The Norwegian ski and outdoor footwear company has embarked on an ambitious five-year strategic plan to roughly double its turnover through higher international sales as well as forays into new product categories. The plan follows the appointment of Pål Olimb as chief executive and a shareholder of Alfa in April, replacing Børre Langum, who left the company.
Olimb was the manager of Alfa's sports division until 2006, when he obtained a license to sell Alfa cross-country ski boots through his own company, A-Sport. However, as part of Olimb's return to Alfa, his company and its Alfa-branded cross-country ski boots business were folded back into Alfa.
Olimb obtained a stake of 25 percent in Alfa, while the remaining shares remain in the hand of Katalysator, the investment company of the Møller family, which bought Alfa from Haglöfs in 2007. Katalysator has since divested holdings in several other sports companies, particularly Rottefella, Hamax and most recently Bjørn Dæhlie, but it wants to remain involved in the sports business.
A-Sport had been growing rapidly in the last years, from sales of fewer than 6,000 pairs of Alfa ski boots and a turnover of 3 million Norwegian kroner (€0.4m-$0.5m) in 2006, to sales of about 50,000 pairs and a turnover of NOK 16 million (€2.1m-$3.0m) in 2010 – admittedly a favorable year due to the cold weather.
The return of ski boots into Alfa's fold should also have an impact on its profitability – adding NOK 18 million (€2.33m-$3.21m) in sales without any extra overheads. Only Olimb and a key account manager were transferred from A-Sport, and both of them filled vacant positions (more in The Outdoor Industry Compass).
