Fenix Outdoor International creates European outdoor distribution giant

By

Olivier Guyot

Published
Nov 13, 2014

Frilufts Retail Europe: this is the name of the new major player in the northern European outdoor distribution. The newly-formed Swedish company includes under its umbrella the retail business of Globetrotter in Germany, Naturkompaniet in Sweden and Partioaitta in Finland.

Frilufts was founded following the merger between Swedish company Fenix Outdoor International (Fjallraven, Brunton, Primus) and Hamburg-based retail group Globetrotter, 20% of which was acquired by Fenix in January. 

Fenix thus owns 60% of Frilufts, while the owners of Globettrotter hold the remaining shares. Frilufts will be overseen by its new CEO, Ulf Gustafsson, who serves on the board of Fenix, and Thomas Lipke, its new operational manager, who is also CEO of Globetrotter. 

The new group encompasses a cumulative turnover of no less than 260 million euros. In comparison, Vieux Campeur, another industry player, recorded a turnover of 135 million euros last year.

Frilufts will be able to lend a good deal of support to support Globetrotter. Founded in 1979, the German brand has a dynamic online site and more than 376,737 square feet of store floor space with flagships that are more than 43,055 ft2 in Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Dresden. In Sweden, Naturkompaniet has 31 stores and Partiotta, acquired by Fenix in 2011, has a network of 15 stores in Finland.

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