Ole Damm, who has been the successful distributor of SOS in Denmark, signed a deal for the takeover of the global rights to this Swedish skiwear brand earlier this month. Based on his experience in Denmark, which he built into the second-largest market for the brand, Damm intends to relaunch SOS by bringing back some of the colorful designs and technical quality that distinguished it from the outset.
The rights were formally acquired by White, Damm's holding company. One of its subsidiaries, SOS Denmark, has been distributing that brand in the country since 1985. Damm also has a minority stake in another company that distributes the Björn Borg apparel line in Denmark. Damm was also previously involved in the distribution of J. Lindeberg and Pringle in Denmark and in several other countries. The rights to the SOS trademark had been in the hands of private investors unrelated to the brand's management for the last five years.
The Swedish SOS company, which most recently employed 16 people, will remain in place as a distributor for SOS in Sweden. It will be run by Mikael Sundstrom, former general manager of SOS. Design and sourcing will continue to take place in Stockholm and Åre. On the other hand, international sales, marketing and back-office functions will be supervised from Denmark, with Ole Damm himself acting as general manager.
A pioneer in the Swedish skiwear business, SOS will be three decades old in 2012. It enjoyed strong success in the ‘eighties but has seen many ups in downs in the last two decades, with a succession of owners. After Denmark, its largest market is Switzerland, where SOS is distributed by Sport Concept. The brand is otherwise marketed in such countries as France, Germany, Austria and Japan, and it is in talks to launch a distribution in Norway.
Damm's entire business generates annual sales of about 100 Danish crowns (€13.4-$19.4). Some 80 percent are represented by Björn Borg and the remaining 20 percent by SOS. Denmark makes up about 25 percent of the international turnover of SOS.
