Amer Sports is indicating that under a revised long-term strategy, it will emphasize faster growth in apparel and footwear (softgoods) categories. At an analyst meeting held in New York City on Friday, the parent of Salomon, Wilson, Precor, Atomic, Suunto, Mavic and Arc'teryx also updated its long-term financial targets.
“Amer Sports is pursuing faster growth in softgoods by moving to category-based development across brands to build scale in softgoods R&D, product line management, sourcing and manufacturing,” Amer Sports said in a statement. “To ensure local relevancy and winning with consumers, the group will establish a set-up for local consumer insight and reinforce global marketing capabilities. Expanding the distribution footprint both in developed and emerging markets as well as growth in own retail and e-commerce are the focus of winning in go-to-market. The group will continue to drive operational excellence, tight working capital management and gross margin improvement.”
The new long-term financial targets include:
* Organic, currency-neutral annual growth of 5%;.
* EBIT of at least 10% of net sales;
* Annual free cash flow equal to net profit;
* Year-end Net Debt / EBITDA ratio of 3 or less.
Part of the strategy for growth in the softgoods segment may hint at some future moves related to Salomon, Bonfire and Arc’Teryx. In the presentation delivered to analysts Friday, company CEO Heikki Takali suggested that part of the plan for organizing for softgoods growth will be to move to category-based development across brands to build scale, including R&D, product line management, sourcing and manufacturing. He said the move will “strengthen resources and capabilities significantly.” For more information on the strategy in outdoor and winter softgoods, look for this week’s issue of The B.O.S.S. Report.
* Organic, currency-neutral annual growth of 5%;.
* EBIT of at least 10% of net sales;
* Annual free cash flow equal to net profit;
* Year-end Net Debt / EBITDA ratio of 3 or less.
Part of the strategy for growth in the softgoods segment may hint at some future moves related to Salomon, Bonfire and Arc’Teryx. In the presentation delivered to analysts Friday, company CEO Heikki Takali suggested that part of the plan for organizing for softgoods growth will be to move to category-based development across brands to build scale, including R&D, product line management, sourcing and manufacturing. He said the move will “strengthen resources and capabilities significantly.” For more information on the strategy in outdoor and winter softgoods, look for this week’s issue of The B.O.S.S. Report.
In the Wilson business, Ball Sports division President Chris Considine said they will focus on profitable growth. Part of his presentation focused on geographic expansion for the division that includes team sports, racquet sports and golf. He indicated the main focus in the Asia/China market is racquest sports, with great momentum in Korea and a growing China footprint. In EMEA, he sees organic growth in tennis and golf, with opportunities in team sports. Wilson also expects continued growth in Latin America.
Amer Sports expects its 2010 net sales to be approximately €1.7 billion and EBIT margin to improve to the mid-single-digit level.
