It started out simply as a provider of sporting activities, but Takamaka quickly grew its business to become one of the top events organisers in the Rhône-Alpes. Established in 1994 by Laurent Lapeyre and Alain Faure, the agency turned its attentions towards the corporate seminar market which now represents 60% of its total business. With it headquarters in Annecy, Takamaka has gained further territory by setting up new offices in Aix-les-Bains, Évian, Biarritz, La Clusaz and Strasbourg – the latter has just recently opened. Employing 15 permanent staff, the agency adds a further 40 or so specialist guides to its temporary payroll when they are needed for a whole range of sports, of which there are more offered in the summer than in the winter. However, that is a state of affairs that Laurent Lapeyre is looking to rectify with plans to open even more offices in some of the Haute-Savoie ski resorts.

Having suffered, like all the other industry professionals, from the recession, which affected his turnover in 2009 and produced more last minute bookings, Laurent Lapeyre has decided to make up for the shortfall by focusing on keeping as much work in-house as possible. “Up to now we would regularly use external suppliers but the recession has forced us to change our habits and we’ve bought a hundred or so sledges, five minibuses and five teepees, one of which can sleep 25 people. Because of this strategy we’ve been able to maintain our profit margin”.

The teepees have been at Le Semnoz since the 2008-2009 winter season, as well as at the Col de la Forclaz and La Féclaz, one of the new sites for the current season. They are perfect for a magical evening event during a seminar, and the same goes for the igloo hamlet, built around a central teepee at the Col des Aravis, just above La Clusaz. “During seminars, we sometimes have some of the participants building their own igloo which is an experience that they’ll never forget,” states Laurent Lapeyre. “We also have an igloo village in La Féclaz and another one in the Chablais. We also have 35 extra warm duvets which we hire out to companies who want to overnight in the igloos and they absolutely love it!”

Their strategy is obviously working. In fact, the Takamaka office in Annecy alone organised about 100 seminars in 2009 and in January 2010 the agency handled seven operations, half of which were for Rhône-Alpes companies and 15% for Geneva-based firms.

It looks like constant innovation is the agency’s recipe for success and Laurent Lapeyre is planning to continue developing his business by following the same strategy: opening new offices (probably on the Côte d’Azur next time), buying resources for events and promoting new products such as a Savoie-style murder mystery party.

Takamaka offers tailor-made products too, as was the case for the 30^th anniversary of the Université de Savoie involving a long-distance race for teams of 10 between Chambéry and Annecy. There were 500 participants in total!

Prices at Takamaka start at about 50 euros for a one to two-hour walking tour of old Annecy. In the summer, a popular choice is the multiactivity challenge, which includes mountain biking, climbing and zip wire and costs 60 € per participant for two hours.