What Paravan does

Paravan GmbH is a privately held Swiss online retailer specializing in geocaching supplies and equipment, headquartered in Bonstetten, Switzerland. The company operates an e-commerce storefront at paravan-shop.ch serving the Swiss and German-speaking geocaching community, offering a curated assortment that includes trackables (TravelBugs, Geocoins), cache containers, logbooks, GPS devices (notably Garmin), clothing, and specialty outdoor gear. The business model is primarily direct-to-consumer e-commerce with one-time unit pricing displayed in both Swiss Francs and Euros, supplemented by a small annual subscription resale stream — Geocaching.com Premium Memberships at CHF 39.95/year — that functions as an affiliate/referral arrangement with Groundspeak.

The product mix combines third-party brands (Garmin, Nite Ize, Miir, OtterBox) with own-brand items such as the SPLOG and SPLOG MAX logbooks, SwissGeoCoin trackables, Paravan-branded geocaching bags, and the MazeBox Paravan Edition puzzle cache. Paravan holds Official Geocaching Distributor status through its partnership with Groundspeak, and reinforces its community position via a dedicated podcast (podcast.paravan.ch), free Geocaching-Tools utilities on paravan.ch, and links to the Swiss Geocaching Forum. Distribution is limited to a single domestic storefront plus a separate outlet store (outlet.paravan.ch) for discounted and promotional inventory, with Swiss Post (Die Post) used as a federated identity provider for customer login. No proprietary technology, AI capabilities, app, or API surface is disclosed; the underlying stack is a standard third-party e-commerce platform.

Name

Paravan

Legal name

Paravan GmbH

Website

https://paravan-shop.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Paravan GmbH is a Swiss online specialty retailer of geocaching equipment, trackables, logbooks, and GPS devices, serving the Swiss and German-speaking geocaching hobbyist community through its own e-commerce storefront and outlet store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geocaching Specialty Retail

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399)

akta.pro primary industry

Outdoor Navigation, Safety & Survival Gear Retail (CRAMAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Camping, Hiking & Backpacking Gear Retail (CRAMAMAA), Outdoor Travel Gear (Duffels, Packs, Dry Bags) Retail (CRAMAAAI)

Keywords

• Geocaching supplies
• GPS device retail
• Trackable collectibles
• Outdoor hobby equipment
• Cache containers

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonstetten

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. E-commerce Retail Sales: Direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales of geocaching equipment, accessories, and supplies through their online storefront. Products include trackables (TravelBugs, Geocoins), cache containers, logbooks, GPS devices, clothing, and specialty items. Offers both CHF and EUR pricing.
2. Premium Membership Resale: Resells Geocaching.com Premium Memberships (1 year subscription at CHF 39.95). This represents a referral/commission revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Paravan GmbH is an online specialty retailer operating the Swiss Geocaching Shop (paravan-shop.ch), selling geocaching supplies and GPS equipment directly to hobbyists. The catalog spans cache containers, logbooks (including proprietary SPLOG and SPLOG MAX designs), trackables (Geocoins, TravelBugs, TravelTags), Garmin GPS handhelds and accessories, Paravan-branded geocaching bags, night-caching gear, clothing, and puzzle caches such as the MazeBox Paravan Edition. The company supplements retail with a podcast, Geocaching-Tools, and resale of Geocaching.com Premium Memberships under its Official Geocaching Distributor designation.

