Devold of Norway, the Norwegian wool apparel specialist, has teamed up with Peter Rostron to explore the U.K. market. Rostron was previously the managing director for Haglöfs in the U.K. and a sales and marketing director at Bradshaw Taylor. Although Devold already sells directly to a handful of British retailers, Rostron has been appointed as a consultant to study Devold's distribution strategy for market entry, working toward a launch next spring. This comes shortly after Devold appointed Herbert Horelt, former country manager for Haglöfs in Germany, to head up a new subsidiary in the country from the start of this year. The Norwegian brand's pre-orders have more than doubled in Germany and Austria for this autumn, the first season to be delivered by the subsidiary. The company's latest strategic development plans are focusing more strongly on the requirements of the European markets outside of Norway, requiring some adjustments to its product assortment. The brand is continuing to progress in several European markets, such as Denmark, Finland and the Czech Republic. It has obtained what it describes as a breakthrough in Switzerland, with the start of sales through one of the country's most prominent outdoor retailers, Bächli Bergsport, for this year's autumn/winter range. Devold is also preparing for the full-fledged launch of a range of running apparel, using a mix of wool, polyamide and spandex. A smaller running program was already launched in Norway, where Devold has a partnership with Løplabbet, a specialist running retailer.