Karhu Sporting Goods Oy, the Finnish company that owns the brand, describes the deal as very favorable in financial terms and useful to enhance the notoriety of this iconic Finnish brand name on a global level. Under the deal, two former executives of Converse and Reebok, Huub Valkenburg and Jay Duke, have acquired the Karhu brand name for all kinds of products through a Dutch company that they control, but they will concentrate on the relaunch of Karhu running shoes.
As part of the deal, the Finnish company gets a perpetual license for exclusive use of the Karhu brand name for its cross-country skis and other ski-related products with the exception of North America, where the rights for telemark and back-country skis will remain with K2. The Finnish company will also act as the exclusive licensee for Karhu footwear and apparel in the Nordic countries and will participate in the development of the collection. Oteros Sport of Spain remains Karhu’s licensee for clothing and backpacks in the Iberian peninsula.
Duke and Valkenburg have been acting as distributors of Karhu’s running shoes in North America for the past three years with relative success. Established in 1916 as a cross-country ski producer, Karhu became a strong brand of running shoes after World War II and until the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, but then faded into oblivion, especially after it sold the rights to its three-stripe trademark to Adidas.
Karhu stopped making shoes in Finland in 1992 but started again to make some lifestyle shoes in Finland and Estonia in 2003. Three years ago it developed a new patented Fulcrum technology, which has been now licensed to the brand’s new owners. It promotes heel-to-toe efficiency and natural comfort.
Still, last year Karhu reached global sales of only about €5 million with its footwear line, including sales to distributors, probably because of its lack of experience in the competitive sports shoe sector. It became a clear No. 2 in running in Finland, grabbing market share from ASICS, but managed to do little elsewhere. The Finnish company is negotiating with its American partners its possible involvement in the distribution of the footwear line in other European markets such as Germany, where it inherited a few weeks ago the former sales team for Exel poles. Teamsport, Exel’s distributor in Italy, has already seen its contract extended to Karhu cross-country skis.
