Expat ski entrepreneur plans Swiss expansion

In August 2008, Bartholomew left his career as a London investment banker to set up a Verbier ski rental business  in partnership with an existing French company, All Mountain Rental. With the credit crunch, recession and bonus wars looming, the Swiss Alps seemed a better lifestyle than the daily commute on the London underground.

“I decided that life in the city wasn’t for me,” he told Swisster.

Ski rental “was a difficult market to break into," he said. Plenty of established companies operate in Verbier, which has been a winter sports holiday venue since 1925. But the 28-year-old entrepreneur says his was the first to offer delivery and in-house fitting service.

Clients have included foreign dignitaries and royalty, supermodels and former Formula One driver Eddie Jordan, who can afford to pay a bit extra for the comfort of avoiding queues at the hire shop. “Clients get their boots fitted whilst having a glass of wine in the chalet,” said Bartholomew.

The service caters primarily for tourists, but it is also “popular with professionals from Geneva who rent apartments for the season.”

However, it was an ambitious move and Bartholomew did not find setting up a business easy.

“It was a much bigger personal commitment than I had expected,” he said, having put up much of the initial cash outlay. He was surprised to find that it costs 8,000 francs in fees to incorporate a company, against just 5 pounds sterling in his native UK.

The workshop involved considerable up-front investment: hundreds of pairs of skis, boots and snow boards, and other costly fixed assets such as ski-grinding machines. He also bought a 50,000 franc VW Transporter to move equipment between his base in Le Châble, a hamlet below Verbier, and chalets nearer the pistes.

“When I put together the business I worked on the assumption I would get finance,” he said, but both Credit Suisse and UBS turned him down. A spokesperson for UBS told Swisster that the bank has more than 125,000 SME (small-medium enterprise) clients and is “willing to support and accompany viable enterprises also in these economically difficult times.”

Swiss cantonal authorities also provide resources to help new enterprises set up shop, but tourism businesses are not a priority for the head of Valais enterprise support, Martin Meyer. “Our mission is to help innovative companies,” said Meyer, who focuses on supporting ICT (information communication technology), biotech, and renewable energy companies. Last year the Valais authorities pumped 50,000 francs into a technology start-up in Martigny.

Meyer said the canton has also helped a number of high-net worth investors set up residency with personal tax arrangements in Verbier.

Now the ski rental business is more established “discussions with the bank have become more constructive,” said Bartholomew, who is optimistic about this year’s revenues. “Bookings for December and the New Year are up considerably on this time last year,” he said, and he has already increased his staff, employing two Brits and a Kiwi to maintain skis, take orders and deliver equipment.

He expects to double the turnover of the business from last year, but is relying on the benefit of positive feedback and word-of-mouth referrals.

The company is better networked with local business partners this year, such as Verbier’s established tour operator Ski Freedom. Bartholomew collaborates with other travel enterprises, although they declined to be named for fear of upsetting other suppliers.

The ski delivery concept has spread to other equippers in Verbier. Renato Milani of Danni Sports told Swisster that usually “clients come to the shop to choose their equipment” but “we can also deliver to chalets".

“It’s a good idea to have a service delivering the materials to the chalet,” said Pierre-Yves Deleze, of the Verbier tourist office. But he warned that Verbier may not attract a high frequency of skiers this season.

“With the financial crunch . . . people are more careful with booking their holidays,” he said, predicting that families who usually ski more than one holiday period would cut costs by taking just one trip to the Alps this season.

After opening early for November weekends, Deleze said Verbier needs a substantial snow fall to encourage visitors to ski over Christmas.

When the Champéry expansion is complete, the plan for All Mountain Rental is “to develop and grow the business into other resorts in the four valleys and beyond,” said Bartholomew.

He has no regrets about leaving the City.