Lars Hanstad has abruptly lost his job as managing director of Madshus after almost 34 years with the Norwegian producer of cross-country skis. K2 Sports, the subsidiary of Jarden Corporation that owns Madshus, said he has been replaced by Nils Hult, who has served in various roles of increasing responsibility in the company over the past 10 years. He worked most recently as product director for Madshus’ very successful Nordic ski boot program.
K2 officials declined to comment on the change of management. It’s not clear whether it was related to an unconfirmed report that Madshus’ remaining ski production in Norway may be transferred to K2’s big factory in China. The Norwegian factory manufactured about 80,000 pairs of Nordic skis last year, concentrating on the higher end of the line and representing a little less than half of its total deliveries for the year. The rest was made in China.
Like other producers of cross-country skis, Madshus was deeply affected last year by the scarcity of snow throughout the world. Another factor was a change of distribution in the important Russian market, where the company is now represented by Kant Sport. Total ski deliveries fell to around 200,000 pairs in 2008 from 300,000 in 2007, when they were partly inflated by the disposal of old close-out models.
On the other hand, Madshus’ profitability has been improving. Operating losses were reduced from 35 Norwegian kroner to 13 million NOK (€1.48m-$1.92m) in 2008, and the company was expected to break even this year at the operating level.