Product overview

Paravan GmbH operates as an online Geocaching specialty retailer and Swiss Geocaching Shop offering a comprehensive range of geocaching equipment and accessories. The product portfolio centers on Geocaching Essentials including cache containers, logbooks (SPLOG and SPLOG MAX), and various trackable items like Geocoins and TravelBugs. Additional offerings include GPS devices (Garmin GPSMAP H1), Paravan-branded geocaching bags (Explorer and Vario models), and general outdoor equipment. The company also provides creative cache containers like the MazeBox Paravan Edition, clothing and accessories with geocaching branding, and various tools and supplies for geocachers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SPLOG - Swiss PETling Logbuch Paravan private-label mini-logbook designed to fit inside most PET containers from 10cm length, containing 45 pages with space for approximately 180 log entries. Sold to geocachers who place or maintain caches in standard PET containers.
• SPLOG MAX - grosses Schweizer PETling Logbuch Larger Paravan private-label logbook version with 100 pages for approximately 1000 log entries, designed for large PET containers. Sold to geocachers with high-traffic or long-running caches.
• Garmin GPSMAP H1 - Premium GPS-Handgerät Robust Garmin handheld GPS navigation device with modern design, sold at CHF 599.00 as a premium GPS device for geocaching and outdoor navigation.
• MazeBox - Paravan Edition (inkl. Logbuch) Creative Paravan-branded geocache container with integrated logbook, designed as a puzzle cache where finding does not equal logging. Sold at CHF 16.20.
• Paravan Geocaching Bags (Explorer and Vario) Paravan-branded geocaching bags available in Explorer and Vario models priced CHF 29-35, designed as a hybrid between a backpack and a fanny pack for geocachers.
• Geocoins and Trackables Various collectible trackable geocoins including SwissGeoCoin Classic, Blue Switch Evolution, Limited Edition Signal the Frog Egg, and others, priced CHF 8-22, trackable on geocaching.com.
• TravelBugs and Travel Tags Trackable TravelBugs, Travel Tags, and various designs for geocaching tracking on geocaching.com, priced CHF 5-17.
• Geocaching Essentials product range Comprehensive Paravan catalog category of Geocaching Essentials including cache containers, logbooks, stickers, badges, clothing, flashlights, batteries, and accessories.
• Geocaching.com Premium Membership (1-year) Resold Geocaching.com Premium Membership 1-year subscription at CHF 39.95, provided by Paravan as an Official Geocaching Distributor as a referral/affiliate offering.
• Paravan Outlet Store Separate Paravan-branded outlet storefront at outlet.paravan.ch offering single pieces, special promotions, and discounted items from the Paravan product range.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GroundspeakcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParavan is an Official Geocaching Distributor. Sells official Geocaching.com products including trackables, TravelBugs, and resells Premium Memberships. Products are trackable on geocaching.com.
• MiirminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Miir metal drinking bottles with Geocaching logo. 5% of bottle sales go to Miir projects providing clean water access globally. Social impact partnership.
• Swiss Geocaching ForumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerReferral partnership directing customers to www.swissgeocacheforum.ch for Geocaching community information and support.
• Nite IzeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorResells Nite Ize S-Biner products - clever hooks and carabiners for geocaching and outdoor use.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Garmin: Hardware supplier and partial competitor: Paravan resells Garmin GPSMAP H1 and accessories, while Garmin also sells the same devices direct. Garmin is the ecosystem-defining supplier for Paravan's higher-priced hardware line.

Broad incumbents

• REI: Large US outdoor co-op retailer carrying GPS devices, outdoor gear, and accessories that overlap with Paravan's broader assortment. REI represents a much larger, broader-spectrum outdoor retailer that competes for the same hobbyist wallet share.
• Backcountry.com: Online outdoor and adventure gear retailer with a curated specialty-store feel comparable to Paravan's positioning. Sells GPS units, packs, and outdoor accessories serving a similar enthusiast customer profile.
• Decathlon: Global sports and outdoor retailer with extensive DACH presence (Decathlon Schweiz operates in Switzerland). Sells GPS devices, hiking gear, bags, and outdoor accessories that overlap materially with Paravan's broader catalog.

Direct peers

• Groundspeak (Geocaching.com): The platform operator and largest direct seller of official geocaching products, trackables, and Premium Memberships. Paravan is essentially an authorized distribution layer on top of Groundspeak's catalog, making Groundspeak the closest direct comparable and partial upstream supplier.

Regional players

• Cotswold Outdoor: UK-focused outdoor specialty retailer carrying GPS devices, packs, and outdoor accessories. A regional peer with comparable specialty-retail positioning, though it does not actively compete in the Swiss market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ParavanGmbH

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paravan