Fischer Sports has acquired the trademarks, patents and other intellectual property rights of One Way Sport, a major Finnish-based producer of cross-country ski poles that diversified into many other sectors during the 14 years of its existence. Using its know-how in the use of composite materials and its international sales structure, the Austrian company wants to develop the brand into the leading supplier of cross-country and alpine ski poles, while retaining some of its current distribution partners in certain markets.
The takeover is the latest act in a long and complex financial and legal saga, which has not yet finished completely. It was preceded by the acquisition of One Way Sport's IP rights at the end of April by Oy Patrol, the distributor of Fischer in Finland and the Baltic countries. Patrol had been approached by a silent partner about a deal late last year, a few months before One Way Sport filed for bankruptcy proceedings last March in a court in Vaanta. Patrol accepted only an asset deal after looking at the company's accounts.
In the last couple of years, One Way Sport's annual sales went down from €12.9 million to €5.5 million, not including those of a joint venture for the Chinese market with 361 Degrees, which is generating an annual turnover of around $15 million through a network of more than 100 stores. Its future status is still under negotiations.
Patrol, which has an annual turnover of about €30 million, has been granted by Fischer the distribution rights for One Way Sport in its core markets of Finland, Sweden and the Baltics, where it may also re-introduce apparel and accessories under that brand name. Combined with other new development planned for the next few months, the distribution of One Way Sport should help the Finnish trading company to compensate for the loss of Asics' distribution in Finland and the Baltics, which has been in place since 1989.
The contract with Asics was already set to expire when it was renewed five years ago. Peder Planting, whose family owns Oy Patrol, says he had already decided at that time to focus on brands that he could also distribute across the Scandinavian market. Based in Sweden, Asics Scandinavia will take over the distribution in Finland and the Baltics, starting with the spring/summer 2019 collection.
One Way Sport was established in 2004 as a producer of poles for Nordic walking and cross-country skiing by Andreas Bennert in cooperation with a Finnish cross-country ski athlete, Ulla Pelli. Under Bennert's enthusiastic leadership, the brand diversified into floorball products, Nordic walking footwear and apparel for Nordic sports, signing many sponsorship agreements. It also brought out a line of skis, made by Salomon, and a line of cycling apparel that won the Tour de France, overextending itself perhaps too much.
As we have previously reported, the bankruptcies of distributors in the U.S. and Norway, coupled with the collapse of the Russian market, caused major financial problems that led One Way Sport to file for insolvency proceedings in May 2016. It came out of the proceedings a few months later, but it never recovered its former good shape, as it was let down by several distributors.
One Way Sport had a legal wrangle with Patrol in 2012 when it was accused in court of confusing consumers by using the same yellow color that Fischer uses in some of its products. Eventually, it lost the case, but the color issue will certainly be solved sooner or later under the new ownership structure.
It's not clear, however, when the brand will return to the market as it got very few orders for the next autumn/winter season and the company was left with few inventories and the liquidation of One Way Sport has not yet been completed. A settlement has yet to be reached with its creditors. None of its five remaining employees has been retained. Bennert, who is now 52 years old, is looking for a new challenge.
The sale of One Way Sport coincides with the reported reorganization of one of its main competitors in the pole market, Exel. Reportedly, the creditors of the brand's licensee, the E-Sports Group, are hesitating to support the plan. The last available financial data show that E-Sports had an operating loss of €1,438,000 and a pre-tax loss of €1,600,000 on sales of €3,155,000 in 2016, compared with sales of €4.1 million in 2013.
In view of the situation, Reusch International has decided to give up the distribution of Exel in Germany and Austria, starting at the end of this year. According to SAZ, the distribution will be taken over by a German company, Nordic Sports Consulting, which is also an agent for Alpina, Ski Trab and other brands.
