Fenix Outdoor International AG (Fenix), the parent of the Royal Robbins, Devold, Hanwag, and Fjällräven brands, noted in it first quarter earnings release that winter finally came in Europe after warm weather in the region during the fall of 2025.

“This means that we had a rebound in sales in January and February in the consumer sales, especially in the Nordic area,” explained Company Chair of the Board Martin Nordin in a letter to investors. “This made Frilufts outperform last year’s numbers. It also meant that primarily Fjällräven and Devold showed improvement in sales compared to last year.” During March, he said the business slowed down, mainly in Germany.

Still, despite having operational problems due to the implementation of a new ERP system the company has been able to deliver its preorder book in a “reasonable way.”

Total consolidated sales for the 2026 first quarter increased 5.2 percent to €165.9 million, compared to €157.7 million in Q1 last year. EBITDA was up €5.1 million. Operating profit was up to €7.7 million from €5.2 million in Q1 last year.

“I also must note that we still in Q1 have taken extraordinary cost, not only the €0.8 million I forewarned for in my last CEO letter concerning restructuring at Globetrotter, also a €1.0 million correction vs LY related to IFRS lease depreciations,” noted Nordin.

Another drive behind the improved result was said to be the better gross margin this year.

Sector Summary

Brands
The Brands segment delivered external sales of €58.0 million in Q1, compared to €56.9 million in the year-ago period, representing a 1.9 percent increase y/y. Nordin said the business was negatively affected by lower sales in North America and by the weaker U.S. dollar. This loss in sales was reportedly offset by higher Devold sales. Devold was only consolidated in March last year.

In a media release issued on April 27, Fenix said it had signed a term sheet with the ambition to acquire the outstanding 35 percent minority of Devold of Norway AS. Fenix Outdoor has held 65 percent in Devold of Norway since March 2025. After the acquisition closes Fenix will control 100 percent of shares in Devold of Norway.

The term sheet states that Fenix Outdoor will pay €9.6 million for the 35 percent stake in Devold through cash. The seller is the Flakk Group, a Norwegian based family-owned business.

An acquisition of these outstanding shares in Devold is expected to further support Fenix’s ability to faster expand the Devold brand outside its current two most important markets in Norway and Germany.

The Brands sector’s operating profit was €10.8 million in Q1, compared to €14.1 million in Q1 2025. The decrease in the operating profit was mainly explained by a major return for Fjällräven of goods from Globetrotter due to a new service model having been implemented. Most markets were said to be stable in sales versus Q1 last year, except for Germany due to the return. Still, external customers in Germany reportedly showed substantial growth. Devold contributed to the bottom line.

Global Sales
Global Sales reached external net sales of €33.8 million in the first quarter, compared to €34.4 million in Q1 2025.

Operating profit amounted to €7.3 million in Q1, compared to €5.8 million in the year-ago period. The company’s JV in China once again outperformed almost every other market and had a very good quarter, according to Nordin. He said the lower sales were predominantly explained from delivery problems, in particularly the UK as well as later delivery of Devold, this has since been made up in the beginning of this quarter.

Frilufts
The first quarter is historically a weak quarter for Frilufts, but it was not as weak as last year due to the weather this year. Nordin described the quarter as “quite good.” This reportedly means that all countries outperformed expectations, especially the Nordics.

Sales increased 11.6 percent to €74.1 million for the three-month period, compared to €66.4 million in Q1 last year.

“One interesting fact is that general brick and mortar performed better,” Nordin added. “In Finland and Germany, the Internet sales were hampered by frequent bot attacks closing the sites for traffic, thereby substantially hurting sales, especially in Germany.” Nordin said the online business is still unfortunately very discount driven.

Digital/Direct to Consumer (DTC)
Total DTC sales were €91.8 million in Q1, compared to €87.6 million in Q1 2025.

“We had no increase in online sales,” said Nordin. “It was all related to the physical shops,” suggested that the shops in U.S. are still showing a small increase on a like-for-like (comp store) basis.

Regions
North America sales were said to be negatively affected by the weaker U.S. dollar impacting growth by ~€1.4 million. Sales were down 22.2 percent year-over-year (y/y) in the region on a reported basis, whereas sales in local currency were down 13.3 percent y/y.

Outlook
As has become normal, everything is extremely volatile and

Nordin closed by saying that “guessing what is going to happen in the world is a gamble” as volatility becomes normal.

“I do however feel positive about the rest of the year given the start of the year,” he commented. “Short term the effects from the Middle East conflict may hurt us, but on medium term there is rather an opportunity for our industry if people travel less and spend their vacations at home. I do believe we are taking the correct measures in this environment.”

He said the company is currently making major changes to its business model to improve efficiency as well as improving service and offerings while becoming faster in their actions. “I want to point out that we have lot of committed people fighting it out in this volatile world and thank them for their commitment as we change it,” he concluded.

Image courtesy Fjällräven/Fenix Outdoor International AG