Rottefella has acquired a majority Stake in NAXO AG and intends to “become a major player” in the alpine touring market. Rottefella already boasted a 40% market share in cross country bindings world-wide, and recently inked a deal with Fischer to make the brand the market leader.
According to the company, the purchase of NAXO, gives Rottefella an immediate access into the alpine touring binding market and strengthens its position in Middle Europe. There are only two other manufacturers of alpine touring bindings today.
“This is strategically an important step for Rottefella. Our goal is to become the world leading developer of free heel bindings (75 mm telemark, NTN, and Alpine Touring.) This market is growing rapidly and the purchase of Naxo will strengthen our position,” says Ulf Bjerknes, president of Rottefella.
Over the past two years, telemark and alpine touring sales have been growing rapidly in North America and Europe. With more resorts opening their backcountry access gates, this market is expected to continue solid growth as more traditional alpine skiers go off-piste in search of more challenging terrain and fresh powder.
“We have noticed for a long time now that Alpine Touring and free ride is becoming a fast growing new trend. This is also the reason why Rottefella is focusing hard on launching a new telemark system, NewTelemarkNorm. The idea behind NTN and the development of this product will coincide nicely with our investment into NAXO. The market of Alpine Touring is today almost twice the size of telemark and is expected to grow fast in the coming years,” said Mr. Bjerknes.
