ROSSIGNOL SNOWBOARDS F/W 2025/26 PREVIEW

Retail Buyers Guide: Snowboards F/W 2025/26 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Rossignol
Interviewee: ARNAUD REPA / SNB CATEGORY MGMT

How was last season in the snowboard market?
Despite a glorious end of 23/24 season sales and global resiliency, the growing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events and geo-political tensions negatively impacted 24/25 pre-orders. Even if enthusiasm remains high and hotel reservations are promising, everything will depend on the snow level. In Europe, but also in North America and Asia since these regions have become all the more important than Europe is just recovering from the covid years. The number of riding days may, as a consequence of snow scarcity, decrease in favor of other investments or activities depending on private budget. Which explains the shift to splitboarding, both from an individual and brand standpoint. But the splitboard market is a reflection of a geographical shift in the consumption of winter sports equipment, with the vast majority happening in areas that are in close vicinity of the mountains. And the rise of step-in and semi-automatic bindings did not contribute to offset the negative trend since the problem is neither coming from the products, nor from their availability.

With the recent overall price increases, have there been any positive developments in manufacturing, sourcing, or logistics?
We developed a three-season inventory and sales management plan that is monitored every month. Meaning optimized stock distribution across countries, direct shipping from the factories, reduced buying targets, minimized end-of-season discounts, anticipated product availability, therefore development, and rationalized production (ie. managing raw material and scrap inventories to optimize stock monetization and profitability). We haven’t been able to relocate some of our production due to MOQs and raw materials availability across the planet but the factories we work with are as conscious as we are of the need to be flexible, from capacity to country of origin, and lower their environmental impact with the rise of the mass balance approach to accelerate the use of renewable feedstocks in chemical processes. Which allowed us to joint our raw materials purchasing across our factories and access cheaper products. Therefore to reduce our wholesale and retail prices on the associated products, snowboards in particular. I will add that our Resource Planning (ERP) and Product Lifecycle Mgmt (PLM) softwares are also key to superior development and supply chain management.

What are the major trends you’re seeing with product pricing in the snowboard market?
The rise of the mass balance approach is accelerating the use of renewable feedstocks in chemical processes. Along with the ongoing trend of staying away from varnishes and the recent development of recycled bases, sidewalls and edges, we are able to joint our raw materials purchasing across our factories and access cheaper products. Therefore to reduce our wholesale and retail prices on the associated products, snowboards in particular.

E-commerce Vs. physical retail, how are you balancing both channels?
E-commerce sales are growing, very slowly, with the rise of B-grades, second hands and rental of new or used product offers. But the vast majority of sales are physical.

How are you supporting retailers to sell this category?
Accurate MSRPs, improved margin program, early deliveries, demo days and last, but not least, size and model swaps.

What unique brand messages are you focusing on for the 2025/2026 snowboard season?
Choose responsibly. From MSRP to margin, quality, durability, low-carbon footprint, style, delivery, after sales service, assortment and team riders who endorse our products, our snowboard program is tight.

SNOWBOARD SPECIFIC

What trends or developments are you seeing with regards to board construction, shapes, and general innovation? How is this shaping your 25/26 range?
Innovation will come from manufacturing processing, organizational behavior and renewable feedstocks as much as from board construction and shapes with the urge to reduce our carbon footprint, control pricing while addressing the full spectrum of consumers. From an industry standpoint, anticipated product availability, therefore development, and rationalized production, ie. managing raw material and scrap inventories to optimize stock monetization and profitability, are growing with manufacturing concentration. The need for flexibility, from capacity to country of origin, and low environmental impact with the rise of the mass balance approach will accelerate the use of renewable feedstocks in chemical processes. From a shape and construction standpoint, the possibilities are endless and creativity is the only limit. Splitboarding is probably the category with the biggest room for development but genderless models and junior snowboarding are the fastest growing categories. Which also explains our recent development of boards that cover a wider range of consumers, from a gender, terrain, level and style standpoint.

Anything new concerning sustainability and related products or construction you would like to highlight?
98% of our boards integrate FSC woodcores, 85% of our snowboards’ artworks are DDPied, i.e. no use of aluminum frames, silk screens and water for cleansing. And 70% of our topsheets do not have any varnish coating.

Are you using any new materials in your hardware for 25/26? If so, what and why? We’re interested in anything new in inserts / edges / cores / sidewalls / glue / resin/ wood types / base material / top sheet / wax / etc..
We are using a two-component epoxy system with biobased content of resin and curing agent in the Revenant to provide superior stability through time, improved durability, better flex control and higher resistance to torsion.

Are you planning to focus on a special product range or type of customers? What’s your newest range?
We commit to the mountains and have built products to help people access them in the easiest and most rewarding way since 1987. Everyone can ride our products and we will continue to make sure everyone gets the most out of them. While we will focus on Xavier De Le Rue new splitboard offer (see description below) during sell-in and sell-out campaigns, we will also market our freshly revamped kids, junior, beginner and advanced lines. Xavier De Le Rue’s signature All-mountain Freeride model XV Slashimi explained. Featuring our award winning L.I.T.E. Grip core, AmpTek Elite camber profile and on-demand sidecut radius adjustment RadCut. Designed like a twin freeride board, it is narrower, thus lighter, than Xavier De Le Rue’s signature Sashimi, while having more tail, shorter sidecut radiuses, the same camber and a smaller pintail. Making it perfectly fit for the intermediate to expert all-mountain rider looking for a loose, playful twin-like feeling in the powder and a highly reliable board for full send mode, carving on packed snow, traversing on ice or simply cruising around. As Xavier De Le Rue puts it: “It’s the perfect everyday board with a huge freeride capacity.”

Key Products:

XV Slashimi:
3 times FWT winner Xavier De Le Rue’s signature model brings fun to seriousness. The XV Slashimi not only floats perfectly and is very nimble in any given terrain, it is also easier to ride on the edge than XV’s previous pro-models, while having more grip on tail. It is the perfect everyday board with a huge freeride capacity.

2025_XV SLASHIMI SPLIT

Revenant:
The Revenant is packed with a 90% camber pocket to deliver more pop and next-generation all-mountain freestyle performance. Combined with RadCut sidecut technology, Serrated Edges and Twin All-Mountain core profile, the board is steadfast in all conditions, provides more precision on traverse and carving on groomed snow, while ensuring more grip on hardpack and improved shock absorption on landings.

2025_REVENANT

Diva:
Endorsed by Marion Haerty, the Diva comes with an aggressive true twin bluntness shape that screams All-Mountain Freestyle performance, a strong twin freestyle flex and award-winning Serrated Edges to bite down on firm snow and ice while our industry-first L.I.T.E. Frame technology ensures full-length shock absorption and stability for playful board control and the ultimate, go-anywhere women’s all-mountain ride.

2025_DIVA