The outdoor division of the German Schwan Stabilo Group recorded a drop in revenues for its financial year ended June 30, 2020, due to pandemic-related lockdowns from mid March to early May 2020. Sales declined by 5.1 percent from the previous year to €159.7 million.
All four brands in the division benefited from the booming trend of exercising in nature. The Ortovox and Gonso brands achieved good growth after spring’s lockdown, especially Ortovox with double-digits growth rates. However, Maier Sports and Deuter were not able to fully compensate for the impact of Covid-19, and also took a small hit due to a mild winter. At Deuter, coronavirus-related slumps in orders from sales partners – for trekking and travel backpacks – were coupled with the upcoming restructuring of the whole range. The new branding from spring/summer 2021 led to an expected inventory build-up of the old logo and old collection last year.
However, despite Covid, the outlook for the division next year is positive. Gonso, the specialist for cycling clothing, benefited greatly from the general cycling hype in spring and summer.
The group will now focus on its digital transformation, with a view to having a cohesive digital platforms for the whole outdoor group. The Deuter online shop went live in November 2019, followed by Ortovox in March of 2020. Maier Sports will soon join this platform after introducing a new ERP system.
Overall, the Schwan Stabilo group recorded an 8 percent drop in turnover for the year to €609.8 million.
