Outdoor: Did you hear?…Quicksilver moving Rossi to Park City, plus The North Face, Salomon, Johnson Outdoors, Pertex, and more…

For the week of Sept. 7-12

>> Seems like Quiksilver is taking ownership of Rossignol very seriously, announcing that it will establish a Mountain Center in Park City, Utah, to house the U.S. headquarters of Rossignol and Dynastar, as well as some operations of Quiksilver’s existing snowboard businesses and its newly-announced Roxy ski business. It also plans to build a distribution center in Salt Lake City that will serve the Americas territory for mountain-related products. Quiksilver said it expects to start the relocation of the various facilities and personnel connected to the new Mountain Center in spring 2006. The move is estimated to cost $5 million and will largely be funded through the sale of Quiksilver’s Vermont facilities, valued at more than $4 million, the company said. The costs will not be reported as part of the company’s operating results because they were included in the acquisition cost of Rossignol. The state of Utah is giving up to $2.5 million in tax incentives, Quiksilver said.

>> As reported by our news partner in Great Britain, Outdoori, “Following weeks of speculation, Mitsui & Co., Ltd has completed its acquisition of Pertex including all rights to brand names, intellectual property, know-how and key machinery previously owned by Perseverance Mills. Mitsui has also retained the services of Steve Laycock (Pertex brand founder) who will have responsibility for marketing and new product direction. According to Tetsuo Nonomura, Director and General Manager, Mitsui Textile Division, the transfer of Pertex technology (including machinery) is well-advanced and the first production is expected later this year. The company has also stated it is committed to the research and development of innovative textile technology for which Pertex has gained a worldwide reputation.”

>> Johnson Outdoors, along with three other unrelated vendors, has been tapped for a single military contract covering a variety of shelters, trailers and other military supply components. Total combined orders under the contract could range from $25,000 to a maximum cumulative value of $120 million, it said, but no orders have been placed with Johnson as of yet. The new contract consolidates the military purchases of a variety of goods for all branches of service under a single contract, and provides the military the vehicle through which orders can be placed. Despite the contract, Johnson Outdoors cautions investors that the award of the contract in no way guarantees orders above the minimum value of the contract, and its outlook for military tent sales this year and next remains unchanged until it has orders in hand.

>> Footwear addicts, here’s an outlet for your creative shoe fetish. Celebrating the fifth anniversary of the TechAmphibian, Salomon is letting you redesign its best-selling shoe. Now Salomon invites you to re-design the look of this famous shoe. Download the TechAmphibian pattern, create your own ideas on the authorized parts of the shoe — play with the colors, repeat motifs, whatever — and send them to Salomon. A Salomon jury will select the winner, and the winning design will be produced as a limited series. The three most innovative designs will be awarded: 800 Euros for the top prize, 500 Euros for second place, and 200 Euros for third place. Design concepts will be accepted from Sept. 5 through Nov. 4, with a maximum of three concepts per participant accepted. For more information, go to www.5thanniversarycontest.com/.

>> UK’s Manchester is the latest spot for The North Face’s largest European concept partnership store — a 500-square-meter retail store located on the corner of Deansgate and Bridge Street’s shopping area. Working with Italian design firm Brombini & Saccardo, The North Face has adapted the two-story retail space with a mix of nature and innovation, from wooden elements to glazed steel and backlit acrylic panels. It’s also the first The North Face Store to incorporate a refrigerated 7-meter ice-climbing wall. Â

>> Trek-Tech said its plans to expand its North American presence, by finalizing an agreement with Gentec International of Markham, Ontario, to distribute the company’s products in Canada. Gentec International specializes in providing extensive support and services to retailers and will service Trek-Tech’s growing customer base in Canada, supporting Trek-Tech’s brand growth platform and expansion strategy.

>> Chota Outdoor Gear, based in Knoxville,
Tennessee has been awarded Sea Kayaker magazine’s 2005 Readers Choice Award for
best footwear for 2005. In February of this year, the readers of Sea Kayaker magazine were asked to name their all-time favorite footwear. Chota’s MK200
Quicklace Mukluk was voted as the best footwear by an overwhelming margin of
60 percent of those who voted.

>> Outdoor Research has hired Dave Rosenstein as director of sales for the eastern United States. Rosenstein will work directly with the New England, mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Great Lakes territory reps. Officially starting on Nov. 1, he will be based in New York.

>> Esquif Canoes’ sales manager, Mark Scriver, is taking his skill and passion for boat design and moving into a research and development position at the company.  He’ll work alongside head designer and Esquif owner Jacques Chasse. Also, Nikki Rekman has taken over the sales manager position and has over 10 years of experience in the paddlesports industry.  

>> LiquiCell Technologies, a manufacturer of comfort materials, and Jones & Vining, a supplier of footwear components, signed a licensing agreement that makes Jones & Vining the exclusive sales distributor of LiquiCell to the North American footwear industry, including sporting goods manufacturers. LiquiCell, an advanced comfort technology that uses thin liquid-filled cells to significantly reduce soft tissue shear stress and friction, as well as reduce pressure on the foot, will be available through Jones & Vining. The LiquiCell insoles, both molded and die-cut, are available to original equipment and after-market manufacturers. LiquiCell is already incorporated in footwear product lines sold in Europe and the Middle East.

>> CenterStone Technologies, Inc., a developer of Web-based sales order management software for manufacturers of sporting goods, recreation products, apparel and footwear selling through specialty retailers, said that Hub360 of Laguna Beach, Calif., has selected CenterStone’s iVendix application for its surf and action sports clients. The iVendix Off-Line application is designed to allow sales reps to work more effectively while they are on the road visiting accounts, showing the line and taking re-stocking orders.  It allows sales reps to take orders while in the field, synch up the orders online at the end of the day, and transmit those orders directly into the vendor’s ERP system. CenterStone’s other clients include The North Face, Helly Hansen, Rip Curl, Billabong, Ex Officio, Marmot, Pearl Izumi, KHS Bicycles, Garmont, Sport Obermeyer and Smith Optics.

>> Outdoor Gear Canada has been re-appointed as CamelBak’s exclusive distributor for the Canadian motor/powersports market. The companies said the agreement marks a significant expansion between the hydration system company and Canada’s leading bicycle parts and accessories distributor. CamelBak has worked with OGC in Canada’s cycling market since 1997.  More recently, OGC has successfully built distribution for CamelBak in channels like outdoor, running and snowsports. OGC will now merchandise Canada’s motor/powersports dealers with Bell Powersports and CamelBak brand products.

>> Timberland is expanding its PRO work boot category distribution into Canada beginning this month. Each of the styles available in Canada have earned the approval of the Canadian Standards Association, it said. The boots will be carried in Mark’s Work Wearhouse locations throughout Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton.

>> The National Retail Federation is encouraging its members to endorse ICE, which stands for “In Case of Emergency,” a new awareness campaign that will allow ambulance crews, police officers, and rescue personnel to quickly contact family or friends in the event of an accident or disaster. The ICE initiative, conceived by a paramedic in England, is to have cell phone users program the acronym ICE before the names of the people they want to designate as emergency contacts in their cell phone address book. Retailers nationwide are getting involved in the campaign, asking their employees to program an ICE contact into their cell phones and encouraging them to have their family and friends do the same. In the event that a person suffers an emergency in a retail store where they are unable to communicate, store employees and emergency personnel will be able to search the customer’s phone for ICE listings and notify family or obtain medical histories.