Rossignol’s trail running launch to fuel soft goods and retail sales

Rossignol's Vezor/ Rossignol Group

Rossignol is moving into the trail running footwear market, as part as its efforts to double its soft goods sales and to turn retailing into a growth driver.

Vincent Wauters, the Rossignol Group’s chief executive, said after the launch in Chamonix last week that the French supplier’s soft goods could roughly double to €150 million in the next three to four years.

They made up about 20% of the Rossignol group’s turnover for the fiscal year until March, which amounted to €372 million. The soft goods share was 25% for the Rossignol brand alone, and 38% for the Rossignol brand in France. But with trail running as a technical footwear centerpiece, Rossignol soft goods could take on another dimension.

“It’s not just the trail running we’ll be selling in spring summer, it’s the touchpoint with consumers,” Wauters said, explaining that the year-round offering would be an asset for stronger ski wear sales as well.

Wauters has a clear idea how this could play out, since he led Arc’teryx for four years until 2016. He said the brand more than tripled in size under his tenure, and its owners have held on to the same product architecture and positioning to continue growing rapidly.

The move also fits with the strategy advocated by Wauters after he became chief executive in February 2021, to sharpen its focus on mountain sports.

Rossignol had previously attempted to diversify with acquisitions such as Time International and Felt, which sells road bikes. The strategic shift involved the divestment of these two brands, to focus Rossignol’s cycling gear offering on branded mountain bikes for rentals and direct sales to consumers.

Along the same lines, the strategy laid out by Wauters for soft goods called for an offering that could showcase its capability in the development of technical mountain gear.

The trail running launch leverages the assets of Rossignol’s footwear performance hub in Montebelluna. The team develops boots for Alpine skiing under the Lange brand, as well as Rossignol’s Nordic shoes. It turns out about 170,000 pairs of ski boots.

Rossignol previously owned Raidlight, which specialises in trail running, but Wauters preferred to capitalise on the Rossignol brand.

“Not only we leverage the power of the brand, and the team, and then the product you deploy under the same brand has a halo effect on the rest of the range,” he explained. “And you create a continuity in relationships and touchpoints in winter and in summer with athletes.”

After three years of development, involving 150 testers, Rossignol has come up with the Vezor. Weighing in at 280 grams, the shoe is made for middle distances on technical terrain. It stands out for its mix of high performance and versatility.

A key component is the Diapazon, a midsole insert that has the appearance of a tuning fork. It provides stability as well as energy returns. Rossignol has teamed up with Michelin to provide an outsole with plenty of grip and traction.

The group has already been seeding the Vezor with Nordic skiing partners and other athletes, for retailers to start selling it from early next year. A second Rossignol trail running shoe for less rugged terrain will be launched next year, and then a long-distance shoe in 2026.

Wauters acknowledged that the market for trail running footwear is getting busy, with a combination of trail specialists, road running and outdoor brands, but he argues that Rossignol has a long track record in development of performance mountain products.

“We are a racing brand, we fight for speed seconds, we are on podiums,” he said. “We know that quality and performance are never an accident. It’s a combination of sincere effort, talent and commitment.”

Rossignol works with about 7,000 retail partners running 13,000 stores for winter sports. Wauters said that some of them have been working with Rossignol for generations. They have seen the group break through in the Nordic and ski boots markets, which could support their interest this latest move.

But Wauters added that his initial focus is on specialty running stores, adding that the proof of performance will be in tests by such retailers and athletes. It helps that Rossignol already has connections with core consumers, because many Nordic skiers are also trail runners.

The growth of soft goods in the next years should be based in part around the Hero range, that is directly connected to Rossignol’s hard goods business. Then there’s the “foundational” footwear. The third leg is après-ski, with products such as the Podium shoe, which has a technical midsole and an insulated upper.

The building-up of soft goods will help Rossignol to move ahead with its retail strategy. “We cannot be in an expensive location when you don’t have a credible spring summer offer, when you don’t have a well-established performance and mountain lifestyle offer,” Wauters said.

Rossignol closed down stores in Oslo and St Moritz, but it has others in Paris, Chamonix, Lyon, Megève, Crans Montana and Shanghai. Two other facilities are multi-brand Start Gate stores in Canada and in Switzerland.

The group’s downsized retail footprint is profitable and growing at a double-digit rate. Wauters said it should be ready to deploy stores again and to turn retailing into a “key growth engine” from September 2026.

Soft goods and retailing could help to make up for the ups and downs of winter sports. The €372 million turnover for the latest fiscal year amounts to a decline of 7% from €401 million, which was caused by the Nordic business and unfavourable exchange rates.

Wauters reckons that Rossignol has gained Nordic market share in the last season, but the entire market was down due to weather conditions, affecting sales in the U.S. and Scandinavia. Rossignol’s Alpine business grew despite tough winter conditions in the U.S. East Coast.

For the upcoming season, pre-orders are lower for Nordic skis, as retailers have yet to clean up their inventories. With high financing costs and uncertainties, retailers are holding back on Alpine orders as well. But Wauters add that retailers are clearly prepared to jack up their replenishment orders in the winter.

Rossignol is well-equipped to deal with such in-season orders, in part due to its own production in Artes, in Spain. Wauters himself is well-versed in supply chain management, since he supervised it for nearly four years until 2012 at Amer Sports, Salomon and Atomic’s owner.

“It will be a consolidation year, where we will focus on managing our cash, working on our efficiency and innovation,” he said. That includes the launch of the Vizion, an Alpine boot with four buckles and an extra buckle that allows for easy step-in.

Strategic plans launched by Wauters target sales of €500 million in 2026. He’s not certain that this will be achieved. “We’ll see, we may not, but it doesn’t really matter too much. What matters is the journey and what are the ingredients that will be put in place,” he said.

The chief executive emphasizes that Rossignol managed to maintain its gross margin and an EBITDA margin in the range of 10% on declining sales in its latest fiscal year.

With that, Wauters reckons that Rossignol is ready for a sale. Altor, the Nordic firm, became Rossignol’s majority shareholder in 2013. Minority shareholders include Sandbridge and IDG Capital.

The chief executive says that the team and the track record built up in the last years, as well as the ingredients put in place for continued growth, make the company attractive for a private equity owner. “So we don’t need to be dependent on a scale game,” he said. “We can really deploy a strategic game, which I think is more exciting.”