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Rossignol, the venerable ski company that moved its North American headquarters to Park City last year, is for sale.
Its parent company, Quiksilver Inc., said in its quarterly report last week that the sales process has begun and the Rossignol Group of winter-sports equipment and apparel is being treated on its books as a "discontinued operation."
The company is taking a pre-tax charge of $240.2 million for the quarter ending April 30, a span in which Quiksilver earned $38.7 million, or 30 cents a share, on sales of $596.3 million. The revenue total represented a 15 percent increase over the same quarter a year earlier.
Jim Hunter, vice president of operations and chief financial officer for Rossignol North America, said that while new owners can do whatever they want with the company, he would not expect to see major changes soon in its day-to-day operations.
"The brand's been around for a long time [more than 100 years now] and we're not going anywhere," he said Friday, expressing confidence in the job security of nearly 100 employees at the "Mountain Center" headquarters in Kimball Junction and a distribution center in Ogden.
"We're here in Utah because Quiksilver gave us the opportunity to relocate the company to the best place that it could be. After an exhaustive search to determine where, we chose Park City and Ogden," Hunter said. "Nothing since we've been here has changed our thinking."
He said several companies have shown interest in acquiring Rossignol and its sister companies - Dynastar, Lange, Gnu, Lib Technology and Roxy. "The list has been narrowed down to a few of the most serious people," Hunter added.
Quiksilver, which made its name selling surfing goods, purchased Rossignol in March of 2005 for a reported $320 million. But then the next two winters were particularly tough ones, with limited snow, especially in Europe during 2006-07.
Observed Robert McKnight, Quiksilver's president, chief executive and chairman: "As we separate the results of the Rossignol Group from those of our continuing core businesses, it becomes increasingly clear that our broadly diversified mix of brands, products, geographies and distribution channels positions us well in challenging economic times, such as the one we all face today."
Hunter said Rossignol North America saw its business rebound during this past winter of plentiful snow.
"We had a good season here in North America, both in the Eastern and Western U.S.," he said. "The brands are doing very well in terms of the marketplace."
* Founded in 1907 by Abel Rossignol, a dedicated French skier and carpenter who built wooden skis.
* Sold in 1956 to Laurent Boix-Vives, who started selling the skis worldwide.
* Introduced fiberglass skis in 1964, added Nordic skis in 1970, snowboards in 1991 and shaped skis in 1999.
* Bought in 2005 by Australian surfing and boardsport equipment manufacturer Quiksilver.