Rossignol is doubling down on the trail running shoe market as the French brand takes another step forward in its diversification strategy.
The company has launched its first flagship high-performance trail run shoe, the Vezor, after three years of extensive research and development work and in-depth field testing.
For Rossignol, the Vezor sneaker will spearhead the brand’s first trail-running collection for 2025. The shoe has been “thoughtfully designed with a perfect balance of precision, grip, and propulsive performance to carry committed trail runners across the most rugged and technical terrain,” the company said on Wednesday. The lightweight, stable, and altogether fast shoe is ideal for medium-distance races, in both training and competition, Rossignol added.
“At Rossignol, we’re mountain enthusiasts with a fascination for performance and pushing our limits,” Vincent Wauters, chief executive officer of Rossignol Group, said in a statement. “Our aim is to provide the best possible solutions for all aspects of mountain sport, and we are committed to developing technical solutions to make the mountains and wide-open spaces accessible to everyone, from enthusiastic amateurs to accomplished athletes.”
“For these communities of mountain sports enthusiasts who explore the mountains from one season to the next whether skiing, biking, or running, we’ve naturally extended our spring/summer 2025 range to encompass the simplest and purest form of mountain sport: trail running,” Wauters added.
This launch comes as trail running participation is on the rise, and leading footwear brands are looking to capitalize. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) 2023 Topline Participation Report, total trail running participation has increased for the fifth straight year. There were 13.3 million total trail running participants in 2022, according to the SFIA, an increase of 5.9 percent over 2021.
As for Rossignol, the company has experienced growth across activities with winter sports equipment accounting for 80 percent of its merchandise mix, while apparel, footwear and bikes make up the other 20 percent. In fiscal 2023, sales at Rossignol Group – which consists of the Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look, Kerma, Risport and Dale of Norwa brands – grew 28 percent to 401 million euros, up from 313 million euros in fiscal 2022.
