Mammut Sports Group said sales of its air bag avalanche survival systems helped propel strong sales in North America in 2012. Such air bags are, which designed to keep backcountry skiers and snow mobilers from being buried by avalanches, have been shown to significantly reduce avalanche deaths. While in use in the Alps for decades, they have been selling briskly in North America in recent years with the growth of backcountry and sidecountry skiing.
Mammut net revenues grew 10.3 percent in currency-neutral terms to CHF 232.5 million ($248 mm) in 2012. Growth in Asia, North America and Germany offset weak results across much of Eurozone, its parent company Conzzeta reported. After adjustments for the effects of currencies and acquisitions, net revenue grew 8.4 percent. Growth rates were highest in Asia, where Mammut acquired a majority stake in its South Korean distributor and began building out its own sales company to serve China.
Mammut saw strong growth in its largest market, Germany, and moderate growth in its native Switzerland, where the cross-border shopping trend eased as the Euro stabilized against the Swiss Franc. Mammut brought a new European logistics center in Wolfertschwenden near Memmingen (Germany) on line in fall 2012.
On the retail front, Mammut opened 16 new mono-brand stores worldwide in 2012, bringing the total to more than 50.
Mammut parent Conzetta, which derived most of its $1.24 billion in revenue from engineering and heavy industry, does not break out income for its individual companies.
