At the Innsbruck Games, Christine Goitschel became Olympic slalom champion and giant slalom silver medallist, while her sister Marielle did exactly the opposite. Jean Béranger, her future husband, was then coaching the French women's team.
Val Thorens' first three drag lifts opened on 18 December, while the resort still existed only on paper, without a single home or shop. The first buildings did not go up until the following summer.
This is where Christine Goitschel and Jean Béranger chose to settle, when they could have set up in any established resort. They moved up to live year-round at 2,300 metres, at the end of a road that had only been extended in 1969, in a valley where snow cut off access for part of the winter.
The first sports shop in Val Thorens opened in the Péclet shopping centre, at the top of the resort. It is still our original address today, less than 300 m from the slopes.
Christine Goitschel persuaded mayor and minister Joseph Fontanet to create Val Thorens' primary school, so that residents and seasonal workers could give their children the education they needed. When it opened, the school had six pupils, including her own daughters.
Jean Béranger founded and for many years chaired the resort's tourist office, sports club and ESF ski school, which at the time could only open with at least four qualified instructors. He went on to become president of the French Ski Federation and of the Savoie committee, while remaining deputy mayor of the Belleville valley until his death.
1980 - 2000
As the resort grew and our customers kept coming back, Goitschel Sport expanded, opening new shops in key locations across Val Thorens. The business grew but remained 100% family-owned. Passing on know-how and a warm welcome became our hallmark.
1994
We took part in creating the Skiset brand. Today we still sit on its product selection committee and its strategy committee for the group's development.
From 2010
Launch of the very first Goitschel Sport website and online ski booking. Skiing evolves, and so do we: making life easier for our customers so they spend more time on the slopes and less time in the shop. We also set up partnerships with 5-star hotels in the resort (Pashmina and Altapura).
From 2020
Several modern shops in Val Thorens, equipment from the leading brands renewed every year, and a team of passionate experts. The same passion as in 1964, combined with today's challenges: a premium, digital service and particular care for the eco-friendly maintenance of our equipment.
The business has never left the family, so the people running it today grew up on the same slopes their customers ski.
They laid the foundations of the business in the resort's very first years, when Val Thorens itself was still a building site.
Caroline, Christine's daughter, took over with her husband Johann Rochias. They are the ones who built the group as it is today, one shop after another.
Quentin, their son, now works in Val Thorens and is the third generation of the family getting skiers ready for the slopes.
Carefully chosen equipment and teams trained to understand what you need before advising you. It is what helps us improve every season.
Explaining things simply is harder than explaining them technically. We tailor our advice to each person's level, without jargon, from beginners to experienced skiers.
Trust is built over time: our customers' trust in our advice, and our teams' trust in each other and in the company.
We delegate responsibility and expect everyone to come forward with ideas. The best ideas come from the shop floor.
Since 1973, the group has trained its staff in-house. Sharing knowledge between shops moves everyone forward in the same direction.
What started as a single shop has never left Val Thorens. The group has grown here, one brand after another, from hire shops to brand stores, without ever looking for growth in another resort.
Our shops are spread across the resort for a simple reason: you should be able to find one next to where you are staying, without crossing Val Thorens with your skis on your shoulder.
Our commitment to winter sports brands and to the resort's businesses has been built over time. Several of our shops operate under the Skiset brand, the network of independent hire shops founded in 1994 by former French ski champions.
At Goitschel Sport, you work for the family that opened the first sports shop in Val Thorens and now runs 10 shops and boutiques as well as five workshops in the resort, with the third generation already in the business.
We recruit every season. Qualifications matter less than the ability to listen to a customer and explain things simply. The rest can be learned: we have been training our staff since 1973.
