When the tulips slowly bloom in the valleys and the trees sprout their first buds, it is winter peak season again in the mountains. At Easter, all snow enthusiasts travel to the mountains once again to enjoy the last descents of the season.
But how is the ski and snowboard market actually doing? In recent decades, you could still get a very reliable sense of the state of the industry at the Munich sports trade fair Ispo, which was dominated by winter sports for many decades. In recent years, however, this has changed significantly. The number of exhibitors from this category decreased year after year, the large mega stands of the market leaders gave way to smaller formats, until recently there were hardly any brands left and the hardware almost completely disappeared. Given the rising temperatures caused by climate change, has the industry already said goodbye?
The ski market is growing
“It’s not the way many people always propagate it: ‘There’s no more snow and that means there’s not as much skiing anymore’. That’s not true,” contradicts Hans Taubenberger, founder and managing director of the German premium ski label Toni Sailer Sports. Martin Lien, Chief Commercial Officer at the Norwegian freeski and outdoor provider Norrøna even diagnoses a “growing interest in skiing in many countries”. In its interim balance sheet in January, Intersport Austria, for example, reported “extremely positive” winter business for 2025/26 with an increase in sales of six percent compared to the previous year. The main drivers were ski rental (plus 12 percent) and the sale of skis and ski boots with an increase of 22 percent. Alpine winter sports are not experiencing a decline, but are experiencing a profound reorganization or “phase of renewal,” as Stefano Saccone, brand president at the Swedish ski and outdoor brand Peak Performance, puts it.
The transformation of the ski market
What exactly is being rearranged? A look at the ski regions provides information. “Skiing has become extremely expensive in recent years and is affordable for fewer and fewer people,” explains Hans Taubenberger from Toni Sailer. A ski pass now costs between 50 and 100 euros per day and person, plus increased accommodation and meal costs as well as the costs for equipment. Fewer and fewer people and families can and want to afford a ski holiday. Although skiing is losing importance as a popular sport and family event, it is increasingly positioning itself in the upper segment with greater internationalization and a growing importance of wealthy target groups.
In addition, the sport is increasingly shifting to high-altitude and snow-sure destinations such as Zermatt, St. Moritz or Lech Zürs am Arlberg. They combine several success factors: reliable snow conditions despite climate change, continuous investments in infrastructure and a diverse range of experiences that go far beyond skiing – from luxury hotels to culinary delights and upscale retail. The latter is now settling into the luxury hotels. The smaller, lower-lying ski areas, on the other hand, see their existence threatened in the long term due to the lack of snow security, the high costs of technical snowmaking and the lack of investment. Growth therefore comes no more from quantity than from value.
Retail is also being restructured
This shift is clearly evident in retail. “The number of dealers in the lowlands has changed significantly,” explains Taubenberger. “In medium-sized cities and beyond the ski areas, there are fewer and fewer retailers who buy ski clothing.” While a few years ago the company still supplied around 20 retailers throughout Germany, today it only supplies the five large key accounts, such as Sport Schuster in Munich and Breuninger in Stuttgart. At the same time, sales have clearly shifted: Toni Sailer Sports now generates 80 percent of sales in the ski areas, only 20 percent in the cities. “There was a big shift,” said Taubenberger. The growing online business further reinforces this trend.
Regional decoupling ensures value retention
This development even has advantages. To be honest, ski clothing no longer fit well with the seasonal rhythms of retailers outside the ski areas. When the first reductions start before Christmas in the lowlands because the spring goods are just around the corner, the winter season is finally just beginning in the ski areas. Businesses in ski destinations have long complained about these distorted competitive conditions. With this regional shift in trade structure, it is at least more likely that ski goods will retain their value for a longer period of time. The aim is to deliver the goods as early as possible.
Taubenberger: “We deliver very early. The goods are already available at the beginning of September,” he says and even describes the early delivery date as the “secret of success”. At high altitudes, the ski season often starts in autumn or, thanks to glaciers, skiing is possible all year round. Anyone who already has new goods in the store will build up a good sales cushion right at the start of the season. “We had a winter break at the end of September and sold well. Then the mood is immediately positive,” he reports on the progress of the current season.
