GEIGER – THE HISTORY  1906 - 2006 

In the world of fashion with all it’s short lived trends it is unusual when customers decide to stay with one brand for a long time– even more unusual if they decide to be loyal to a brand for a lifetime.
This only happens if the brand is “alive” - able to touch people on a deep, emotional level and able to inspire with new ideas again and again.
  GEIGER is such a brand.
For four generations, GEIGER has practiced reinventing itself through constantly renewing it’s own creativity, thus reflecting the various eras like a mirror. From the beginning GEIGER never saw it’s own roots as limiting but rather as a solid base to develop new ideas.
This is the spirit Barbara Geiger, the company founder, introduced in 1906. She took traditional patterns and color combinations from her homeland Tyrol and created a new fashion concept.
At a time when “Emancipation” was just starting to become a topic for Western Society, she was ahead of this development and started her own business. A modern entrepreneur, she was giving other women from her region work which allowed them to help provide for their families and inspired others to follow her lead.
She purchased wool from local farmers and with the help of her fellow workers created her first collection of “Hoeslstutzen” (leggings) and knit cardigans on manual knitting machines.
Twenty years later Mrs. Geiger was able to hand over a small but flourishing business to her son Peter with a product brand already known beyond Austrian borders for it’s high quality and alpine inspired style. 
Through the following years the Geiger’s continued to prove that they had “fashion instinct”.
In the 50s international travel and a global media network were not yet a common source for inspiration in the fashion world. Yet GEIGER had sensational success with its brand new “Parallelo Sweaters” and their sweaters and cardigans with patterns inspired by the beauty of traditional Norwegian knitwear (at GEIGER known as “Islaender” sweaters) which became a must in any trend-setters wardrobe and answered the demand from apparel centers who had started to show interest in sportswear. All major fashion brands must have a breakthrough in the international fashion arena to be successful. For GEIGER this opportunity presented itself when the Austrian National Ski Team was wearing the functional and trendy “Norwegian Sweaters” made by GEIGER for their competitions. Winning race after race in the sports world they also raced ahead in the fashion world. 
A moment in time topped only by the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo when Tony Sailer won three gold medals wearing a red cable-patterned sweater that GEIGER had designed for him. This earned Toni the nickname (roten Blitz von Kitz -“the red flash from “Kitz” (Kitzbuehl)”). The “Sailer-Pullover” was also a winner in the “Fashion Olympics” with the media. It became such a sales hit that the knitting machines in Schwaz were running day and night.
GEIGER was now recognized internationally. 
In the late 50s Yves Saint Laurent created a “Classic” fashion trend with clear lines while at the same time GEIGER in Austria already featured its “Classic” – an elegant, charcoal gray sweater made from the finest Shetland yarn. It was such a sales success that retailers had a hard time keeping their shelves stocked. 

 

The History of the Company

GEIGER’s story originates in Austria, a country where traditions are valued and where there is only the highest regard for handmade products. It is a story in which the splendor of the European sense of fashion and the appeal of country life blend to create a sophisticated collection of original designs. It begins with GEIGER fabric, a knitted and then felted wool – called “WALK” -  that is created in a process originally innovated by GEIGER. This process – GEIGER’s well kept trade secret – makes its product truly “the original”. Having specialized in manufacturing Walk innovations over the years, GEIGER has developed over 50 different varieties of Walk, which no other company can offer.Each new season a team of designers creates a unique selection of new styles by coordinating this GEIGER fabric with an exclusive array of the finest specialty yarns and fabrics in Europe, creating a rich interplay of texture, color and pattern. It is the intrinsic understanding of thoroughness and detail that sets GEIGER apart. The quality, the workmanship, the originality. The success of GEIGER’s collections is easily measured by the number of inferior imitations currently found on the market. However, they are and will remain simply that, imitations. 

Who Our Customers Are, an Introduction:

 

Selling in today’s retail environment has become much more difficult and demanding. Customers want to get their money’s worth, they expect quality goods, helpful knowledgeable sales people and they are more apt to shop around before they commit their dollars. Especially in nowadays fashion world where markets are flooded with a wide range of product at all price levels, consumers are given more choices than ever before. A freedom that can leave end-consumers feeling overwhelmed and confused.

 

Who is a GEIGER Customer? 

 

GEIGER is committed to partner with our retailers to offer a comprehensive product line suited to all facets of the modern woman. The GEIGER Collections combine international fashion and tradition to create designs of unmistakable uniqueness, appropriate for every lifestyle. At GEIGER we create a spectrum of wardrobe coordinates and accessories that adorn, not just clothe, the body. Our customer is a woman who wants something special, who is rediscovering her femininity and her choices, and who typically doesn’t have the time or experience to put it all together. Geiger’s directional yet classically simple approach to fashions refreshes her senses, revives her spirit. By creating collections of related separates and coordinates exclusively represented in finer specialty shops, GEIGER restores her faith in quality and personal service. By investing in GEIGER clothing she will find being complimented time and time again. The reason – the fabrics, styling and finishing details are always exquisite and unmistakably timeless. Her need to build a wardrobe that fits her professional and social lifestyle and can grow with her is an investment in her image, in herself.  By definition “to invest” means: “to make use of for future benefits or advantages”. GEIGER’s collections offer “Investment Dressing”, pieces that can be mixed and matched within each collection and a wardrobe that can be built upon from season to season. Our customer depends on you, the retailer, to provide her with the direction, and more importantly, the choices she has with GEIGER, the options with which to create her own special sense of self.

 

The “GEIGER” Philosophy

 Our mission is to deliver the highest quality products and services,to insure customer satisfaction and create profit for all involved! At GEIGER, “perfection” is our goal! “An independent fashion style always reveals a certain lifestyle. GEIGER’s style allows freedom of individuality; its exquisite quality imparts confidence, as well as the certainty that this fashion puts the emphasis on the personality of the individual wearing it.”

(Ing. Hansjoerg Geiger)

   

Why GEIGER? What makes GEIGER products so much better than those trying to copy it?

 GEIGER’s story originates in Austria, a country where traditions are valued and where there is only the highest regard for handmade products. It is a story in which the splendor of the European sense of fashion and the appeal of country life blend to create a sophisticated collection of original designs. It begins with GEIGER fabric, a knitted and then felted wool – called “WALK” -  that is created in a process originally innovated by GEIGER. This process – GEIGER’s well kept trade secret – makes its product truly “the original”. Having specialized in manufacturing Walk innovations over the years, GEIGER has developed over 50 different varieties of Walk, which no other company can offer.Each new season a team of designers creates a unique selection of new styles by coordinating this GEIGER fabric with an exclusive array of the finest specialty yarns and fabrics in Europe, creating a rich interplay of texture, color and pattern. It is the intrinsic understanding of thoroughness and detail that sets GEIGER apart. The quality, the workmanship, the originality. The success of GEIGER’s collections is easily measured by the number of inferior imitations currently found on the market. However, they are and will remain simply that, imitations. To quote Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus; “Quality comes about as a result of the experience of an expert who has an intimate understanding of the thorough details involved in its achievement.”