Rossignol on the right track with omnichannel logistics

With €400 million in revenue in 2023 (+28%) and nearly 20% of the global market for cross-country and alpine skis, the Rossignol Group is unquestionably a key player in winter sports. Appreciated by mountain lovers and the discipline’s top athletes alike, this more-than-century-old company—owned by Norwegian investment fund Altor Equity Partners—retains the energy of a young skier despite its 117 years.

« The goal of reaching €500 million in 2026 is almost reasonable », its CEO, Vincent Wauters, said last year. To supply retail outlets, distributors in 56 markets, and its online customers, the Rossignol Group expertly manages its omnichannel logistics from Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, between Lyon and Grenoble (Isère).

Located near the winter sports equipment specialist’s global headquarters (Saint-Jean de Moirans), this four-in-one logistics warehouse covers 36,000 square meters. This omnichannel site handles order picking, international dispatch and delivery, as well as direct deliveries to sports stores in France and certain other countries. Staffed by nearly 70 employees, this logistics hub also manages e-commerce orders and deliveries, handling almost 5 million products shipped each year to 10,000 customers and stores.

Without this logistics hub, the Group would not have been able to drive its omnichannel strategy and thus adapt to changing markets and consumer habits. In practice, this supply chain involves preparing a high volume of orders in record time. « Digital customers are accustomed to speed and want to be served in the same way, wherever and whenever they decide. With speed as our priority, we can prepare up to 5,000 varied orders every day, depending on the time of year. »

To keep pace and offer consumers a more satisfying experience, the Rossignol Group enlisted the services of Mecalux, a specialist in intralogistics systems and storage solutions. « We turned to Mecalux because, from the outset, its staff showed interest and efficiency in meeting our needs within a very short timeframe », adds Christian Fiquet. As a reminder, e-commerce has become one of the Rossignol Group’s growth pillars: it accounts for 10% of its revenue, with the aim of doubling it by 2026. « We have many alpine ski and snowboard models that are quite specific and suited to particular uses, explains Gabriel Authier, Rossignol’s Marketing Director. Our customers cannot always find them through retailers because some product lines are highly specialized. It is therefore important to offer our entire range on our platform. » The Group also aims eventually to generate 30% of its revenue from its apparel category.

To achieve this goal, one section of the Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs warehouse is dedicated to orders for these products. Located in a region classified as seismic zone 3, it has been reinforced to withstand the full force generated by potential earthquakes. In addition, the racking was designed and installed in compliance with European standard EN 1668. « Under this standard, racking structures must meet specific strength and ductility requirements in order to withstand seismic action without localized or total collapse, while maintaining their integrity and residual load-bearing capacity after a seismic event », Mecalux’s teams explain.

To reduce its CO2 emissions, Rossignol has committed €50 million through 2026, including €27 million for industrial operations, notably at its Sallanches site in Haute-Savoie, with a project to create the world’s first eco-designed, recyclable ski factory. The Group has also adopted a Salesforce-managed tool to measure its direct and indirect carbon impact (scenario simulations, water management, the impact of actions taken, etc.). « As part of this effort to reflect and act on reducing our environmental impact and ensuring sustainable growth, the Net Zero Cloud platform is an additional step forward », says Gabriel Authier. In particular, this partnership will enable the Group to plant as many trees—through the 1t association—as pairs of skis sold online, thereby reforesting plots near Rossignol’s production plants. « This forest will not serve solely as a resource, as half of it will be self-managed », explains the Group’s Marketing Director.

As Républik Retail points out, Rossignol is also investing in its own poplar plantation in Spain. This choice enables the Group to establish a complete short supply chain, from planting and production through to material recovery at the end of products’ life cycles and recycling—all within a circular approach. The 15-year project will plant a forest of 50,000 trees and cumulatively capture 14,000 metric tons of CO2. These strong commitments should enable the omnichannel logistics champion to reduce its waste by 40% by 2025 and its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030.