Stöckli - explained in PalmerProject-Ski- and Snowboard-Lexicon
"Foundation of the Stöckli AG Ski Factory
In the middle of the 1930s, Josef Stöckli was producing wooden skis for his own use and also for his colleagues. As the demand became even greater, he decided to open the Stöckli AG ski works in 1936. At this time, in Switzerland alone, about 30 ski producing factories had been founded. A few other larger ski factories such as Schwendener, Attenhofer and Authier flourished.
Marketing Policy
With the exception of Stöckli, all ski manufacturers in Switzerland were under pressure from competitive companies, even from abroad, offering their equipment at more favourable prices. In 1967, had Stöckli not chosen to adopt direct marketing policy, the company would have probably shared the same fate. Today, with our own 11 branches and 31 partner companies, Stöckli guarantees complete customer-orientation.
Production
In 1986, with the building of the new factory in Malters, it was possible to increase sales up to the present level of 50,000 pairs. Through the expansion of the production plant in 2002, the whole development department was centralised to counteract the short-lived nature of product life cycles and to increase the level of innovation.
Ski Racing
At first, Stöckli's involvement was limited mainly to the regional ski racing scene. It was mainly athletes from Central Switzerland that put their trust in Stöckli skis. Through regional successes, in 1984 after many attempts, Stöckli was finally added to the Swiss Ski Pool. The result of this was that the vice world champion Urs Kälin, the first Swiss world champion, changed sponsor to Stöckli and took several podium positions in his first season alone. Stöckli customers can also benefit from the innovative equipment used in the world championships: the exact skis (special laser models) as used by elite athletes are to be found on the shelves in Stöckli outlets.
Expansion of the Ski Sales Channels
With Stöckli's entry into the ski world championships, it was decided to keep up with demand by opening a further sales channel. On this basis, a chosen network of dealers, consisting of 31 renowned sports shops in the most important ski areas of Switzerland, came into being. Stöckli remains true to its policy ""quality before quantity"". This assures customers that they can get the necessary advice at partner outlets which is so important when purchasing skis. Since the opening of the Hire and Service Centres at Sörenberg, Melchsee-Frutt, Hoch-Ybrig and Engelberg, skis can be hired or purchased in 4 further locations.
International Trade
Stöckli also pursues a selective marketing strategy on an international level. At this time 40% of the annual production is exported to 32 countries and surprisingly, Austria, as the leading ski-producing nation, belongs to one of the best markets. This is due to mainly to the excellent quality and performance of Stöckli products.
Stöckli Bikes
In the year 1996, Stöckli launched its own range of bikes. Since then, bikes have been designed and made to specification by the company's own engineers and assembled in Switzerland. Through the use of excellent components, the range was soon established on the bike scene (including racing). Stöckli's first big success in bike racing (with the Team Stöckli-Craft) was to win the Long Distance European Championship in 2002 and further top-class results followed soon after.
Outdoor Sports
The name Stöckli is now well known, not only for skis but also for a unique selection of goods in the sphere of ski wear, ski boots, snowboards, cross-country skiing and a multitude of associated accessories.
Stöckli offers a variety of products for biking, trekking, walking, running and inline-skating, not only in winter but in summer too. Its department ""Teamsport"" (printing of tracksuits, t-shirts, sports jerseys etc.), which allows groups or sports clubs to profit from attractive prices, has also grown to be a very important part of the company.
On the strength of the long-term extension of the product range and know-how in the outdoor sector, which has been acquired over decades, Skifabrik Stöckli AG has now become Stöckli Swiss Sports AG with the supplement ""outdoor sports"" and will present its new logo on 1 October 2007. "