Garmont International S.R.L. is investing in a full service subsidiary for North America and has named Bill Dodge as CEO. Dodge has a strong history with performance footwear leading Salomon from its launch to a dominant position in North America and most recently serving as VP of global product design and development for Wolverine World Wide’s Merrell, Patagonia and Chaco brands.
Pierangelo Bressan purchased Montebelluna, Italy-based Garmont last spring. He is a founding member of VeNetwork, an investment group whose mission is to preserve and promote regional businesses in the Veneto, or Venetian region of Italy. He also owns Prisma 2, a company, which specializes in the design and development of performance outdoor apparel.
Bressan has established a strong international management team for Garmont led by Giuliano Zavan. Zavan has held senior positions at Asolo and Tecnica. The Garmont product team has prepared a compelling new line for 2015.
We have a strong opportunity to start fresh with a trusted premium brand notes Dodge, who had guided product design and development at Merrell for the last six year. Garmont targets theenthusiast and it is important we develop an effective, mutually beneficial relationship with specialty retail.
Because specialty retail faces a complex marketplace we will take a supportive approach that will focus on education and sell-through success. This is a unique opportunity to build an innovative bridge between great product and the consumer, with a clear and reliable distribution strategy.
Garmont will focus on the footwear category for now. Last year it sold the ski boot portion of its business to Scott Sports.
Performance footwear and ski boots are completely different manufacturing worlds, states Dodge. We have excellent production facilities and this focus is important to our future growth opportunities. For example, Garmont has had additional success in developing tactical footwear for military and police, a category that also demands innovation and quality.
Garmont will break ground on its new North American facilities in January 2015 to be located not far from the mountains of New Hampshire.
Founded in 1964, Garmont focus on the design and manufacture of exceptionally light and tough footwear for the most challenging mountain environments. Its products are distributed in 40 countries worldwide.
