At the Winter Sports and Outdoor Show in Beijing, Salomon signed a three-year contract that makes it the official supplier to the China Ski Association. The purpose of the contract is to equip Chinese competitors in downhill skiing, Nordic skiing and snowboarding and to enable them to take advantage of the training camps organised for the best Asian competitors, such as Akira Sasaki, the Japanese skier who recently came second in World Cup slalom held in Europe.
This contract demonstrates Salomon's desire to develop on the Chinese market where there is currently an unprecedented wave of interest in sports in general, following on from the impressive results achieved at the Sydney Olympics and the build up to the Beijing Olympic Games scheduled for 2008.
As part of its continued commitment, Salomon has just opened a trade office in Beijing that is being run by Martin Wong, a Chinese national. This office aims to step up the development of winter sports by providing backing to Beijing Wanlong Aoxue Sports Co., the Chinese company now responsible for marketing Salomon ski and snowboard products, as well as ensure the marketing of the brand's outdoor products.
