Covid Safe Lenzerheide Bergbahnen AG General Assembly Takes Place
The 16th Annual General Meeting of LBB AG took place in the multi-purpose hall at the Lenzerheide school building. In order to ensure the physical presence of the shareholders, the General Meeting was held with access by means of a Covid certificate (recovered, tested or vaccinated). Instead of the approximately 400 shareholders who attend the general assembly of LBB AG, 234 people came to the multi-purpose hall. The program included the traditional greeting by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the review and outlook, the introduction of the new CEO and the election of a new member of the Board of Directors.
The push for innovation and digitization is being driven forward
Under the motto “Never stop getting better”, Felix Frei, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LBB AG, already pointed out the importance of innovation, especially in the area of digitization, in his welcoming address. An important keyword in this context is the customer journey, the customer experience before the purchase decision, which must be digitally tangible. In an adventure society today there is an oversupply of opportunities for a limited number of people and their leisure budgets, in which LBB AG, along with various other leisure activities in the areas of sport, culture and entertainment - not only in comparison to other ski areas - has to assert itself. Standing still is not an option: “The greatest enemy of success is always frugality. In this whole environment we have gone from hunter to hunted and want and have to maintain our position », says Felix Frei. After the intensive construction phase of the past few years, this goal should be understood primarily in terms of quality. "We have to reload the portfolio of strategically important topics for the next ten years, provide the necessary resources and define a new strategy phase."
Review of the past financial year
LBB AG posted a slight loss of CHF 53,761 in the 2020/21 financial year. Compared to the previous year, which was shortened due to the early end of the season, traffic revenue rose by 3.9% to CHF 27.3 million. The high point is the record summer 2020. The summer traffic income rose again by 26% to over CHF 2.5 million compared to the already strong previous year. First-time entries into the Lenzerheide bike and hiking area increased from 170,000 to 230,000. It was the best summer so far in the history of LBB AG.
The 2020/21 winter season was marked by uncertainty regarding Covid-19. Nevertheless, the good weather, the large amount of natural snow and the large number of Swiss guests in the Lenzerheide holiday region made for a solid conclusion to the season. LBB AG's winter transport income rose by around 2% to CHF 24.75 million. With 1.2 million first-time entries, the Arosa Lenzerheide snow sports area recorded an increase of 4.3% compared to the previous year, but remained below the peak value of the 2018/19 winter season of 1.3 million.
The new CEO introduces himself
Thomas Küng has been CEO of LBB AG for a little more than 100 days. «The achievements and the starting position of the Lenzerheide and Arosa holiday regions are impressive. I was able to find a great team with a lot of know-how at LBB AG, who have satisfied guests as the top priority. The high level of understanding of tourism paired with good cooperation in our destination make me feel positive about further development, ”summarized Küng. But he also addressed challenges that need to be solved and mastered together: the impending Covid certificate requirement in ski areas, the low availability of vacant staff apartments, the limited water resource and the issue of sustainability as a whole. «We must not rest complacent about what we have achieved or even reduce our efforts.
Personnel change on the Board of Directors
In addition to the agenda for the business results, the agenda also included the election of a replacement for a free board member. In place of the resigning Marcus Lenz, Philipp Sauber, entrepreneur digitization, sales & marketing from Ebmatingen, was elected as a free member. The changes have already been announced as of December 31, 2021 due to the municipal elections. Instead of Sascha Ginesta, the municipality of Vaz / Obervaz will delegate a new representative from the municipality board to the LBB AG administrative board. Aron Moser will also step down on December 31, 2021.
