Episode 16

 Nicknamed “The Viking,” Denis Marques co-leads Finntack, a Scandinavian player in the equestrian market that sells equipment for horses and riders.

With strong initial expertise in harness racing, the Finnish brand has expanded its offering across the entire equestrian market, with particularly strong growth driven by e-commerce.

🛣️ Denis’ journey?

🏇🏻 Diversification?

🔗 The meeting with Ekkia?

Denis, you are considered the most Scandinavian of the French — you’re even nicknamed “The Viking”!

How do you go from a tiny village in Lorraine to Oslo?

I did indeed grow up in Courbesseaux, 20 km east of Nancy, where I like to say there are more cows than inhabitants! When it came time for higher education, I chose a BTS in commerce in Paris. At that point, a friend of my father — a veterinarian at the Nancy-Brabois racecourse — told him about an opportunity to join the Grosbois saddlery, located at the heart of the International Training Center for trotting horses in Boissy-Saint-Léger. And I took the leap.

As someone who loves sports in general, I learned to read a harness race, understand strategies, jockey-horse combinations, preparation… it became just as exciting to me as a big football match. And the Grosbois center is a global reference, hosting up to 2,000 horses during the winter season.

And very quickly, things accelerated.

A few months after I started, the Finnish group Finntack acquired the saddlery. They were launching their equestrian brand and wanted to establish themselves in Europe. In three years, we structured distribution, recruited sales teams, and developed wholesale activity.

In 2009, the group offered me the position of International Sales Director — based in Helsinki! I left with my Assimil method under my arm. The group kept growing, opening dozens of stores across Europe and surpassing €70 million in revenue.

In 2019, a German investor acquired Horze, the equestrian division. My Finnish partner and I took over the racing division — the Finntack brand. A new beginning. I was based in Norway and had planned to move to Paris in spring 2020 to manage the business from France, which is the world’s largest harness racing market. And then… everything changed.

COVID turned everything upside down. How did you adapt?

Since we had textile expertise in our Finnish factory, we switched production to medical protective equipment. This allowed us to secure contracts with the Finnish army and hospitals. Over 700,000 units were produced in double shifts. It saved the company and taught us a lot — we achieved things we never thought possible.

What were the key post-crisis decisions?

First, re-entering the equestrian market, as the non-compete clause linked to the Horze sale had expired. We developed our website, now available in 18 languages, and asked ourselves which partners would be right to grow in Scandinavia. The answer came naturally: Ekkia.

They are European leaders, with unmatched product range and expertise. And it was also meaningful for me to work with a French company.

At the same time, in the racing market, we focused on developing the American sulky for Europe. In France, steel shafts are not allowed, so we spent two years recreating them in carbon. The result: weight reduced by half — 16 kg instead of 33 kg — while maintaining the same rigidity and freedom of movement for the horse.

One competitor held 95% of the French market — today, the trend has reversed. The last two editions of the Prix d'Amérique were won by horses equipped with our Yankee sulky, and in the most recent edition, 15 out of 18 starters were using it.

What is Finntack’s position today?

In 2025, we reached €10 million in revenue, with double-digit growth. While racing remains our core business, the equestrian market is our main growth driver, with strong development in e-commerce and online presence.

We started with a limited range of Ekkia products — results have been strong, and now we’re accelerating.

Your motto?

"Life is too short to drive slowly."We had it printed in large letters in our factory — it reflects my approach to work and decision-making.

Ekkia in one word?

Professional and committed.