Head Snow Goggles 2024/25 Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Snow Goggles 2024/25 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Head
Interviewee: Head Marketing

What are the main customers’ demands when buying snow goggles?
Firstly innovative lens technologies that improve the consumer’s vision in alpine light and any weather conditions – precisely because this is a safety aspect.
Furthermore, maximum field of vision and anti-fog treatment play a big role in not missing any detail in front of and around you. This also goes hand in hand with safety in winter sports.
Last but not least, the goggle’s design also plays a decisive role even at the lowest price points – one prefers a frame, and the other attaches more importance to the straps or the lens color and mirror. Offering a good product mix here for all ages, all genders, and every style and taste is crucial.

What were your biggest sellers in 2023/24? Why?
Our best-seller in season 23/24 was the CONTEX platform. This goggle has a timeless and modern look with its frame design and offers excellent anti-fog properties. There are different models available: the PHOTO models come with a photochromatic lens, the PRO models come with a Laminated Double Lens and our innovative 5K lens technology, and the standard versions with a standard double lens and mirror coating for the smaller wallet. With the development of the CONTEX platform, we fully focused on offering high-tech, stylish products packed with features at price points between 80-140 EUR! All CONTEX models will be available in three sizes, small, medium, and large, because size matters! The sales figures show that this is what a lot of customers are looking for. Introducing specific CONTEX models for kids, only available in size S, allowed us to also increase the sales figures in the youth segment.
Besides that, the F-LYT platform counts as our biggest seller in 23/24. It is the follow-up model of our very popular SOLAR goggles that received an ISPO Award for a reason. Both are slim-line, very lightweight goggles with a frame-free construction and supreme anti-fog and UV protection. The face foam is fitted directly onto a toric double lens, creating the perfect goggle for style-conscious, fun- time winter sports enthusiasts with a small wallet or for touring as it fits perfectly into the jacket’s pocket. The F-LYT is available, in two sizes, medium and large, and available in four trendy colors with full-mirror coated lenses for bright weather conditions but also one bad weather option.

What type of snow goggles from your 2024/2025 collection do you expect to grow the most?
We expect the biggest growth in the mid-price range of goggles. Therefore we also developed our new NEVES goggles for season 24/25 to cater to this demand of models that don’t blow the budget but still feature plenty of features.

CONTEX_RETHINK

What are the technical highlights of your 2024/25 collection?
LDL Laminated Double Lens: For a standard double lens construction, an inner lens is glued to an outer lens. The space between the lenses reduces the angle of the field of vision. For LDL, the inner lens is laminated directly onto the outer lens. Therefore, there is no more space between the lenses which increases the field of vision by 15%.
5K Lens Technology: The challenging and ever-changing weather and light conditions on the mountain require lenses that help you to see crystal clear in any conditions. This is why we invented 5K lens technology. Lens technology is based on the principle of filtering the incoming, visible light and optimizing the perception of color and contrast. Depending on the purpose of a specific lens, those filter characteristics are different and are reflected in the transmission curve. The most important factor in defining the characteristics of the lens is the lens dye. Depending on the formula of the dye, the filter characteristics can be optimized to only focus on specific wavelengths of the visual light spectrum, hence controlling brightness, color brilliance, and contrast. The formula for this lens dye is the highest brand asset –
HEAD’s formula is called 5K. 5K is featured in several goggle platforms and is available in several lens tints, depending on the light conditions on the mountain.
Photochromic Lens: Photochromic lenses automatically adapt their lens tone between categories S1 to S3, depending on the weather conditions. The lens is toned down in bright, sunny conditions and allows more light to enter the eyes in cloudy, overcast weather conditions.
Dynamic Ventilation System: The ventilation system is designed to allow air to enter the goggles from three sides, therefore creating an airstream that assures a perfect climate inside the goggles.
Optimized Traction Straps: The strap outlets of this goggle are placed in the front, therefore assuring a snug and secure fit when worn together with a helmet, by optimizing the traction applied.

What construction techniques and materials are you using in your 2024/25 goggle collection?
Meanwhile, we offer several goggle platforms in multiple sizes, including our latest goggle model NEVES. Every person is different, and so are their facial proportions resulting in different goggle sizes required. The right size can have an impact on safety as well as perfect integration into the helmet. Size matters.
Also new is that we use sustainable and recycled raw materials in goggles production, resulting in products with a lower carbon footprint. (cf. 7. below)

What colours and designs are you featuring in your 2024/25 collection? Any standout collaborations?
We keep on following our Intermix Design strategy which we initially introduced last season. Throughout the whole range, any helmet can be matched with any goggles. Next to seasonal trend colors, like earthy, warmish tones or also eye-catching, loud colors, a variety of timeless classics will be available, making for over 600 possible combinations. Thus, everyone finds his or her perfect combination of helmets and goggles!

NEVES

Are you implementing sustainability in your products and production processes?
We at HEAD call it Rethink: we rethink our workflows from the beginning to the end – from developing to packaging. By reducing waste and using natural, recycled, and certified raw materials and processes, we are on a good way, but we are only at the beginning.
For season 24/25 we introduce our first sustainable goggle models CONTEX RETHINK and NEVES RETHINK. Their frame is made from 30% bio-based TPU from leftover corn stalks, their textile straps are made from 100% recycled yarn, and of course, we are using 100% recycled cardboard packaging only and avoid using any polybags. This is the status that we can achieve today with our partners without the product performance decreasing or the product becoming unattractive in terms of price. And we are working on developing even more and even better Rethink goggles in the future.
Besides the sustainable goggle models, we adapted all our packaging by only using certified cardboard boxes, and for printing, we only use water-based ink, both for better recycling. In addition, concerning goggle’s packaging, we consciously do it without any plastic see-through windows.
In terms of professional athlete supply, we have also do steps that have resulted in great resource savings. By offering bulk packs of goggles and lenses the following packaging add-ons are no longer included: a printed user manual for each item, sparelens, hangtags, stickers, and a separate EVA case. The last is most of the time not needed anyway, as athletes usually only need one case to carry the goggles in their backpack up the mountain or they’ll get a convenient goggle bag from us to store all their different goggles and lenses at once.

What are your marketing stories for 2024/25?
Sustainable goggles CONTEX RETHINK & NEVES RETHINK (cf. 7. above)Introducing our seventh goggle platform NEVES featuring unlimited visibility, seamless integration and proportional sizing. (cf. 11 below) Intermix Design (cf. 6. above)

How are you helping retailers to sell this category?
Some of the world’s best athletes use HEAD goggles – so our products are always and everywhere highly represented.
In addition, we provide our retailers with high-quality content, including info and videos about products, features, technologies, fit, and use helping them to present and sell HEAD goggles to their customers.
Furthermore, we offer high-quality, durable, and sustainable POS items such as metal branded goggle slat wall holders, highlight counter displays, and much more to highlight our products in the stores.
Regarding the line structure, we have increased the number of carry-over products and multi-seasonal colors, based on our Intermix Design strategy. By doing so, we offer our partners the option to sell our goggle line in multiple seasons without the pressure to close out.
But nothing beats putting the goggles in the hands of the customer and letting them try themselves to see features like the outstanding wide field of vision or our contrast-enhancing lens, depending on what the customer is looking for or his/her available budget.

What is your situation regarding stock and deliveries?
Thanks to introducing early order cycles, the goods reached our warehouses on time and we are now working hard to deliver them to our dealers and partners right before the start of the season and are well positioned for the sell-in 24/25.

F-LYT