In keeping with a months-old plan to pare down its brand portfolio, Idealp Sport will be shutting down Degré 7, its brand of technical ski apparel, according to sport-guide.com. Quoting Michel Pescio, director of sales and marketing at the French mountain-sports company, sport-guide.com said that Idealp seeks to narrow its focus to premium brands in view of a changing consumer environment. For the time being, he says, Degré 7 will be withdrawn from the market, but in the event of a genuine “spontaneous” offer, a sale could follow. The winter 2020/21 collection is ready, and Degré 7 will be honoring its business commitments through the end of the winter. The brand actually accounts for as much as a third of Idealp's €10 million in annual sales and moves a higher volume of merchandise than any of Idealp's other brands: Arpin, Duvillard and Lacroix. Duvillard, moreover, is only a license. Pescio was brought aboard last spring along with Sébastien Paillard, managing director. Jean-Philippe Caille remains chief executive. The new management has laid out a two-year business plan to increase sales and is setting up a structure of four business units. With Degré 7 out of the way, Arpin will be split into Arpin Vestiaire and Arpin Maison. Duvillard and Lacroix will remain in place. Otherwise, the plan is to look abroad for agents and distributors, especially in Italy and the Germanic countries, but also in the U.K., the Benelux countries and Andorra.

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