It’s been a painful couple of years for Rossignol lovers to see their brand move from one of the strongest ski brands in Europe for decades, to slowly losing ground once purchased by Quiksilver in 2005 for $320 million. On Wednesday, August 27th, it was officially announced that Quiksilver had sold Rossignol for $146.7 million to Chartreuse & Mont Blanc, which is actually headed up by Rossi chief executive officer Bruno Cercley. Interestingly, Chartreuse & Mont Blanc is majority owned by Macquarie Group with a nonvoting minority interest by Jarden Corp. -which owns K2. The deal also includes brands Dynastar, Look, and Lange.
Over the past couple of years, speculation circulated through very hostile email trails with one side saying that those running Rossignol from Europe were simply too stuck in their ways and old-school for its new owners, while the opposite side blamed Quiksilver for simply not understanding the tradition, sport, and brand of Rossignol and it’s hardcore consumer group. Whatever the argument was, one thing was clear, the brand did not perform well for a number of reasons, to the point where selling it was clearly the best option.
In a press release about the sale, Quiksilver President Bob McKnight stated, “This offer is a compelling transaction for Quiksilver and represents the culmination of a thorough sale process. Once completed, we can fully concentrate our efforts on our core apparel and footwear brands Quiksilver, Roxy and DC.”
That pretty much says it all.