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2020 Swiss Boardsports Market Insight Roundup
The year 2020 is reaching its end and it’s about time. As you might imagine, it hasn’t been an easy year at all, the anti-COVID restrictions have been dictating things since March across the whole of Europe, and Switzerland is no exception.
By Fabien Grisel
For the most part it seems as though the most difficult thing is not the closures or the lockdown as such but the uncertainty of what’s to come, even in the near future. Obviously the closures caused some damage and the financial aid that took its time to come caused some problems but clearly the worst part about it was not knowing what tomorrow would bring. How can you plan ahead when you don’t know what next week will look like, whether you can even open or not? Will you be financially supported by the State? Do you have to make redundancies? Will the financial aid come if you are able to stay open with restrictions on the number of people in the shop? So many questions still to consider to this day and not just for our retailers but in the vast majority of the active population in all sorts of businesses.
What’s more, in Switzerland we have this special ability to be able to legislate by canton (region) and, of course, federally (nationally) which makes it even more complicated. So as I write these lines it’s still the case that shops in Geneva are closed while those in Lausanne and Nyon (in the neighbouring canton) are still open, even though they are just a few kilometres apart (25km between Geneva and Nyon). This uncertainty weighs heavily and the damage is clear. Of course, it’s too early to take full stock of it as we are still in its grip, just like almost everywhere in the world, but it’s sure to leave its mark, even in the small, rich country we live in.
Obviously, like in any crisis, there are those who come out better off and unsurprisingly it’s the big online players that are winning and they are all in double figure growth. Of course, it’s not all roses for them either, logistics are very difficult to manage, mainly because of the increase in volume and lack of workforce through quarantining and other kinds of leave. Then there was a boom in individual outdoor pursuits (or small groups) this summer, which is now looking set to continue into winter. Amongst other noteworthy phenomena, it was a good summer for skateboarding with sales levels that we haven’t seen in a really long time. Chrigu from 3Sixty in Stans and Schwyz is very happy with skateboarding sales this summer. The salespeople at Doodah in the large Swiss towns tell a similar tale with really good rates of sale. The arrival of Wing Foiling has also made some people happy and Steve and Thierry Wasmer at Technosurf in Grand-Sacconex (Geneva) say they are really pleased with the enthusiasm for this new sport and the sales it is generating.
This winter is touring time, and for boardsport aficionados, splitboarding is en vogue. Sales have gone through the roof this autumn, everyone wants to get into it and demand is soaring. So most splitboard and splitboard binding brands have been sold out since mid-November. This is once again clearly down to the enduring consequences and presence of COVID in 2020. Will resorts open? If so, with what restrictions? How will winter sports enthusiasts deal with being shut into cable cars with lots of other people? All these questions will lead you to ask yourself if it’s not time to invest in a splitboard… and for those who are still debating whether to get set up while they read this, don’t wait too long because soon there won’t be any left.
