Swiss ski apparel brand opens new U.S. store in Lionshead

Lionshead’s newest high-end ski apparel shop wants to tell you a story. 

The story goes something like this. Capranea, pronounced “cap-ruh-nay-uh,” was started in 2008 by Marc Haensli in the town of Zug, Switzerland. Haensli – the son of the son of Walter Haensli, who assisted in founding the Head ski brand, was a key player in initiating skiing in New Zealand, and was an early investor in the Hotel Gastof-Gramshammer — came up in the ski apparel business, working at multiple Swiss brands.

When Marc Haensli started Capranea, “he did it through a unique lens of (being) a product developer first, not a designer. So every garment that’s a part of the Capranea brand is developed first and then designed into,” said Ian Widmer, Capranea’s chief executive officer.

Capranea products are designed to be “function first, aesthetic second,” Widmer said. “But we’ve figured out a way to bring them both together so that what we end up with as a final product is a product that’s super subtle, sophisticated, elegant. It’s timeless; we don’t chase trends,” he said.

Widmer grew up in Colorado, skiing 50 days per year at Wolf Creek in high school, and then moved to Vail and skied 100-plus days per year. “I grew up in retail, I grew up in the brand business, and I grew up in the ski business,” Widmer said.

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Clothing to support sport

The name “Capranea” combines the capra ibex, the majestic long-horned Swiss wild goat, with the Greek word “nea,” meaning “new,” to indicate the fresh approach the company brings to the ski apparel market, anchored in the spirit of exploring the mountains.

The 900-square foot store carries three brands. Capranea clothing is the anchor, supported by Dahu boots and Yniq goggles, the brand represented by Lindsey Vonn. While the brands are functionally separate, “they all travel and they move together as one,” Widmer said.

Capranea’s target customer is “pretty simple,” Widmer said. “It’s anybody that wants to go skiing, that wants to have product that functions, but then also cares about, not only does the product move and fit and function well at a top level, but then they can also look good on the mountain as well.”

All Capranea apparel has four-way stretch, built from the inside out with carefully selected materials, and is branded subtly to unite those in the know. Yniq goggles utilize top-notch Zeiss lenses, and are hand-built in Italy to both perform well and look good. Dahu boots, “an innovative approach to ski boots,” according to Widmer, have their own story.

“I think it’s a little-known secret of the industry insiders that boot fitters like to grind, punch, stretch, make insoles, all because there’s financial benefits tied to that, and for us, we’ve spent the money, the time, energy, effort, innovating to develop a product that is an out of box fit,” Widmer said.

Dano Bruno, a longtime Vail local and professional boot fitter, is a key component to Dahu. He has spent 40 years in the ski industry, and specializes in building boots that custom-fit skiers’ feet. Bruno is also the product manager at Dahu. 

“He has spent an incredible amount of time getting educated around the foot. He uses words I’ll never understand,” Widmer said. “Dano brings a lot to the table in terms of people, passion, energy and validation,” he said.

On Saturday mornings throughout the ski season, Capranea will be holding “Dahu demo days.” “We just want to get consumers in the boot, because for us, we almost have a 95% hit rate. Someone puts a boot on, and they are inspired,” Widmer said. “It’s an out-of-box fit, incredibly comfortable, doesn’t require hours upon hours in the boot chair.”

The first U.S. store

Capranea apparel has been in Vail stores since 2012 — Gorsuch and Pepi Sports — among other retailers within the United States and internationally.

Opening a Capranea-labeled store creates an opportunity to share the brand’s story with customers. “For us, there’s so much heritage and so much storytelling, the best way for us to do that is to do it in our own store,” Widmer said.

The Lionshead store is the second Capranea store ever, and the first storefront on U.S. soil.

When Tom Spiro, the owner of Double Diamond Shoes, which formerly occupied the space, asked if Haensli and Widmer wanted to move in, saying yes was an easy decision. “It took about 10 seconds. We said, ‘absolutely,'” Widmer said.

The location — in the top corner of Lionshead, across from the Lionshead parking garage and the bus stop — fits well with the vision the two had for the store of inhabiting a high footfall area in a resort town.

“This is, for us, a great place to launch our first brand boutique, in our backyard, where we can focus on storytelling,” Widmer said.

Widmer expects the validation provided by the storefront to drive an increase in sales at the brands’ local retail partners. “If (consumers) buy from us, great, if they go down the street and they buy from Gorsuch, we’re happy with that, too, and in fact we would love it, because the more that Gorsuch can represent our brands that are in the store, such as Yniq and Dahu, the better it is for everybody,” Widmer said.

After taking possession on Oct. 10 and rapidly moving through renovations, the store soft opened on Nov. 10, with the grand opening on Dec. 15.

The Capranea experience

“Everything that we do has a subtle, sophisticated elegance to it that comes through the lens of product first, and everything else second,” Widmer said.

Much like the products sold at Capranea, the in-store experience has been deliberately curated. “Ours is very much a personalized experience. You come in, you’re going to get greeted with a bottle of water and some other beverages in a couple of weeks, and we’re going to walk you through, and if you want to hear about the brand’s story, killer,” Widmer said.

Customers can explore the store independently, or chat with store staff. “We’re appreciative of anybody that wants to come in and get to know us a little bit more. We’re here to educate and then sell, not the other way around,” Widmer said.

The exterior of the store, which has two entrances, is designed to draw people over after skiing, with flame heaters, a coffee table, and different events on a weekly basis.

Widmer described the interior of the store as a “boutique-driven experience. Less is more,” he said.

“When you enter the store, what you’re going to see and recognize is that unlike any other retail experience that you’re going to have in Vail, certainly as it relates to winter product. It is built more like a New York fashion boutique,” Widmer said.

“It’s actually built to be shopped through the lens of an outfit. Outfit options are already assembled, with base, mid and outer layers on top and bottom, sized in alternating forms,” Widmer said.

Every couple of months, the selection of clothing in the store will turn over. “We want people to experience the brand through our lens, and so we put out different kits at different times,” he said.

The store is meant to welcome customers into the Capranea family. “We want this to be a second home away from home that brings people that elevated retail experience, but also comes back to the fact of what skiing should be,” Widmer said.

“At the end of the day, you should feel comfortable coming in here, trying stuff on, getting to know the brands and products, and working with us to make sure we can elevate your experience on the mountain. Because certainly at Capranea, it’s all about elevating yourself,” Widmer said.

Capranea, located at 531 E. Lionshead Cir. in Lionshead, will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Saturdays during Dahu demo days, when the store will open at 8 a.m.