Haglöfs, the Swedish outdoor brand owned by Asics, took a hit in sales but roughly trebled its operating profit last year, as the Swedish outdoor brand owned by Asics cut out unprofitable distribution and adjusted its branding to start expanding again this year. Peter Fabrin, the company's chief executive, who joined just over two years ago with a program to adjust the organization to make it more profitable, and to invest in brand value, says the company has radically cleaned up inventories, more than halving them in the last three years. The number of items was reduced by more than 25 percent and the number of suppliers was halved to 16. Haglöfs' payroll was cut by about 20 percent and three subsidiaries were shut to be integrated into Asicss organizations in the Benelux countries, Japan and Korea. More in The Outdoor Industry Compass.

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