New competitors represent the attractiveness of the market
The fact that the ski market is still attractive is demonstrated by the many fashion brands that now regularly present ski capsule collections – from luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton, Prada and Dior to the fashion chain H&M. Other brands work with ski legends, such as Ferragamo with Alberto Tomba, or they open their own stores with ski capsules in ski resorts, such as Loro Piana in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Hans Taubenberger, whose company is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, welcomes this competition. “When brands like this invest in ski collections, it shows that it is an interesting segment. We are relaxed because we are much more functional and have many years of experience.”
Other ski brands see it similarly. Stefano Saccone from Peak Performance says: “The more brands enter this area, the more the relevance of the segment is underlined.” However, he is talking less about fashion brands pushing into skiing than about the growing differentiation of the ski market. “While traditional brands continue to shape the industry, we are seeing an influx of newcomers – particularly in piste skiing – bringing a fresh aesthetic and tapping into the growing, lifestyle-oriented consumer base.” It is precisely this increasing number of newcomers that he means when he speaks of “the phase of renewal” above.
The differentiation of sport
This specialization and the emergence of new brands have their origins in skiing itself. Martin Lien from Norrøna specifies: “We often talk about the ‘strong ski culture’ with which we identify. However, in reality we encounter a multitude of different subcultures, each of which has its own interests, perspectives, identity characteristics, opinions, desires, needs and visions.” There are top athletes, ski touring enthusiasts – with and without ice axes or crampons -, classic piste skiers, snowboarders, freeskiers and those who like to take the lift to the summit, but from there hike 200 meters in altitude with skins before swinging back down to the valley in the deep snow. They all have different technical requirements for their clothing, which sometimes has to be as light and breathable as possible and sometimes needs more insulation – for example when riding a lift.
And the design. Even the snowboard pioneer brand Burton, which revolutionized skiing at the end of the 1970s with the commercialization of the snowboard and reinvented it for a young target group, recognizes this further development and creates its own lines for new target groups. “Our designs are driven by how riders want to look and feel. One example is ours [ak]line (named after Alaska), which became a standalone collection in 2000 to provide super-technical gear to our top big mountain riders. [ak] “We were born out of necessity: as riders pushed deeper into the backcountry, they needed technical gear with an added style that represented them as snowboarders,” explains Mike Gratz, Creative Director of Product at Burton Snowboards.
Back to Nature as a counter-trend
Ultimately, the increased interest in off-piste skiing can also be understood as a reaction to the traditional ski world: Anyone who is no longer willing to pay high amounts for lift tickets every day and wants to avoid the classic skiing on the slopes is looking for alternatives – and finding them away from the groomed slopes. “Skiing in pristine snow has always been the Holy Grail of the ski world, but this is now becoming more popular than ever. Lift queues in popular ski resorts are getting longer and lift ticket prices are rising. This, combined with a general trend to seek peace and harmony in nature, clearly shows that backcountry skiing in its many forms will continue to grow in popularity,” believes Norrøna’s Martin Nien. Therefore, Norrøna not only supports its target group with the appropriate equipment, but also offers guided tours to untouched, spectacular ski areas in Norway and many other countries.
The backcountry becomes the opposite world of classic ski tourism: less infrastructure, less consumption, but more personal responsibility, nature experience and authenticity and therefore “in many ways the opposite of the digital world,” adds Stefano Saccone from Peak Performance. In all its different forms – from freeriding to ski touring – this area is developing into a dynamic segment of winter sports.
Olympia: A showcase for sport
The question remains whether and how the Winter Olympics in February contributed to interest in skiing? From the ski brands’ perspective, they play an important role in the visibility and emotionalization of winter sports. “Large international events are incredibly important to us – not just as a company, but for snowboarding as a whole. Every four years we have the unique opportunity to show the world what it really means to be a snowboarder,” says Mike Gratz from Burton. “They are an international festival and a showcase for winter sports,” says Martin Lien from Norrøna, even if this can rarely be measured in concrete sales growth.
The fashion industry also specifically used the Winter Olympics to put itself in the spotlight – similar to the Summer Games in Paris in 2024. Numerous collaborations and sponsorship contracts with teams and top athletes show how strongly fashion companies now see sport as a stage, and the detailed reporting on the athletes’ outfits proves them right.
It is therefore unlikely that winter sports will be prematurely defeated by climate change.
