Salomon has kicked off a year of 75th anniversary celebrations with a reflective look back at the contribution it has made to winter sports, running, hiking and action sports since its rose from humble beginnings in the historic old town of Annecy in France.
“Since Salomon was founded in a small workshop in the heart of Annecy in 1947, we have been reinventing products and sports, helping our consumers find the best version of themselves through outside sports experiences,” said Salomon President and CEO Franco Fogliato, who took the reins of the company in November 2021.
75 years of history established in the French Alps
Salomon started as a family wood saw and ski edge shop in 1947 and has grown into a globally recognized outdoor brand with more than 1600 employees worldwide, including approximately 750 at its global headquarters—the 33,500m2 Annecy Design Centre Known as the ADC. It is home to engineers, designers and athletes, and is located just 5k from the original Salomon family shop. The company currently conducts business in 91 countries across Europe, North America and Asia via its 190 Salomon branded stores and thousands of global retail partners, and online via its website and e-tail partners.
Today, Salomon is the worldwide leader in winter sports equipment sales (consisting of Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and snowboarding) and the global leader in trail running.
“Georges Salomon was fond of saying ‘I’m fascinated by what I will do tomorrow’ so while
this 75th anniversary gives us a chance to look back on what we have done, we are
extremely excited about what the next chapter of Salomon will hold,” Fogliato added.
“Today, Salomon is focused on maintaining our leadership in trail running and winter
sports, and reaching new, younger outdoor sports participants who have found the brand
through hiking, running and our SportStyle footwear in 91 countries globally.”
YouTube series examines Salomon’s 75 years of innovation
As part of its look back at 75 years in the outdoor world, Salomon has released a four-
part YouTube series that examines the major chapters in the brand’s history to date.
The first episode examined Salomon’s 75 years of innovation in winter sports, which included ski industry-altering creations like the 747 binding, the 1080 ski and the S/LAB Shift binding.
The second episode covered the company’s exploits in the Freedom Actions Sports Era of
the 2000s, which included board sports, inline skating and wingsuit flying.
In episode 3, viewers see how Salomon ignited communities with activations like Ski
Cross, the Jib Academy, Salomon TV and Adventure Racing in the early 2000s. The fourth
and final episode dives into how Salomon’s risk-taking mentality helped build the sport
of trail running from its early days and how the brand became the global leader in the
sport today.
The series includes interviews with current and former employees as well as legendary
Salomon athletes, who have always been an integral part of the brand’s DNA and
continue to play a huge roll in product development.
Many of the moments examined in the YouTube series were captured along the way by
Salomon TV, which got its start in 2007 as Salomon Freeski TV and altered how brands
developed content around their athletes and sports. The franchise has evolved to cover
every sport in the Salomon portfolio and addressed topics like the environment and
politics through the lens of sports and athletes. In its 16 years of existence, Salomon TV
episodes have won numerous film festival awards and racked up more than 114 million
views and more than 5 million viewing hours.
In recent years, the brand has also made a number of sustainability commitments and
achievements. By 2030, Salomon will reduce its carbon emissions by 30% and by 2025,
100% percent of its products will be designed to circular economy principles. These
commitments have led to products like the Index.01 recyclable running shoe and a new
ski touring range for winter 2022-23 which implements recycled materials.
A call to fans for favourite Salomon memories
After revisiting 75 years of ‘Inventing Tomorrow’ through this four-part YouTube series, Salomon is asking members of its community to share their own favourite memory connected to Salomon. It could be their first pair of skis, a chance meeting with an athlete or a big trail race they ran in a pair of Salomon shoes.
To do so, post a photo or a video on social media tagging @Salomon and using the hashtag #MySalomonStory. Salomon will feature the best posts in its content in the weeks ahead.
