Figuring out Rossignol’s crisis

Following Dynastar’s announcement that it would implement some massive lay-offs, Rossignol stated on January 20 that it would extend its work stoppage to 1,600 employees of its entire group, including the Look binding factory in Nevers, the Artès ski production in Spain, the ski boots facilities of Montebelluna in Italy as well as two logistical sites in France. The company-wide layoffs are planned to last from February 3 to March 31, 2009. The group that was acquired by Macquarie on November 12, 2008, has lost 50 millions Euros on sales of 270 millions during its latest 2007-2008 fiscal year under Quiksilver’s watch. During that year, Rossignol and Dynastar produced 800,000 pairs and are left today with 290,000 unsold pairs. For this new fiscal year, the group is said to have scaled down its ski production forecast to just 650,000 pair, a far cry from the million pair level claimed only a decade ago. With these sobering numbers and a growing challenge to breakeven and survive, it seems pretty clear that the new Rossignol Group’s owner will have no other option but consolidate and move production to places where costs are significantly lower than Europe where everything is currently produced; finally, it also appears that Bruno Cercley and his Chartreuse & Mont-Blanc group – even at the “reduced price” of 40 million Euros – may still have overpaid for their acquisition…
Editor's note: Information assembled in part with press article provided by Jean Barbier in Voiron, France, and corrections to one of my previous blog by pistehors.com.