Interview with Pierre Guiramand, AMOScian at the Tour de France

Since 1903, the world’s most famous cycling race has been held every year for three weeks in July : Le Tour de France. This race, which is organised by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), has attracted more than 45 million television viewers in 2022, as well as thousands of fans to the roadsides of France. In each of the towns where the Tour stops, numerous events are organised, including one that is one of the symbols of the Tour: the travelling boutiques. The company that runs them is Sporeo, a start-up founded in 2019 by two former AMOScians.

Today we have the chance to meet Pierre Guiramand, who has just graduated from the Global Sport Business Master (GSBM) in London and is currently Marketing and Retail Experience Manager for Sporeo.

“I came to AMOS Lyon in Bachelor 1. I had already targeted this school two years earlier. I took my first step in merchandising during an internship at the end of my first year. I was able to continue in this direction with a first job in London at Nike Town, which was a very important first step, because I was still learning English”.

“I then decided to go back to London for my GSBM master’s because it was on this campus that I really discovered myself and the world of sport, particularly through the lecturers. I really recommend this experience overseas.

The Sporeo adventure:

“It was during my third year that I found Sporeo, I was looking for a work-study placement and I found this company founded in 2019 by two AMOScians. Given that Covid arrived at that time, the work placement that was supposed to last 6 months had to be cut short after 2, but I was still able to take part in the missions of this start-up.”

“When I arrived, the company had just celebrated its 1st year anniversary. As far as my tasks were concerned, they involved setting up and managing the boutique in Nice for the launch of the Tour. I was the jack of all trades. The shop was set up for 3 weeks. It was a major experience for me and a great success for the company.

“Once the race had started, we had mobile shops that travelled to all the stages of the Tour. Because of covid, some of the stages were closed to public, so we alternated our time between experience on the field and planning work from head office.”

Tasks of a marketing & retail experience manager:

Working in a successful start-up with a presence at so many events requires adaptability, teamwork and a broad knowledge of sport business in order to understand the different commercial aspects. Pierre, who has just been appointed marketing and retail experience manager, has no shortage of skills.

The first aspect of his job is merchandising: “My job is to supervise the creation of product catalogues. I work with a designer in this area, as well as an AMOS alumna. We have to create products that meet the expectations of our customers, partners and the different fan bases that we encounter on Le Tour.

His second mission concerns the retail experience: “Supervision of the layout of all Sporeo’s points of sales. Therefore, we have to work with Amaury Group to decide where to set up the mobile shops on Le Tour in order to maximise footfall. Once the locations have been validated, there’s a lot of supervision and logistical work to be done right up to the opening.

As for his first steps in the professional world, Grégoire says he is “attracted by the idea of combining my two passions: management and writing. It is the job I had at SBM, and it is the one in which I have flourished the most.”

Finally, Pierre coordinates marketing needs: “I act as an intermediary between our customers (ASO) and the marketing department to ensure that everything is compliant on our e-commerce platform.

These are varied missions, touching on different areas of the sport business and changing according to the events.

Tour de France: behind-the-scenes work

When a world-class event like Le Tour de France is organised, all eyes are on the athletes. Nevertheless, a whole organisation is put in place beforehand to ensure that the event meets the expectations of a growing fan base.

Thanks to Pierre, we had the chance to immerse ourselves in the preparation of such an event.

“For example, we’re already thinking about planning the start in Florence and the finish in Nice for Le Tour de France 2024.

“The exact route of Le Tour de France is revealed in October each year, so the bulk of the work begins in November-December with the planning of the various points of sales. What’s more, it’s at this time that we have to start making our merchandising purchases.”

“Once we get to January, we need to know the different sizes of shops we’ll be able to open on Le Tour. And then until March we have the project manager, who is an AMOScian trainee, who is in charge of calling each of the towns where Le Tour will be passing to ask for authorisations to use public space for our commercial activities. The aim is to have everything finalised 2 to 3 months before the big start.

An eye on the future:

Once Le Tour is over, Pierre and his team will turn their attention to the Rugby World Cup, where they will have 10 points of sales, the Olympic Games (Sporeo already has a shop open in Châtelet and will be opening one in Le Louvres from the 8th of July 2023) and finally, the Mountain Bike World Cup.

There are plenty of new projects on the horizon for Pierre and Sporeo. We wish him all the best as he continues his young career.

Written by Guillaume Faure

Communications and Events Manager, AMOS London