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History

During the XI Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo Marie-Theres «Maite» Nadig and Bernhard Russi secured Swiss triumph, on German television the first series of Star Trek was aired, and in Sweden four young people called Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid recorded their first single, and ABBA started its successful career. There was also another important event in 1972: On 18 December, the sports and fashion shop La Fainera opened its doors in Sils-Maria.

An American in Engadin


When the young American sports enthusiast Richard Weiner came to Engadin for the first time in 1970, he did not only fall in love with the country side, but also with Arlette Moeckli from Sils-Maria. The couple got married and opened their sports and fashion specialist shop La Fainera in an old barn at the edge of town in 1972. Richard looked after the sporty side of things. Arlette was responsible for the fashionable side, after she discovered her love for boutiques and trendy fashion labels during her language course in London. The combination of sporting goods and modern chic was a novelty at the time, but it was well received by their customers.


Pioneering sailing school


Parallel to working in their sports shop, Richard Weiner also founded a sailing school at Lake Sils, and the sailing school and a surf school at the upper end of Lake Silvaplana brought a fresh breeze to the summer tourism in Engadin. In 1992, La Fainera was refurbished, and a mountain bike competence centre was added. Another milestone was the opening of the second La Fainera shop with a focus on fashion in the centre of Sils-Maria in 2008.


The sports and fashion world is expanded


In the spring of 2016, the two shops were passed on to their son Kevin who had worked with them for more than 15 years. In 2017, Kevin and his wife Francesca expanded, updated and modernised both sites in only 6 months. The concept and focus were skilfully adapted to the new market challenges and the fast pace of the digitalised world without overthrowing the proven concept.


A top address in summer and winter


In the sports barn La Fainera in Sils, the DNA of Richard and Arlette is still clearly noticeable - despite the expanded store concept to which a few sophisticated architectural details and new interior design have been added. Kevin Weiner and his wife Francesca welcome the customers with the same enthusiasm as the parents did over the last 45 years. Their love for the perfect mix of sports and fashion is still lived every day, although it may be slightly different.

 

La Fainera is one of the top addresses in Engadin for sports and sporting fashion. Be it cross-country skiing or alpine skiing in the winter or biking and hiking in the summer: La Fainera stands for competent advise, a large range of top brands, perfect service as well as a comprehensive rental offer as part of the Intersport Rent Network Engadin.

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