Chris the Builder

Chris Sports . Christian Bättig knows a thing or two about stable constructions. After all, he is a fully trained carpenter. He also knows a thing or two about sports. After all, he was both a professional skier and a ski preparation specialist.

Text: Dörte Welti. Illustration: Eva Vasari @Caroline Seidler When one thing leads to another, it can result in a perfectly viable business. The history of Chris Sport is characterised by pure passion. Christian Bättig and a friend attended the junior world championships in Alaska in 1989. After the event, the two sportsmen decided that a bicycle tour starting in Salt Lake City and leading through the entire US would be cooler than flying straight home. Without this decision there would be no Chris Sports in its current form. The distribution agency headquartered in Canton Thurgau has 18 top sports brands in its portfolio and employs 50 people. Its warehouse has thousands of square metres of storage space and the visibly satisfied boss is only too happy to give visitors a tour of the premises. Back in 1989, Bättig and his friend were fascinated by the quality of the bikes they used to cycle across the US for three months and were very sad when they had to end their trip due to a lack of funds. Did they abandon their trusty two-wheeled companions? Of course they didn’t! The bicycles travelled back home to Switzerland with them. Cycling is fun in Switzerland too and soon others were asking about the high-tech bikes from across the Atlantic. So who built them? Christian Bättig did some research, found the producer, and founded his very first distribution company.

Door Openers and Lucky Finds

At first Christian Bättig also worked for two days a week at Adidas in Tagelswangen, Zurich. That’s where he also learned which mistakes one should avoid making. As a passionate skier, he continued to train on his bikes when there was no snow; one needs the same motor skills during the downhill sections. However, his employer does not offer all the products he needs. Cycling shoes are just one example. That’s why Bättig started looking for suitable products himself and started distributing what he found. Sure, the Adidas label on his business card was a door opener for the young distribution enthusiast within the retail trade, but he himself had to make sure he could deliver the products, is reliable, and can act swiftly. Chris Sports had five employees when it was forced to look for new premises; Tagelswangen had become too small for the company’s growing business volume. A lucky find in Münchwilen, not far from the original location, was a real boost for the young agency. The new home base is a rather charmless building from the 1970s. But who cares as long as it serves its purpose? It does that so well that the company has to add new space constantly. Even when all the competitors were suffering, Christian Bättig was doing just fine. The father of four has remained grounded and exclusively focuses on brands that rise to the top, thereby ensuring sufficient business volume. New Balance is one of the brands currently experiencing an unbelievable hype. Fans actually spend the night in front of the store when the US sneaker label announces the launch of new special models. The retail industry adores Christian Bättig. He is capable of delivering within 24 hours as long as the order comes in by 4pm. This is unheard of and ensures fierce customer loyalty. This is made possible by the B2B shop solution, an innovation that Christian Bättig introduced in 2011, when the revenue figures started stalling due to the Euro crisis. Should a buyer not find the desired item in the store, it takes no more than a click to get it the next day. Chris Sports also supplies in-house goods refinement for many of its clients, which is also a unique service. Every shoe is unpacked by hand, labelled, and repacked.

Friends and Professionals

Today, Chris Sports has - alongside its headquarters in Münchwilen - a showroom in the TMC in Zurich, as well as further showrooms in Aigle, in Bad Ragaz, in the MOC Munich, and in Salzburg-based Brand Box. Every one of them is run by passionate athletes who really understand their customers and who are always more friends than business partners. This is very important to Christian Bättig, a handyman who likes to call himself Bob the Builder from time to time. When strolling through his company’s headquarters he addresses everyone - really everyone - by name, asks about their wellbeing, and introduces the visitors he has in tow. He doesn’t act like a boss at all. Actually, he really is just a builder. He has surrounded himself with professionals for the business angle, such as CEO Damian Wirth, CFO Andreas Guglielmo, and COO Michael Fontana. Bättig makes the drafts and builds from the base. His structures always hold.

Chris Sports Christian Bättig AG Murgtalstrasse 18 9542 Münchwilen/Germany T. 0041.71.9696666 swisschris@chrissports.ch www.chrissports.ch