Salomon Snow Goggles 2024/25 Preview

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

What are the main customers’ demands when buying snow goggles?
There are several criteria taken into account when buying goggles:
Lens versatility is the main one including easy lens interchangeability with magnetic system, photochromic and high contrast lenses to offer the best vision possible whatever the weather conditions. Salomon has a wide lens range offer to cover all needs and its anti-fog coating also ensures a crystal-clear vision to users.
Style whether in terms of design, lens curve, frame or lens colors.
Comfort is also essential. A good goggle is one that you can forget, that adapts to your face shape, that doesn’t create pressure points, that offers a seamless integration with the helmet, etc.
Finally, it’s all about offering products that offer good value for money. Salomon’s wide range of products allows to meet the needs and budgets of everyone.

What were your biggest sellers in 2023/24? Why?
Sentry, the brand-new franchise for winter 23/24, has been successful since its launch, particularly with a younger and more “core” target, both on freeski and snowboard segments, which was one of our objectives for the season.
Overall, cylindrical goggles are still on the rise and our best sellers Aksium (renewed in 2021) and S/View styles continue to drive sales.
Our new spherical RADIUM franchise with its advanced technologies and wide field of vision also performs very well.

What type of snow goggles from your 2024/2025 collection do you expect to grow the most?
Once again, it is on the Sentry franchise that we are banking on. The range will be extended with new models (Sentry Pro S, Sentry Pro OTG) to cover a wider target audience (teenagers, women or men, skiers or snowboarders, glasses wearers or not). The different price levels of Sentry goggles also allow us to “play” on the technology toolbox and be able to offer products that meet everyone’s needs.

RADIUM PRO png

What are the technical highlights of your 2024/25 collection?
We’ll for sure continue to highlight Salomon’s innovative Sigma lens technology that significantly amplifies color contrast on snow by adding 2 new category 1 lenses, Sigma Light Blue and Sigma Clear Pink. The Sigma range is now made up of 12 lenses, including photochromic cat.1-3 but also cat.3, 2 and 1 to cover our consumers’ needs in all weather conditions and offer a wide choice of colors to suit everyone’s style.
We also have a strong magnetic offer with 2 high-end models: Radium Prime and Sentry Prime. The lens changing system is super easy and intuitive to use. The Sentry Prime is featuring a locking system to secure the lens. And because 42% of goggles are replaced due to scratched lenses, it also comes with a foldable and magnetic lens protector so the goggles can stay protected and clean when not in use.

What construction techniques and materials are you using in your 2024/25 goggle collection?
All our models are built with 100% PU frames, a durable and flexible material for durability and maximum comfort.

What colours and designs are you featuring in your 2024/25 collection? Any standout collaborations?
For this season, a huge work has been done on cross-merchandising to ensure a consistency in the range and a transversality of the colorways between the models.
We have kept our basics and the “free” colors added last season which worked pretty well (Rainy Day, Olive Night, North Atlantic…). We have nevertheless refreshed the offer with the addition of more feminine colorways (Evening Haze, Pink) and unisex ones (Grape Shake) to offer plenty of possibility in terms of combos.
Also, in order to ensure consistency between the different winter sport categories here at Salomon, we developed colors linked to the main snowboard and ski seasonal stories (Hucknife for SNB, Echo for freeski and Addikt for on-piste).
Finally, following the success of the FW23 Nico Vuignier capsule collection, we have renewed the goggles offer with 2 new references inspiring by Nico’s universe.

SENTRY PRIME

Are you implementing sustainability in your products and production processes?
Today, all of our goggles frames are made from PU, a fully recyclable material.
It seems complicated to us today to develop a fully recyclable goggle, given the number of different materials included in the product and the difficulty to dismantle it, but our R&D team is working hard to find more sustainable solutions.
Sustainability also means offering products that last longer and as 42% of goggles are replaced due to scratched lenses, we worked on a magnetic lens protector compatible with our Sentry Prime goggles. So your goggle can stay protected and clean when not in use. We also have a wide lens aftermarket offer so consumers can easily replace their lens without changing their goggles.
Last but not least, since FW21 already, all our packaging has been redesigned with a more eco-responsible approach. Boxes, user manuals and hangtags are now made of FSC certified paper and we removed all the polybags as per our “no more plastic” objective.

What are your marketing stories for 2024/25?
Regarding goggles, our main focus will be on the Sentry Franchise which we have just strengthened with the addition of a size S model and an OTG version.
It is all about unifying skiers and snowboarders, men & women, glasses wearers or not, around the central feeling that they get when flying down the snow. The fun it brings. No matter your sport or even the shape of your face, there exists a Sentry goggle tailored to suit your needs.
We will also continue to highlight our Sigma lens technology and the associated lens offer which expands from year to year and today includes 12 different versions – photochromic, category 3, 2 and 1.

How are you helping retailers to sell this category?
Dedicated training book and catalog are provided to our sales force and retailers bringing together detailed information on products, technologies…
We offer a full range of PoP materials highlighting Salomon’s key products and explaining and demonstrating our technologies (Sigma lens selector, Custom ID fit demotool…). Dedicated protective content have also been developed for the retailers to be able to create a real universe around our products in shops (visuals and videos).

SENTRY PRO