The ripple effect of smart choices – how consumer experience can be the best advertisement

Christian Schwab, CEO of the German brand Thoni Mara, has a unique and original vision that is the basis of his success. He is an Iron Man passionate about running and athletics who, over the years, has been able to build the foundations of how quality sportswear is conceived of in a new way, from style to communication, and from design to the choice of the finest and most performing yarns. Combining fashion and function is the most important goal, but it is even more important to personally test each item in the collection together with a team of professional sportsmen and amateurs before sending it into production. Combining physical well-being with aesthetics makes nothing but a decisive impact on performance as well.

From day one, Christian has tested each garment for breathability, microclimate control, and wearability throughout the year, in all types of weather conditions, from cold winter days to the sweltering heat of the Ironman in Hawaii by cycling or running thousands of kilometers. Bottom line: “if it works for me, it will work for anyone else who loves endurance sports.”

The credibility and reliability of a brand are very serious matters. For Christian Schwab, it is absolutely a priority to interact and discuss every detail of the collection with customers, placing himself on the same communication level precisely because most of the retailers he collaborates with are also passionate runners or triathletes.

Thoni Mara’s success is also tied to important choices in terms of materials used in the collections. Fibers, for example, are crucial to success. Sensil® is not only synonymous with state-of-the-art performance fibers but also with their strong and passionate vision in trying to make our planet a better and cleaner place to live in. Thoni Mara has always been a sustainable brand; the garments are moreover produced in Germany and Europe, but also the suppliers are selected only at the regional level to minimize our CO2 footprint. In addition to all this, these elements are in perfect harmony with NILIT’s commitment and dedication to sustainability, making the combination with the brand perfect. These decisive values must not be renounced today more than ever.

Christian Schwab has been running since he was 3, but he was never satisfied with the racing shirts he wore. As his company Nautilus developed and manufactured seamless, high-end functional underwear, he thought about starting to funnel this know-how into a performance running t-shirt. After a few kilometers of testing, he decided to wear this t-shirt at the 2006 Berlin marathon. He set his new personal best with a running time of less than 3 hours, also feeling perfectly comfortable with what he was wearing, with no feeling of chafing or rubbing. Thanks to this experience, he decided to develop this new concept by creating a small selection of t-shirts distributed to some fellow runners. The enthusiastic tone of their feedback, 100% positive, made them realize that it was worth getting in the game and start creating this brand for the future. Even without any marketing budget and through word-of-mouth promotion alone, Thoni Mara has established itself in a very short time as one of the leading German brands in the running sector.

Thoni Mara’s collection counts on Sensil® Nylon 6.6, as well as performance fibers like Sensil® Breeze, Sensil® Innergy, and  Sensil® Aquarius. Click here to know these performance fibers benefits, and understand how they will help you go the extra mile by feeling better.