Franz Julen attends the Club5 meeting in Crans-Montana as guest speaker

In his entertaining talk to around 50 representatives of the various World Cup committees, Julen addressed a number of aspects. The former CEO of Intersport International started by explaining why the global sports retailer relied massively on sponsoring activities in Alpine skiing and invested around €60 million in advertising initiatives in 15 years under his leadership. A native of Zermatt, Julen (64) cited the dynamics of skiing, the wide range of different advertising opportunities, brand awareness, the sport’s credibility, the motivation of franchisees and their employees, as well as partnerships with suppliers of ski products as reasons: “If we consider the start numbers, for example: there are few other sports where the sponsor can place their brand so close to the winner. Winter sports was one of our most important product categories – another reason why we invested heavily into it. Not to mention the positive image: nature, fresh air, the weather, the dynamics of the sport – people associate all this with skiing, which then translated positively onto the Intersport brand.”

In his presentation to the ski experts, Julen went on to speak about his current role as President of Zermatt Bergbahnen AG, explaining why the renowned Swiss ski resort has set its sights on hosting World Cup races. He underlined that winter sports are the top priority for Zermatt, which is why the cable car company has invested CHF 660 million over the past 20 years. The World Cup is also part of a major strategy of cooperation with Italian partners which focuses on the south. This includes the joint cross-border ski area Zermatt – Cervinia/Valtournenche and the opening of the 3S cable car from Testa Grigia to the Klein Matterhorn next spring. As the highest Alpine crossing, it is expected to boost summer tourism. There are also concrete plans to extend the ski area around the entire Monte Rosa massif to Alagna Valsesia. Zermatt can also look back on a long tradition of ski racing. “When the World Cup was founded more than 50 years ago, we missed the boat unfortunately – even though we were already hosting international races back then. The Matterhorn Cervino Speed Opening is our chance to come back on board now,” says Julen.

The first cross-border Ski World Cup race in history is an innovative and unique project because it is organised by six partners – Swiss Ski, FISI, and the cable car and tourism organisations in both Switzerland and Italy. “With two countries and two different cultures, it presents us with some challenges. But we are ready and looking forward to our launch.” With Zermatt generating significant bookings in November, he also considers the timing optimal to promote the area.

Julen concluded by stressing the importance of focusing on the positive aspects of skiing and communicating its strengths. He warned about completely revolutionising skiing, underlining the need for improvements and changes in small steps. Franz Julen's final message at the Club5 meeting in Crans-Montana:  “Alpine skiing is still alive!”