Slovenian-based ski maker Elan Skis is surging into the 2019/20 winter season with momentum in the U.S. market thanks to an updated office that houses the recently formed subsidiary of Elan Sports USA, new internal hires, an expanded rep force, a renewed contract with Glen Plake and the introduction of new product.
Industry veteran Rob McCutcheon joins Elan Sports USA as the new vice president of sales and marketing at the remodeled U.S. office in New Hampshire. McCutcheon brings decades of brand experience from ski and snowboard hard goods, to soft goods and accessories. He is responsible for overseeing Elan’s rep groups, agencies, specialty channels and key accounts.
“It’s an extremely exciting time to join Elan,” says McCutcheon. “The brand message, product, leadership and team are all poised for growth and good times ahead.”
Adam Selby joins the rep force to represent Elan Skis in the states of California and Nevada.
In addition to the internal team updates, Glen Plake, arguably the ski industry’s most iconic skier, renewed his athlete contract with Elan for another three years after being with the brand for a total of twelve years.
With brand momentum in the U.S. supported by regionally focused sales and marketing efforts, Elan’s headquarters in Slovenia continues to invest in product development and innovation to benefit the skiing population of everyday skiers in which the brand is speaking to under its “Always Good Times” messaging.
Particularly in the U.S., the new 2019/2020 Wingman series is designed to fulfill the need of skiers looking for product between two distinctly different yet popular categories: all-mountain and freeride. The Wingman closes this gap, offering a ski collection with technology and design from both categories to fulfill versatile performance needs across the conditions and terrain they ski on a regular basis.
“Looking at our market, we saw many skiers who spend the majority of their time on-piste were choosing to ski on wider skis that were designed with off-trail capability in mind, due in part to aesthetics and availability without a system binding,” says McCutcheon. “The Wingman presents the opportunity to provide the right product to more skiers by blending a freeride look and feel with frontside footprints and performance.”
