sportFACHHANDEL 02_2018 Leseprobe

2.2018 Interview
Interview | MIXED | 167
Regarding product development, Haglöfs profited
from Asics’ shoe technology – all Haglöfs shoes
feature the Asics-GEL mid-sole, for example. On the
other hand, Asics has benefited from Haglöfs’ high
competence in fabrics, e.g. in the softshell area.
Surely, the synergies have not yet been exhausted? That
is going to be one of my tasks in the future to see in
which case it makes sense to work together and where
it makes more sense to rely on our own strengths.
How has the brand Haglöfs developed within Europe
over the past years? In Europe, we have experienced
a stable development in recent years and we are still
strongly influenced by the Scandinavian market
where we generate 50 per cent of the total revenues.
In Germany, we did not escape unscathed. However,
we reacted in this respect in the last year and e.g.
adjusted the distribution and newly positioned ourselves
with a very motivated and professional team.
And worldwide? The worldwide development has
been very stable too.
At the time of the acquisition, Haglöfs intended to
conquer the US market; and also Asia and Russia were
on the list. What has become of it? We are already
represented in Korea, China and Japan. Actually,
Russia and the US will soon follow.
Recently, Haglöfs has been forced to cope with a few
hard cutbacks in Germany in particular. The nimbus
as a Scandinavian premium brand has also suffered.
Unfortunately, it is true that we have partly squandered
that halo; for example, due to mistakes such
as over-distribution or the distribution via channels
in which we are no longer represented or won’t be in
the future. However, we newly positioned ourselves
in Germany last year and want to convince the retail
again. The DACH region is Europe’s largest outdoor
market. Therefore, we are going to particularly invest
in this area.
Why has Haglöfs not been able to establish a successful
cooperation with the specialised outdoor retail in
the past years? The triad of product, communication
and distribution wasn’t in sync. Other brands did that
in a better way. Additionally, Haglöfs was too much
focused on the Scandinavian market. Of course,
we want to strengthen our history as Scandinavian
brand, but the products have to work, for example, in
the Alpine region too. We as premium brand
concentrate our efforts on the specialised outdoor
trade, since we sell consulting-intensive products.
That means, you, as CEO of Haglöfs, declare yourself
in favour of granting the specialised trade an elevated
role in Europe’s largest outdoor market? Definitely.
There is no way around specialist retail for Haglöfs.
With Moritz Kuhn, Haglöfs already had hired a
manager without the relevant experience in the outdoor
business as country manager for Germany. Now,
the same applies to you as new CEO. Do experienced
distribution and sales professionals provide a new
impetus for the business? Certainly, you cannot say
that in general. On the other hand, you don’t need to
have conquered each eight-thousander to successfully
lead an outdoor company. First of all, you
must have some understanding of business
management and interest in and affinity
for the market. I believe you can win a lot,
if you are able to find the right mix between
industry experts and newcomers.
What does Haglöfs stand for? Haglöfs
stands for more than 100 years of Scandinavian
quality. Haglöfs stands for premium
products, performance and sustainability.
Which goals do you pursue at Haglöfs? We
want to make Haglöfs a global brand. As
mentioned before, we are currently anchored
in Scandinavia in particular as well as
represented in a number of other countries.
However, we can achieve making Haglöfs a worldwide
demanded and successful brand supported by
Asics’ power.
What role does the outdoor trade with its strong advisory
capacity play? In case of many of our products,
you cannot see the high level of performance at the
first glance. This is why the consultation of the specialised
retailers is all the more important for us. They
are best suited to explain how much perfor mance
and function the customer receives for his money.
Especially in Germany where the specialised trade is
of higher significance, in comparison to other markets,
we have to focus on winning back the lost trust.
That’s exactly why we are here at the ISPO today!