120 WHAT'S THE STORY
One like him: Lorenz Bach in Lorenz Bach, the owner makes fashion that he prefers to wear himself.
One Who Didn’t Set Forth Lorenz Bach. Gstaad is a village, albeit a glamorous one. Lorenz Bach is not completely without blame for this. Fortunately, Gstaad can say that it didn’t have to search high and low for its happiness. Text: Dörte Welti. Photos: Lorenz Bach, Raphael Faux, Dörte Welti
313 style in progress
Lorenz Bach was born here on one of the farms. The boy became a farmer, but one who also loved to ski and wasn’t half bad at it, a dynamic guy. It wasn’t enough for a huge sporting career but enough for him, in 1980, to open up a store selling skiing equipment and accessories in his hometown of Gstaad. People happily came to the quiet guy with the sparkling blue eyes because he knew what he was talking about, understood skiing, respected quality and made his name this way. 33 years later nothing much has changed for Lorenz Bach. He still knows what he’s talking about. However, now there are eleven (yes, eleven!) stores in Gstaad and twelve more in Rougemont, Lausanne, Villars, Zermatt, Crans-Montana, Ver-
bier and Sion. He employs 140 people during the peak season. However, Gstaad has remained his base, he belongs here. When you walk through the village with Lorenz Bach and pass his business’ individual locations it becomes clear why he his so successful. He knows everyone by name, in the café, on the street, in his shops. He speaks to everyone in their language, French, English, dialects and standard German. Lorenz Bach moves back and forth easily, no big deal, just a familiar manner. How Customers Like It
The core of Lorenz Bach’s company is the store of the same name located in a quaint chalet on the promenade in Gstaad. It provides fashion for women, men and children from the attic
to the ground floor. The control centre so to speak. In the village, divided into different locations adapted to different target groups, there are mono-brand stores like Brunello Cucinelli, there are glamorous locations for high fashion like Chloé, Christian Dior or Stella McCartney, sophisticated arrangements for brands like Philipp Plein, Steffen Schraut or Dolce & Gabbana, and casual shops like a former bank, where the vault is now filled with jeans and shirts. The pure sports stores are also still going. The portfolio has grown, one shop led to another, that’s how the customers wanted it, says the boss. As the customer is king, now there is also a furniture store where sophisticated part-time Gstaad residents can find anything from wall panel-