UVT, a former Finnish sporting goods industry association that grouped 30 vendors, has decided to merge into a larger federation, the Fashion and Sports Commerce Association, that claims to be covering 80 percent of the country's fashion and sports retail sector. It plans to start recruiting new members among sports brands, agencies and distributors from next year. The new set-up will become operational on Jan. 1. The association is led by Risto Salo, a former chief executive of Halti. He is working with a former collaborator at Halti, Hanna-Liisa Erkheikki, interim chief executive of UVT. She is playing a role in the new organization and at Akvamarini, which is re-starting a Finnish trade magazine, YouSport, to replace the former Sportimyjjää.

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