Ice hockey: Thomas Sabo: The rebel with the heart for tigers

Most people will probably know the name Thomas Sabo from the shop window of the local jeweller. With his rescue operation at the Ice Tigers, the globally successful jewellery entrepreneur put himself and his brand in permanent contact with Nuremberg and ice hockey. But who is the man behind the club? What’s his engine? And how has development been going since he joined the company? In an interview with SPOX, CEO Christoph Sandner gives insights.

In 2008, ice hockey came to an end in Nuremberg. The outsourced GmbH of the EHC 80 Nuremberg, active in gaming since 2006 under the name Sinupret Ice Tigers, announced the horror scenario: insolvency. An insolvency administrator was appointed, insolvency proceedings were about to commence and the DEL license was in grave danger.

It was five to twelve at the Nuremberg ice hockey location. Just in time Thomas Sabo came around the corner, the rescuer who ensured the continued existence of the club.

“Without him, there would be no more ice hockey in Nuremberg”, CEO Christoph Sandner confirmed to SPOX the precarious situation at that time.

Thomas Sabo is the man behind the jewellery empire, which bears his own name. Born in 1961 in the Austrian town of Tulln, he moved with his family at the age of ten to the Nuremberg area and still lives there today with a short break.

In 1984 he travelled to Thailand and bought as much silver jewellery as fit into his backpack to sell it in this country. The people liked this kind of jewellery and Sabo quickly started his own business.

Meanwhile, the company is market leader for fashionable silver jewellery, the annual turnover is in the three-digit million range, almost 1800 employees are employed.

In 2016 a company headquarters was built in Franconia, which he described as “a clear commitment to the metropolitan region and Lauf”. Lauf an der Pegnitz is located not far from Nuremberg. Thomas Sabo feels attached to his homeland.

The man doesn’t look like he’s made millions on jewelry at first glance. He’s more of a rocker than a jewelry designer. Long shaggy curls and a moustache adorn its appearance. Leather boots, a long coat and the color black mostly determine his outfit.

He is regarded as a lateral thinker and clever businessman, straightforward and rebellious. And he knows what people prefer to wear on the neck, wrist and ears – all at comparatively affordable prices. A typical self-made man who has built up his huge jewelry empire from the rucksack within three decades.

According to his own statements, he is not particularly fond of being in the public eye:”It’s best to use a little,”he once said; he doesn’t like to talk about himself anyway, he prefers to focus on his brand and his products.

These products are manufactured in Asia, matching the rucksack story from Thailand. Thomas Sabo seems to attach great importance to the protection of workers, the environment and ethical standards.

Sabo supports charitable projects – recently the ten-year partnership with “RTL – Wir helfen Kindern” (We help children) was celebrated – and his wife Luz-Enith even runs an in-house foundation: the “Thomas Sabo Foundation”.

In his spare time he enjoys sports alongside his family: jogging, sailing and golfing are the sports he regularly does himself, but he is particularly passionate about something else – ice-hockey!

The moustache wearer defined himself as “Nuremberg boy” in conversation with the FAZ. So it was a logical step to step aside the local traditional club in difficult financial times and thus ensure the survival of ice hockey at the Noris. Even in the year 2018 – ten years after his rescue operation – it would still be “currently not possible without Mr. Sabo to put a DEL team in Nuremberg”, according to Sandner.

Addressing the reason for his entry, Sabo simpel replied:”I’m an ice hockey fan”. Above all, he wants to create identification and anchor the club in the Middle Franconian region by means of other sponsors.

I see great potential in Nuremberg, the Ice Tigers should be a proud club,”he explained at the time.

He does not want to be described as a patron, benefactor or partner. Sabo sees himself as “the main sponsor, who supports the club not only with monetary help, but also with advice and action”. He underlines his own statements with emotional appearances in the ice rink and at the microphones.

The otherwise media-shy Ice Tigers boss made frequent appearances in the media as a result of his entry into the game. Be it to comment on the course of the season, to criticize the team and their own fans, or even to rage against the DEL and their lack of communication as well as the league’s bad public image.

These public appearances have become less frequent lately. Nevertheless, he lifts the admonishing index finger when something doesn’t suit him and addresses the problems bluntly. He remains true to his straightforward manner and puts his finger in the wound.

Officially, Thomas Sabo is not the main sponsor of the Ice Tigers. Nevertheless, after a disappointing season in 2013, he dismissed both managing director Lorenz Funk and coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson in one go.

The billionaire is actually “not involved in the day-to-day work of the club”, Sandner assured:”He is the main sponsor – no more and no less – and has to run his own company.

If you can see how we have developed with Mr. Sabo as our main sponsor over the last few years, it shows that everything is working well,”said Sandner.

The Nuremberg team manages to attract players from overseas with plenty of NHL experience (Tom Gilbert and John Mitchell) to Franconia, but they still “earn less than other comparable players in the DEL”. Such transfers are made possible not only by “Sabos Investment” but also by many other “small sponsors”, as Sandner pointed out.

They also rely on their own family and players from the region (Yasin Ehliz and Leonhard Pföderl) as well as a long-term transfer policy. Because:”We don’t spend money that is not available and we don’t pay unusual salaries”, the managing director underlined.

The Ice Tigers have reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals twice in the last four years. We have great goals for this season too, and we want to go a long way,”says Sandner:” We hope that we will make it to the final this year.

Perhaps Thomas Sabo can add a very special silver jewellery to his next collection: the DEL cup for the championship.