La Loupe St. Anton, St. Christoph & Stuben am Arlberg No. 4

MICHAEL ESS’
WORDRAP
Personally I like wearing …
sportswear for bicycling, hiking
and skiing.
Intersport as a brand …
is a strong community of great
colleagues in retailing.
My favourite ski:
I am the classic rental customer – I take
whatever ski I am in the mood for.
I am … truly a family person
and Arlberg enthusiast.
I am not … a wrangler and usually
keep my cool.
luggage in the region, others lose their suitcase
and certainly appreciate our service.
L.L. Tell us a little about your test-and-buy
segment …
M.E. Many customers know about ski testing
and, of course, we also do that. What is special
about our offer is that they can also test our ski
boots! The customer enters the store, finds the
right boot with the help of one of our coaches,
and then takes off to test the boot on the slopes
without any risk! I recommend everybody to
take advantage of this service. Just as no two
people are alike, every ski and especially every
boot is different. By the way, the purchasing
price includes up to two test days. Our special ski
testing “base station” is located at the top of the
Rendlbahn. Leave the store and you are already
on the ski slope, so you can test many different
skis in just a short time.
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L.L. You opened the Intersport Freeride Shop two years ago.
How did that come about?
P.P. We already had the idea of providing everything the
freeride and freestyle community needs when such sports were up
and coming 11 years ago. We opened the Kirschbaum Shop with
this special product range and our concept has been successful ever
since. Once a niche segment, freestyle/freeride made great strides
and has become more and more popular. As the old store was
too small at some point, we moved to our current location at the
Rendlbahn with a sales area of 600 m². We offer our full product
range including skis, textiles and accessories as well as a ski depot
and rental service. While the freeride and freestyle community
finds an extraordinary selection of young brands, we also have
everything all other kinds of winter athletes might need. Two
years ago, we integrated our former Kirschbaum Shop into the
Intersport family and changed its name into Intersport Freeride.