Higher apparel, footwear sales save Amer from 4Q wintersports decline

Wintersports sales at Amer Sports, parent to Salomon, Arc’teryx and Atomic, moderated their slide, and a boost in apparel and footwear helped the Winter and Outdoor group report higher sales for the fourth quarter 2012.

Amer’s Winter and Outdoor group reported fourth-quarter sales up 7 percent to EUR 402.8 million ($547 million), compared to a year ago. Within the group, wintersports sales slipped 1 percent to EUR 203.2 million ($276 million) on a 13 percent decline of pre-orders, but stronger-than-expected in-season orders. Meanwhile, strong sales from footwear (up 19 percent), apparel (up 17 percent), cycling (up 8 percent) and sports instruments (up 27 percent) helped lead to solid gains for the group.

For the full-year 2012, Amer’s Winter and Outdoor Group sales rose 7 percent to EUR 1.22 billion ($1.66 billion). Within the group, wintersports segment fell 5 percent, but again was boosted by a 30 percent increase in apparel and 9 percent increase in footwear.

Amer President and CEO Heikki Takala said he expects the wintersports environment to “remain challenging” in 2013 and the company will continue to focus on expanding its softgoods products through brands such as Arc’teryx and Salomon.

In total, including the Amer’s Ball Sports and Fitness Groups, Amer’s fourth-quarter sales rose 11 percent to EUR 618.5 million ($840 million). For the full-year 2012, Amer’s total sales rose 10 percent to EUR 2.06 billion ($2.8 billon).

–David Clucas