At the recent CIBC investors conference, Quiksilver CFO Steve Brink announced that Rossignol will be moving its ski production. This is part of reorganizing the Rossignol Group and reducing costs, which was said to be “breathing life into the team.” Rossignol will be closing one of their factories in France and outsourcing wood cored skis to a factory in Artes, Spain. The remaining French Factory will focus exclusively on injection molded technology.
On the reorganization front, Quiksilver has plans to consolidate distribution to one DC for apparel and one for equipment with Quiksilver and Rossignol brands coming out of both.
Brink said that Rossignol as a brand is very well developed, but as a business it is still in its early phase of development – almost exclusively making gear for skiers without a very well developed lifestyle business. Quik is still in the process of developing that side of the business. Apparel is still the biggest perceived opportunity for Rossignol, but reinventing snowboarding is also considered an upside. In addition, Rossignol expects to conclude all labor discussions regarding the closing of factories in France in the near future.
