After competing in World Cup races, Kenta Uraki returned to the snow in 2018 as head coach of the All Japan Alpine Team. The following year he moved to Innsbruck, Austria, and is now the exclusive distributor of Kesle Ski in Japan. From a global perspective, he brings you the latest information and interesting topics on European snow culture, gear, and technology. This time, he focuses on Kesle Ski, which he is involved in
Reunion with KÄSTLE
In 2018, I accepted the position of head coach of the Alpine Ski National Team. The following year, in 2019, I moved with my family from Hawaii to Innsbruck, Austria, to establish a base for the Japan Ski Association and strengthen Japan's alpine skiing. However, in April 2022, after the Beijing Olympics, I was dismissed as head coach by the alpine skiing management. This left me unemployed and living in Austria, while still supporting my family. I was struggling with the mental anguish of what I should do next. During this time, the Austrian ski brand "KÄSTLE" never left my mind.
KÄSTLE is a brand I personally used as an active skier. Upon graduating from high school, I joined Japan Nordica Co., Ltd., the exclusive distributor of KÄSTLE in Japan at the time, and competed in the World Cup and World Championships with KÄSTLE skis. However, in 1998, the KÄSTLE brand was absorbed into Nordica and ceased to exist, forcing my partnership with the brand to end.
More than 20 years later, I spotted a familiar logo at a European ski resort. It was Kessle skis. I was excited to see Kessle skis for the first time in a while, so I looked into it and found out that they had just started moving towards returning to the international market.
The history of Kesle... from its disappearance to its revival
What kind of brand is Kessle? Founded in 1924 in Hohenems, Austria, near the Swiss border, Kessle has won over 130 medals since 1950, including World Cup overall titles and Olympic and World Championship medals, thanks to the efforts of skiers such as Toni Sailer and Pirmin Zurbriggen. The only Japanese alpine skier to win an Olympic medal, Chiharu Igaya, also used Kessle skis when he won a medal at the 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
Even after the company was acquired by Italy's Benetton in 1991, Kessle skis continued to be used by many skiers, but the brand was absorbed into Nordica after the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, surprising everyone involved.
A little over a decade later, a businessman from Vorarlberg, Austria, began working to revive the Kössle brand, and the company's headquarters reopened in 2015. The company relaunched with the ski manufacturing techniques that had proven their worth in alpine skiing, and added new technologies such as the brand's iconic Hollowtech (the oval shape and patented vibration-absorbing function at the tip of every ski)
In 2018, Czech company Konsilsport acquired a majority stake in Kösle, allowing the company to expand its product categories and make a full comeback to the global market
Expanding to Japan
Since retiring from competitive skiing, I have been involved in a variety of jobs outside of skiing. Despite having no prior experience, I have also started businesses in the real estate and bridal industries, managing to get by on my own ideas and passion. Perhaps because of this, the idea of expanding and importing a ski brand in Japan offered significant advantages compared to the other ventures I had attempted, and I had no reason to hesitate.
A few weeks after being fired as head coach of the alpine team, I prepared documents and photos proving my past involvement with Kössle and headed to Hohenems, a town on the western edge of Austria, on the Swiss border. This is where the Kössle brand originated and where the company's headquarters are still located. I began
my conversation with an international sales representative, and on my second visit, I met with the company's CEO. Despite living in Austria for five years, I don't speak German. Even though I speak English, I often struggled to understand complex conversations. However, by sharing my passion for the brand and the future I envisioned with Kössle, I was able to gain the trust of the CEO and other key members of the headquarters. And so, it was decided to fully restart the Kesleski brand in Japan, with me at the center.
A diverse lineup
With roots in racing, Kössle resumed competing in the Alpine World Cup in 2019. Then, in January 2023, Ilka Stühetch (Slovenia) became the first Kössle skier to win the Alpine World Cup in over 20 years. Kössle skiers continued to perform well in the following 2023-2024 season, with Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka and Switzerland's Jasmine Fleury winning the Alpine World Cup. Kössle skiers have also been making notable achievements in other World Cup events, including ski cross, moguls, aerials, and cross-country skiing
With this revival, the brand has expanded its product categories to include freeride, all-mountain, touring, and mogul skis, as well as alpine and Nordic skis and mountain bikes. The two most talked-about products are freeride skis and alpine boots.
The freeride skis feature two wide-center widths: the ZX series (center widths: 92mm, 100mm, 108mm, and 115mm), which allows for versatile use on both piste and powder, and the PARAGON series (center widths: 93mm, 101mm, and 107mm), which offers exceptional stability even at high speeds and is perfect for serious freeride skiers. Perhaps due to their design, they have become popular among powder skiers in North America and can now be found at ski resorts everywhere.
The ski boots, which went on sale in the 2022-2023 season, are in the brand's signature color, Kessle Mint. They offer a striking presence on snow and are attracting attention thanks to their proprietary K-Blend material, which provides excellent tenacity regardless of temperature.
Expansion of ski production functions
The company continues to produce its top racing models at its headquarters in Hohenems, Austria, while its boots are made in the small town of Treviso in northern Italy, home to ski boot makers from around the world. Demand for Kesle skis has grown exponentially in recent years, leading to the decision in 2022 to expand, modernize, and automate its factory in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. Furthermore, the company has made a major investment in a solar power generation system, enabling it to generate a large portion of its energy from renewable sources
In the photo above, the old factory is at the very back, and the building just before it is a huge new factory. Solar panels for generating electricity are lined up on the roof. The crammed piles of wood can be seen at the bottom of the photo. The most important core material in manufacturing skis is the wood core. Kessle's wood cores are exposed to natural air, rain, and wind for three to five years, which gives them the flexibility and strength that is ideal for use as a core material in skis
A management strategy that suits the times
Serving as an agent for an international brand in Japan typically requires a Japan-based business strategy. However, I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of Austria, the heart of the ski business. Fortunately, the internet is connected worldwide, allowing us to conduct everything online—communication, brand marketing, and product sales. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has made online meetings the norm, making it easier than ever to work with Japanese clients overseas.
For these reasons, I have based myself in Austria and am focusing on gathering information in this pioneering ski country. Furthermore, by building relationships with Kässle's headquarters and factory and the people who work there, I am now being asked for advice on ski manufacturing, including ski design, functionality, and lineup. Furthermore, I am now able to develop skis specifically for the Japanese market and make requests regarding the production line, which will likely be a major advantage in our future expansion into Japan.
On the Japanese side, Kässle's Japan base and service center is located in Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture, where I spent my elementary and junior high school years. They are also slowly but surely making preparations, such as setting up a Kesle ski racing service, a test drive center where new models can be tried out throughout the season, signing contracts with brand ambassadors and influencers, etc. The name used to be "Kesle" in Japan, but as it was pronounced slightly differently in Austria, it was changed to "Kesle" when they returned to Japan.
By coincidence, I never expected that I would be reunited with Kössle at such a time, and that I would be able to restart my journey with Kössle, which was forced to end in 1998, and the challenges I left unfinished as an athlete, as the brand's director. I am grateful for this miraculous life, and first of all, I want to be myself and achieve solid results. In the future, I would like to go beyond the framework of ski sales and establish a sports culture like that found in Austria in Japan, while also revitalizing the local economy, working on initiatives that contribute to people's health and happiness, and handling products that contribute to these things
Information
Kaestle Japan Official Website
https://kaestle.com/ja
Kastle Japan Official Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kastle_jp/
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