The Oberalp Group is building up its business in Asia, with licensing and distribution deals signed or in advanced discussions in China, South Korea and Taiwan, and with distinct approaches for the Salewa and Dynafit brands.
In South Korea, Oberalp has sealed a licensing and distribution agreement for Salewa with K2. The group also announced that K2 will take up the distribution in Korea of Dynafit as well, for a ten-year period starting in 2017.
K2 is a family-owned Korean company that is a major player in the national outdoor and winter sports market, but is not related to the American winter sports equipment brand by the same name. It operates with a network of about 650 franchisees, who run stores for one or more of the company's brands.
Meanwhile, Oberalp is adjusting its strategy in China, where it is holding discussions with licensing partners for the Salewa and Dynafit brands.
Separately, Oberalp has inked another distribution deal in Taiwan, which started in September. Its partner there is Pro Craft, a company that was established for the purpose of distributing Salewa but is related to a larger outdoor distribution company.
Dynafit's moves into these Asian markets are strongly supported by the launch of its apparel range three years ago. It enabled the brand to focus on mountain athletics in the summer and to build up sales amounting to an estimated 20 percent of its turnover this year.
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