The topic of ski touring has the greatest potential before a ski season with question marks. Ortovox could benefit from this.
The outdoor division of the Schwan Stabilo Group got through the first few months of the Corona crisis relatively lightly. Although the lockdown in spring also had a negative impact on their business, the decline in sales for the 19/20 financial year (June 30) is moderate at 5.1%. This decline was solely due to the lockdown weeks from mid-March to early May, it said. After EUR 168.3 million in the previous year, the group with the brands Deuter, Ortovox , Maier Sports and Gonso generated EUR 159.7 million in the past financial year.
The significantly larger cosmetics division of the Schwan Stabilo Group was hit much harder. Here sales slumped by 14.4% to EUR 255.8 million. The stationery business was stable, with sales almost unchanged at EUR 194.1 million. In total, the group earned 609.8 million euros, 8% less than in the previous year.
The development of the four outdoor brands, however, was very different: The mountain sports specialist Ortovox continues to achieve the strongest growth, with double-digit growth. Gonso, specialist in cycling clothing, was also able to benefit “very strongly” from the bike hype – and not just since Corona. However, Maier Sports’ business declined slightly – also due to the mild winter.
Winter no longer starts in August
New seasonal rhythms: Ortovox is leading the way
In order to support its trading partners, the mountain sports specialist Ortovox has taken a number of measures over the past few weeks. Managing Director Christian Schneidermeier is now announcing what many have only been thinking about so far: “The delivery dates will in future move closer to the real season.”
Business at the largest brand, Deuter, also continued to decline slightly. According to Martin Riebel, Managing Director of the Outdoor division, lower orders from sales partners due to the corona – for example for trekking and travel backpacks – and the upcoming restructuring of the entire range were reflected here. As expected, the new brand identity from spring / summer 2021 led to a restrained filling of the warehouse in the last year of the old logo and the old collection. The outlook for next year is – so far – positive despite Corona. Deuter is increasingly going back to its origins, mountain sports. “This is not a revolution, we implement changes carefully, for example in the functionality and design of our products.”
The strategic focus in the past financial year was the digital offensive. “Digital,” says Martin Riebel, “is the new normal for many. The pandemic has again impressively underpinned this. We have now bundled all digital projects in the Outdoor subgroup and have made great strides in recent months. The goal is uniform digital platforms across the entire outdoor group. “
Deuter’s online shop went live in November 2019, and Ortovox followed in March 2020. Maier Sports will also join this joint platform. “With our e-commerce offensive, we are specifically supplementing our specialist retail strategy,” emphasizes Riebel. “Even if customers choose their product via our online shops, they have the freedom to order it directly here or to purchase it from specialist retailers in their area.”