L’Eco d’Ici: The boom in climbing training centers

Climbing training centers are on the rise! Faced with ever-increasing demand, this type of establishment multiplies.
Benjamin Verlière is Marketing and Communications Manager at YY Vertical, a place based in Saint-Vincent-de-Mercuze.

France Bleu Isère: What do you offer your customers?

Benjamin Verlière: In addition to a room, YY Vertical develops products that are well thought out for climbers. With five product families, we support climbers throughout their training: warm-up, training, climbing, recovery and the world of climbing. So we are really able to be there throughout the climber’s training and support them with the right products and the right advice.

What types of customers come to you, is there a particular profile?

We do not have a special profile. We really manage to reach all climbers, whether new urban climbers or seasoned climbers, whether outdoor or indoor, whether bouldering or rock climbing. Our products are actually intended for all profiles of climbers.

So it really is a craze. Do you see this in your activity?

Yes quite. We are able to ride this climbing wave a bit. An opportunity presented itself and we managed to take it. It is still a company that is ten years old now, which was launched in 2014. And in recent years we have actually seen good growth in turnover for the third year in a row and that means we have good prospects for the years 2024 and to come. In 2023, we therefore achieved 4.5 million euros in turnover. We aim to reach 6 million in 2024 and to be close to 20 million euros by 2027.

Where do you think this climbing comes from?

Climbing is a sport that is nevertheless very complete. We work on everything, we work on flexibility, we work on the muscles, we work on the beauty of the gesture.

Do you think there could be an effect at the Olympic Games?

So indeed, with the arrival of climbing at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, there was an initial effect of visibility. And there, with the Olympics in Paris, we feel the climbing progress a lot, and that will continue to be the case, no doubt for those in Los Angeles. So yes, but it is in any case a sport that was already growing.