Action Brands, the Norwegian company that took over Skigutane in a merger last year, has now acquired BJ Sport, the skiwear company of Bjørn Dæhlie, the famous Norwegian cross-country ski champion. Synergies are envisaged with other product lines within the fast-expanding group including Kari Traa, the women's sportswear brand named after the eponymous Norwegian free-style ski champion, launched in 2002 and taken over by Skigutane in 2002
Erik Røste will continue to run BJ Sport as an independent operation, but he will provide input in product management for the further development of the Kari Traa line, which is generating annual sales of about 130 million Norwegian kroner (€16.5m-$22.6m), compared with 85 million NOK (€10.8m-$14.7m) for the more technical Bjørn Dæhlie line, which focuses on Nordic skiing.
Synergies are also planned in the cross-country ski sector with Åsnes and Rode Skiwax. Skigutane bought in 2006 Åsnes, a Norwegian brand of mountain skis that sells about 30,000 pairs annually some clothing, mostly in Norway. For its part, BJ Sport became a few weeks ago the exclusive distributor in Norway of Rode ski wax, starting next May. This Italian brand has been specializing in applications for Nordic skiing since 1972.
Action Brands has decided to invest in the cross-country ski market because it is big in Norway, with annual sales of some 450,000 pairs of skis. Beyond that, Action Brands is looking at other acquisition opportunities. It is keen on setting up a “Nordic house of brands” that can also represent foreign brands efficiently in the Scandinavian market at large. It currently markets Bula and Rip Curl in Norway. Simen Mørdre, a former product manager at Helly Hansen who was appointed chief executive of Active Brands last November, is working in particular on improvements in logistics.
Action Brands is controlled by a Norwegian investment fund, Holta Invest, but like the former owners of Skigutane, Bjørn Dæhlie himself has become a shareholder and a director of the company.
Action Brands has purchased BJ Sport from from another Norwegian investment group, Katalysator, which previously divested Rottefella and Hamax.
Alfa Sko is the only other remaining property of Katalysator in the sporting goods sector.
It has been announced that Bjørre Langum is going to leave the company by next June, after running it since 2004, with good growth over the years. A search for his replacement is now underway.
Dæhlie launched his brand in the late 1990s and licensed it to Odlo International in 2001. He split from the Swiss company in 2007 and sold 90 percent of the shares to Katalysator.
