Quechua (brand)

Quechua (/ˈkɛtʃᵊwə/, /ˈkɛtʃuːə/ or /ˈkɛtʃwɑː/; Spanish pronunciation: [ˈketʃwa]) is a mountain sports brand founded in 1997 in Domancy, France, dealing with hiking, trail running, adventure racing, climbing and mountaineering apparel and equipment and is sold in every store of Decathlon and sportswear shops. It employs 150 people. The name comes from the Quechua language, an indigenous language of South America and also denominates an indigenous people.

Quechua
IndustryMountaineering, hiking, climbing, Nordic skiing
Founded1997 (1997)
Headquarters
Domancy, Sallanches
,
France
Key people
Christian Ollier (International Manager)[1]
ProductsMountain sports products
Number of employees
150
ParentDecathlon 
Websitewww.quechua.com
Quechua climbing shoes

History

Timeline:

  • 1997 : The Quechua company started in a three-room flat in Sallanches. The trademark was made official worldwide.[2]
  • 1999 : Opening of the International Headquarters in Domancy, very close to Mont Blanc.
  • 2002 : The first Technical Partnership contracts were signed.
  • 2003 : The six-year-old Quechua company joined the Top 10 largest global brands in mountain gear. Publication of the first consumer magazine, covering mountain topics, called Chullanka (snowed summit in Quechua language). The name changed to Quechua Magazine for the seventh issue.
  • 2006 : Quechua wins two IF Design Awards.[3] The 2 seconds Tent wins the Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) for the innovation of instant tent.[4]
  • 2007 : At the 10 year mark the company employs 100 persons at its premises in Domancy. Quechua wins 3 IF Design Awards for the Forclaz 900 jacket, Arpenaz 700 lady shoes and the 2seconds Air tent;[5]
  • 2008 : Quechua wins 3 IF Design Awards for the "All in One Sleeping Bag", the SSV Forclaz and the Bionassay 500 jacket.[6]

Technical partnership

Quechua has partnerships with groups such as mountain guides, national team of young mountaineers and the Ifremmont Institute of Mountain Medical Research. It works with advisers in hiking (Hélène Rochas, Grégory Vollet, Vincent Delebarre, Dachhiri Sherpa), climbing (David Caude) and adventure racing (Quechua Team).

References
  1. "Discover the brand" - Quechua official site Archived June 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, 2012-05-27
  2. "1997. The adventure begins". Quechua. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  3. Site des IF Design Awards 2006
  4. Site des IDEA Awards 2006 Archived March 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Site des IF Design Awards 2007
  6. Site des IF Design Awards 2008
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