINTERSTEIGER site in Switzerland was established in Hünenberg in 2002: The managing directors had decided to establish their own subsidiary to strengthen the Division Sports’ position in one of the most important winter sports markets over the long term. 

The Founding

The launch in 2002 was based on the acquisition of WINTERSTEIGER’s then-distribution partner, Toko, and its employees: a branch manager, three sales representatives, and three customer service technicians formed the core staff. The team was supported by two colleagues in Ried, who worked in internal sales and Technical Customer Service for Switzerland. The sales territory of the newly founded company included the German-, Romansh-, and Italian-speaking parts of Switzerland.

Marketing efforts for French-speaking Switzerland were deliberately transferred to the subsidiary in France—then known as SKID-WINTERSTEIGER—to ensure that language and cultural barriers would not be an issue. Claus Wittmann was appointed branch manager from the company’s headquarters in Ried. He continued to be based in Ried, which proved to be cumbersome and time-consuming in the years that followed.

Competitor’s Home Market

It was a major advantage for the newly founded company that all employees were already familiar with the product line and had previously served the customer base. The challenge: As the number two player in the Swiss market, the young company had to compete against and hold its own against the overwhelming competitor Montana, headquartered in Switzerland. The main focus in the early years was clearly on ski service machines.

Change in management

In 2006, WINTERSTEIGER brought Claus Wittmann, then branch manager, back to Ried as the person with overall responsibility for customer service and appointed Daniel Kisslig as branch manager. Daniel Kisslig had his roots at Toko and was actively involved in the introduction of WINTERSTEIGER products at Toko in the 1990s. It soon became clear that the new branch manager’s permanent presence in Switzerland was a major advantage for all employees and that the connection between WINTERSTEIGER and its customers became closer and more intensive as a result. In 2020, Daniel Kisslig retired, and Sandro Gruber took over as head of the subsidiary.