The winter sports equipment company Rossignol has done the accounts. And they are very good. It’s + 28% growth at the end of this 2021-2022 season. Vincent Wauters, the group’s general manager, is delighted with this and is confident for the coming seasons.
France Bleu Isère: The ski resorts were able to reopen and operate at full capacity during this winter season which has just ended. Do you also see this recovery in your turnover?
Vincent Wauters: Yes, we are really very happy. I am very happy for the teams who fought hard and showed incredible commitment throughout the very difficult Covid period. Indeed, we are having a good season and we have a growth rebound of more than 28%. We have recovered almost 95% of the pre-Covid situation.
What are your prospects for the next winter season 2022-2023? Do you expect the same dynamic?
It’s very interesting, because what we have seen is that the Covid has really been a catalyst, that is to say that there are trends which were already there before and which have accelerated. The interest of revitalizing the mountains, the outdoors in general in our activities and the rise of cross-country skiing, ski touring, we already saw it before the Covid and there, we see it accelerated after the Covid. So the year ahead of us is going to be very positive. We have a very strong order book. That said, you have to manage a complicated geopolitical context, with high inflation. So, it will not necessarily be an easy year. But all the elements are in front of us to have a record year in all our regions and across all our products, be it winter sports equipment, but of course through clothing.
You were talking about this complicated geopolitical context, how much of an impact does this have on your business?
We identify effects that are a little more extensive from week to week. The first immediate effect is the Russian market. On March 1, we stopped all commercial transactions with Russia, so that’s a first immediate impact. Then, we have a few subcontractors, but we are rather better positioned than the competition, which produces large quantities in Ukraine. We have some subcontracting in Ukraine. You have to manage Ukraine’s supply chain, which has an effect on Eastern Europe. And then finally, the largest effect that affects everyone is when gas and energy costs increase, the whole economy is impacted, with fairly high inflation. Ultimately, what will be the hardest to manage is precisely this inflation.
For fall 2022, are you preparing a new ski, a recyclable ski?
Yes, indeed, the ski we launch will have 62% recycled or certified organic materials, 100% French or European sourcing, produced in Sallanches, at the foot of Mont-Blanc, in our factory. And at the end of its life, this ski can be recycled up to 77%. This means that we will recover pure raw material, which can then be used in construction, in the automobile or obviously, the Holy Grail would be to be able to manufacture skis again in a closed circuit.
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