New skis, particularly Nordic skis, could be hard to find this fall and winter as disruptions in ski production from the Russia-Ukraine war ripple through the supply chain.
At least half of the skis sold worldwide each year are manufactured in western Ukraine, mostly in factories around Mukachevo, according to industry estimates. Most ski, snowboard and boot factories in Ukraine closed for a few weeks at the outset of the war, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
As Russia's efforts to conquer the country stalled and refocused on eastern Ukraine, ski and board factories in the country's west reopened. But some, like Rossignol's factory outside Lviv, remain closed indefinitely. That factory was near a military base training foreign fighters that was the target of a Russian missile strike in early March. Although the factory was unscathed, the missile strike destroyed utilities and other infrastructure around it.
The Trail Head in downtown Missoula is a major Rossignol dealer, particularly for Nordic skis, also called cross-country skis. On Friday, owner Todd Frank said "we can't get any Nordic stuff." In the early weeks of the war, Frank said, his Rossignol sales rep told him the factory was shuttered, and not to expect any skis for this winter.
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"He called and said you're not going to get any of your s--- because there's a war in Ukraine and our factory is shut down."
To compensate, The Trail Head won't be selling any of its rental skis, which Frank said are now going into their fourth season. Normally about one-third of the fleet is sold off each year and new skis are brought in, and skis are only rented for three seasons before being sold. But last winter's rental skis didn't arrive until about April, after the season ended, he said. Now, those skis will be this winter's retail skis. Frank has been able to get a few entry-level Rossignol skis and boots that are made in China, but he's not expecting anything from Ukraine. He said he plans to order more skis from Fischer than in past winters, and he brought Salomon skis back into the store for the first time in 25 years.
He's also encouraging people to bring in their used skis to add to the store's growing consignment operation. During recent pandemic-related product shortages, The Trail Head issued a "call to action" for customers to bring in old skis, which Frank said "saved us during the time when we couldn't get any product." He's hoping people will do the same again.
"How many years do you need to stare at that dusty pair of skis in your garage when there's a college student who would use it every day?"
Overall, Frank expects that The Trail Head will have only about 25% of its normal amount of retail skis this winter: "We're predicting a significant downturn in business this fall."
The primary ski factory in Mukachevo, a sprawling 50-acre facility owned by Fischer Sports, produces 60% of the ski giant's products, plus many other brands' skis and snowboards. Across all brands, the Fischer factory alone produces up to 60% of all skis and boards sold in Europe each year, according to Berlin-based business news site BNE Intellinews. Industry estimates say the factory employs 1,000–1,200 workers. In a phone call Thursday, Brian Landrigan, Fischer's director of marketing for the U.S., pegged the figure at "about 500" workers.
Landrigan said he couldn't provide exact figures on the factory's "total global output," but he noted the concentration of ski and board factories in Ukraine. Technica has a facility in the area; so does Amer Sports, which owns Salomon and Atomic.
Landrigan said the Fischer facility, built in 1944 and purchased by Fischer in 1985, was closed for nearly a month and a half immediately after Russia invaded. Only "a small percentage of workers" left to join the war effort.
"The region has become pretty calm and business is back to normal in the region," he said, noting that the closure at the beginning of the war meant that there will be "some delays into our market."
Skis that would normally arrive at U.S. retailers in August may not arrive until late September or early October. Overall, though, the war and the factory closure were "a speed bump," he said. If the war does force a factory closure, Fischer is ready. A significant portion of the factory burned in 2020 but came back online before the war. After the fire, Fischer moved some of its Ukraine production load to a factory at the company's headquarters in Austria — a move that could be repeated if necessary.
"We have the factory online now, and even though there was a month-and-a-half delay, we're actually able to produce our skis in our factories," he said. "There hasn't been too many disruptions otherwise."
Evan Wilkinson, the winter sports and camping hardgoods buyer for Bob Ward's Sports & Outdoors in Missoula, had a similar message on Friday. His annual Nordic ski selection of a few hundred pairs is almost equally split between Rossignol and Fischer, but he hasn't heard much from either company about war-related delays. He pointed out that although Nordic ski production, and to some degree alpine ski production, is heavily concentrated in Ukraine, many brands' most high-end skis are produced in their home countries (Fischer's top-tier skis are made in Austria) and many entry-level skis are made in China.
One line of boots he normally carries won't arrive this year because of Rossignol's factory shutdown, he said. More cancellations could be coming, but it might be too soon to say.
"I think it's just a big question mark right now."
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Ski factory disruptions from Russia-Ukraine war hit Missoula shops - Missoulian
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