TODAY
Eight boutiques under a single roof: Hofstetter Sports offers eight corner shops all dedicated to a different area of excellence: ladies’ apparel – men’s apparel – skiing – outdoors – running – tennis – beach – gym and fitness. Eight ways of interpreting sport and fashion in a welcoming, authentic environment.
1990
A breath of fresh air: Hofstetter Sports merged with another luxury brand, Bongénie. This new impetus enabled the company to reaffirm its position as Geneva’s boutique of note in the realm of sport and high quality sports garments.
1969
Passion passed from father to son: Michel Hofstetter takes over Hofstetter Sports. He infused a greater focus on luxury into the fashion offering and places particular emphasis on ski tuning.
1952
Conquering Everest: in the spring 1952, Ernest Hofstetter set off to conquer Everest with Sherpa Tenzing and friends from the Geneva Mountain Club, Androsace. The expedition, which was conducted without oxygen, turned back 200 metres from the summit but it opened the now classical “south side”. A year later, the world’s highest peak was conquered by New Zealander Hillary.
1939
Moving to the Corraterie: taking advantage of permission to take leave to treat appendicitis, Soldier Hofstetter relaunched his business. He found a new arcade in one of Geneva’s most beautiful streets, the Corraterie, where Hofstetter is still located today.
1934
Hofstetter Sports was created. A team of friends driven by the same passion for mountains gathered at the Place de la Fusterie in Geneva every evening. At the beginning of the week, they discussed the feats of the previous weekend, and over the next few days, prepared their adventures for the following Sunday. Amongst these sportsmen was a young man who had grown up in Davos, Ernest Hofstetter. The company that employed him had sent him to Geneva, after periods spent in La Chaux-de-Fonds and Zurich. Ernest, who was virtually born on skis, was a precision mechanic and keen mountaineer. Once in Geneva, he swiftly got to know the sporting community and dreamed of opening a small sports shop while teaching skiing and continuing his mountaineering activities at the same time.
In 1934, Ernest Hofstetter opened a boutique in the Passage des Lions, offering sports items and clothing.