Trak Sports USA, the parent company to Karhu USA and Line Skis, has inked a deal with F3 Distribution to sell and market its brands in the Canadian market. For 30 years Trak Sports has been doing business directly with retailers Canada, but according to the company, in order to expand they needed a dedicated Canadian sales and marketing team.
Charlie Lozner, President of Trak Sports Ski Division, told BOSS, “In order to really have the growth and market share that we want in the Canadian market, we felt it was necessary to bring in F3 Distribution. The U.S. Nordic market and the Canadian Nordic market are two very different playing fields, and F3 has a proven track record north of the border.”
F3 Distribution currently distributes Pearl Izumi in Canada and has helped the business grow more than tenfold over the past three seasons in Canada. Pierre Vermette, president of F3, says, “The Karhu brand carries a lot of XC ski heritage from Finland and we are pleased and excited to partner with such a strong XC ski brand for our winter business. We are also looking forward to creating some synergy between the Karhu and Pearl Izumi brands.”
Karhu has been steadily expanding in the U.S. over the past few seasons, with strong growth in its telemark sales and backcountry XC ski sales in the western regions. According to Lozner, the company will be increasing its presence at the OR Winter Market-doubling its booth size at the backcountry Base Camp and tripling its booth size on the show floor.
