Oberalp, mountain 'house of brands' aims for double-digit growth to 2030

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The Oberalp Group is focusing on "increasingly technical" mountaineering products and new distribution agreements in the mountain sports sector in order to achieve "a 10% annual growth rate over the next five years, twice the 5% estimated for the market". This was explained in an interview with Radiocor Christoph Engl, CEO of the Oberrauch family's South Tyrolean house of brands, founded in 1981 as a retailer of high quality clothing and which has become a point of reference among mountaineers all over the world, with 1,157 employees and 6,500 international customers, thanks to a series of targeted acquisitions in Europe and the USA. First of all, in 1990 that of the German Salewa, which today, with its boots and clothing, accounts for more than a third of the 300 million turnover with which the group will close 2025 (up from 284 in 2024) and has contributed 'to an increase in margins of one and a half points over the previous year'. In addition to the iconic eagle logo, the group now has five other proprietary brands in its portfolio (Dynafit, Evolv, LaMunt, WildCountry, Pomoca), specialising in 'different niches' from ski mountaineering to climbing, and 'nine partner brands'. These include the American sportswear of Under Armour, which alone counts for 56 million in the group's turnover.

In the coming months, however, the Oberalp family will expand further with two new important distribution agreements, 'one for Italia and the other for Europe', reveals Engl. 'Two international brands will arrive', which 'match our brands in terms of high value and culture'. For the time being, these are the only operations planned for the group. "We feel we are fully booked and have homework to do" to strengthen ourselves, says the CEO, who does not, however, totally bar the door to new partnerships or acquisitions either. 'We always pay attention to external opportunities,' says the manager, 'We can always come across an interesting brand. Just think that only five years ago we had only four brands' owned 'and today we are at six'. On the other hand, M&A has always been central to the strategy that in just over forty years has transformed a small sportswear and equipment retailer in Bolzano into a group with 116 shops and 3,500 dealers in over 60 countries, from China and South Korea to the USA and South Africa.

"Europe still weighs in, however, for 70% of our turnover and Italia for 35-40%," explains Oberalp's CEO, "because if you're not someone at home, you're nobody" globally. Among the non-EU markets, the most relevant is the United States, where in 2019 the Bolzano-based group also purchased Evolv climbing shoes. "We set foot in the USA a good 20 years ago and we have an office in Colorado," says Christoph Engl, adding that "the customer base is similar to that in Europe". Asia, on the other hand, 'has a very different culture'. Therefore, in markets like South Korea - 'where we have been present for more than 10 years' -, China and Japan, 'we have made some licensing agreements' for certain collections. For the future, 'as a house of mountain brands, we plan to be there and strengthen ourselves in all geographies where mountains are present. From Chile to Argentina, to the Spanish Pyrenees to the entire Scandinavian world, to the Arab States and New Zealand,' says Engl. 'In these areas we have wholesalers who distribute our products and we see our sales grow. In spite of important development prospects and the presence of 'emerging brands', these geographies, however, the CEO admits, present certain complexities, 'such as different exchange rates, long shipping times, and inverse seasonality', with which it is necessary to 'come to terms'. At the same time, however, 'we see an increasingly international tourism of mountain enthusiasts' with significant flows to destinations such as Patagonia or New Zealand. 'So our priority is to be there, where these phenomena occur,' says Engl, 'and where someone can get enthusiastic about the mountains'.

In spite of this strong international vocation and the group's managerialisation, the roots of Oberalp remain firmly in the heart of the Dolomites and in the Oberrauch family, which holds all the shares in the company and continues to lead the group, with founder Heiner Oberrauch and daughter Ruth in the roles of president and vice-president. A bond that, at least for the time being, leads the management to rule out any hypothesis of a listing on the stock exchange. "We are a South Tyrolean company and come from the entrepreneurial culture of the masi (family-owned properties dedicated to animal husbandry, ed). In the days of the farms, no one would go on the stock exchange to buy one more cow,' explains CEO Christop Engl. 'So we too will only grow as much as we can afford, and if we cannot, we will downsize.