sportFACHHANDEL 02_2018 Leseprobe

2.2018 Technology | WINTER | 53
The Tailored Fits AG was founded in summer
2016. The starting grid included, apart
from Mr. Rindlisbacher as CEO, Benjamin
Schmitt (CIO & Product Manager) and
Antonia Theiler (finances and administration).
The company offers soles for running
(with special focus on support, control and
shock-absorption), hiking (surefootedness,
comfort and stability), cycling (power transmission,
control and efficiency) and skiing
(power transmission, stability and support).
Soles for golfers (stability during the strike,
walking function) are currently in the field
test phase and soles for footballers (feel for
the ball, walking function) are under development.
“Medium-term goals are special
soles for tennis, Nordic skiing and ice hockey
as well as for indoor activities such as volleyball
or handball,“ Mr. Rindlisbacher says.
Apart from insoles, the Swiss company
produces already individual inner shoes for
each ski boot shell. “For this, we scan the
intern form of the shell to obtain the outer
shape of the liner. The second step, we deduct
the personal scan of the lower leg from
it. This way, we are able to reproduce the leg
form of the skier,“ he illustrates. “Since we
reprint cavities with our 3D print method,
we offer, in addition to the individual fit, also
optimum insulation. And from this, the way
is not far to the ski boot by Tailored Fits. 100
per cent adjusted to the foot, 100 per cent
comfort, 100 per cent power transmission –
this is our motto. The whole ski boot consists
of a customized inner shoe, a complete shell
featuring a closure system without buckles
for easy on and off,“ he continues. “With the
modern injection moulding process of the
shell, we produce two different degrees of
hardness in one moulding. In total, our shoe
has 14 components; a conventional ski boot
consists of more than 200 parts. Verily, we
are in the midst of a revolutionary industrialisation,
thanks to the 3D print method.“
Due to the integration of the different
steps from the scan to the reorder, Tailored
Fits is able to create additionally a real
digital value chain which is beneficial for the
stationary trade, too. “We offer the display,
the scanner, the iPad inclusively software
and the sole pattern for free to customers
generating sales of at least 10.000 CHF per
year with us,“ Mr Rindlisbacher informs us.
“Additionally, we train the retailers comprehensively.
They scan the customers, provides
us with the data and collect the money. We
send the products to the specialised sports
shops where the customer can pick it up.“
At SportArt in Switzerland, the customer can even
see his own foot scan live on the screen.
Ski boots from the 3D printer – no longer a
dream of the future for Tailored Fits
No investments, no purchase, no storage, no
write-off risk, but the collection of money
and the margin immediately – and, in case
of reorders, the retailer will remain involved.
“If a customer reorders directly from us, we
inform him and he automatically receives a
commission of 20 percent,“ Mr Rindlisbacher
explains.
The feedback of the test shops in Horw
(SportArt) and Goldbach near Aschaffenburg
(aktivsport) were positive right from
the start. According to Mr. Rindlisbacher,
they received input for the manufacturing
and for the improvement of their digital
commerce as well as valuable knowledge regarding
the production, the expenditure of
time, quality control, material consistency
etc. “In general, we can say that the quality
of the scans is very good and the selling
process works excellently. The customer
accepts the product to the demanded price.
The scanning is easy to learn for the retailer
and the customers don’t hesitate to accept
the scan,“ he says. In addition to the two
pilot stores now also use the sports shops
Bergsport WN (Garmisch), Intersport
Skihütte (Reit im Winkel), SOS Sport
(Braunschweig), Sportperle (Hamburg)
Sport Speiser (Bolsterlang) and Sport
65 (Weinheim) the offer of Tailored Fits.
Furthermore, there are ten shops in Switzerland
and one in Austria. This means the
future has already begun.