After the Italian outdoor brand La Sportiva closed its production plant in Ziano di Fiemme due to the Covid-19 epidemic and switched production to protective masks and clothing for the Trento civil defense, it now has announced that it will postpone the presentation of most of its new products for the 2021 summer season for one year. The new SS2021 collection, which will be launched in 74 markets worldwide this May, will consist largely of the current collection, supplemented by a few capsule products. According to La Sportiva, this measure is necessary to protect dealers and support the company’s worldwide distribution network.
The protection of the retailers is necessary because, after the forced closures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the majority of Italian and European retailers are expected to hold large unsold inventories that must not be considered “outdated” in a few months. La Sportiva has therefore decided to postpone the market launch of approximately 90 percent of the 2021 textile collection and most of the new footwear collection in order to preserve the market value of the unsold Summer 2020 product.
“At this difficult moment for many of our distributors around the world, it seemed irresponsible to launch dozens of new products,” Giulia Delladio, strategic marketing manager of La Sportiva, explained. “These products would have put a strain on dealers’ stocks in a year when probably more products will remain unsold than usual. Our company will invest in its marketing resources heavily to provide the best possible support for the sale of the products that are already in our partners’ warehouses.”
After Salewa, La Sportiva is the second outdoor brand to announce the postponement of the next summer collection.
Photo: © La Sportiva
