Christophe Villemin, chairman of Black Crows, is taking over as chief executive of the 13-year-old French ski company from Eric Bascle, the former executive of Lacoste who achieved a sixfold increase in its turnover over the past four years. Villemin, a 52-year-old businessman who has been active also in aerospace and other sectors, is the company's majority shareholder and one of its three founders along with two professional free skiers, Bruno Compagnet and Camille Jaccoux, who are still involved.
Bascle will continue to work hand in hand with Villemin and the other members of the management team for the next two to three months, until the completion of a planned capital increase by the current shareholders. Black Crows says it is intended to prepare the company for a new growth phase, which will involve, among other initiatives, the build-up of a stronger digital presence and the development of a line of functional lifestyle clothing to be launched next year.
Black Crows' sales have been rising at an average compound rate of over 50 percent in the past few years. They continued to grow briskly in the financial year ended on March 31. They went up by around 35 percent to an estimated €16 million. Aside from deliveries of more than 40,000 pairs of skis, they were boosted by the strong growth of a recently introduced line of technical skiwear, which generated sales of €2.8 million. It got an award as “Gear of the Year” in the U.S.
The brand's strong progress during the past four years is attributed by the management to a variety of factors, including the launch of the skiwear line and the diversification of the product range from its original line of well-designed big mountain skis with the development of new specific models for ski touring and piste skis. The skis are manufactured by Atomic and Elan on a contract basis.
Besides a good product development program, the brand has benefited from targeted marketing initiatives, including the organization of events in Europe and the U.S. that have helped establish a community of aficionados.
Geographic diversification has been another important growth factor. The products of the Chamonix-based firm are now sold in more than 20 countries. The biggest single market is the U.S., representing more than one-third of the total turnover. The company entered the U.S. market four years ago through a contract with Sales Guys, a network of agents based in Denver that also represents niche brands like Deeluxe, Picture and TSL.
Sales Guys is still representing Black Crows in the country and will continue to do so. After setting up its own showroom in Denver two years ago, the French brand has been adding its own local support functions for logistics and marketing, and they will be further boosted in the near future.
