Rossignol Group’s Strategic Plan for Growth, Industrial Performance, and Sustainability

The historic brand 116 years old is known to all mountain lovers and athletes of the discipline. World leader in skiing, the Rossignol group, owned by the Norwegian investment fund Altor Equity Partners, holds 19% of the world market in cross-country and alpine skis. After two very complicated years with the Covid, the Group recorded strong growth in its activity with a turnover of 401 million euros for the 2022-2023 financial year, (ended March 31, 2023), up 28%. A record year in all of its markets (+36% in France, +39% in Europe, +16% in North America and 10% in Asia), and distribution channels.

“Despite sometimes contrasting snow conditions depending on the period and geographical area at international level, the Rossignol Group has fully benefited from the very good attendance at ski resorts and the growing attractiveness of the mountain and its benefits. » The objective is to reach 500 million euros in 2026 via its Ascension strategic plan.

Diversify its multi-season and multi-sport offer

It is indeed difficult not to think about global warming and the scarcity of snow to come for a brand whose equipment products for winter sports represent the heart of its activity with 75% of sales. The group understood this well and began to diversify its offer a few years ago.

« Our customers who are winter sports enthusiasts practice very often other disciplines, pointe Gabriel Authier, Marketing Director. They are not always aware of our other collections. We need to increase our notoriety in the multi-asset product categories, ie in the four seasons, which will ensure the group’s future in the medium and long term. » Riding the trend of outdoor sports, l’outdoorthe Rossignol brand has been developing a textile and footwear offer for several years. Its weight already represents 20% on a group scale, against 5% 10 years ago, and 40% in France. “In the long term, the textile market will be much larger than that of alpine skiing, emphasizes the marketing director. We design technical clothing adapted to the mountains but also usable in everyday life via the cut, the colors…”

By 2026, Rossignol aims to achieve 30% of its turnover in the textile category.

By 2026, Rossignol aims to achieve 30% of its turnover in the textile category. Shoes are also another axis of development with sneakers and the upcoming launch of hiking boots.

e-commerce development

Having become one of the pillars of its omnichannel growth, e-commerce represents 10% of its turnover with an ambition of around 20% in 2026. “We have a lot of alpine skiing and snowboarding models that are quite specific and correspond to specific practices, explains the marketing director. Our customers are not always able to find them from retailers because some references are very specific. It is therefore important to offer our entire offer on our platform. » Nightingale counts 5,600 retailers worldwide, subsidiaries in 18 countries and 38 countries with distributors, i.e. a presence in 56 markets.

The brand is in the process of redesign of its e-commerce platform with Salesforce, so that it is ready on 1^is September for the next season. “The new site will improve the experience and better showcase the product lines. The platform will be more flexible in the presentation of articles, with enriched content for more inspiration. »

An ecological shift

Another strategic axis, the sustainable development now occupies a central place for Rossignol. The Group announced last fall that it wanted to accelerate its production commitment to a circular and more virtuous economy, and support the transformation of its industrial tool.« As a manufacturer, we have many products that may have minor cosmetic defects, points out Gabriel Authier. In the past, they were ground. Since last December, we have been offering them for sale. On our e-commerce site, we also offer refurbished products. »

The Group announced last fall that it wanted to accelerate its production commitment to a circular and more virtuous economy and support the transformation of its industrial tool.

The Group also unveiled two innovations this winter with ski Essential Rossignol, with a high recyclability potential of 77%, 10 times better than a classic ski and l’Hybrid Core 2.0 of Dynastar, a new industrial process to record a significant drop in all the environmental indicators measured as part of a Product Life Cycle Assessment. The Group has gone so far as to share the formula of its new recyclable skis with its competitors to give impetus and help the industry to accelerate towards sustainable products.

The Rossignol Group has been investing since this year in its own poplar plantation in Spain. The objective is to set up a complete cycle, in a short circuit, from planting to production up to the stages of recovery of materials, end of product life and recycling, in a circular approach. This plantation will directly supply the Group’s two ski factories, Spanish (Artés) and French (Sallanches), aiming to eventually cover 50% of its annual wood needs. This operation is part of a 15-year cycle allowing the planting of a forest of more than 50,000 trees on a non-treed site and the cumulative capture of 14,000 tonnes of CO₂.

A third of the eco-designed range

To support this new ambition, the Group has announced a overall investment envelope of 50 million euros by 2026, including 27 million in industrial investments. Among the main axes, the strengthening of the Group’s French industrial roots by investing in the Sallanches site in Haute-Savoie, with the objective of making this factory the world’s leading factory for eco-designed and recyclable skis, as well as an expert center in repair and second life.

The Rossignol Group aims to reduce its waste by 40% by 2025, its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030, through a more virtuous ski offer.

Rossignol has also collaborated with Fairly Made for better traceability of its textile products, and to better understand their footprint: transparency on their origin, their manufacture and their environmental impacts, to also find areas for improvement for future products. Rossignol’s Spring-Summer 2023 collection features a QR Code on the labels that consumers scan to discover this information.

The Rossignol Group aims to reduce its waste by 40% by 2025, its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030, through a more virtuous ski offer. Targeted ? Accelerate the Group’s transition and its anchoring in the mountains throughout the year.