Key Takeaways:
- Arc’teryx revenue jumped 32% and Salomon-led Outdoor Performance revenue jumped 37% in the second quarter.
- Arc’teryx is entering Dick’s Sporting Goods for the first time, with 15 House of Sport locations this fall.
- Salomon and Arc’teryx are both expanding wholesale partnerships with major retailers.
Arc’teryx and Salomon are having a moment. Amer Sports, Inc.’s two flagship brands both posted strong double-digit growth in the second quarter, and both are now pushing further into wholesale, though each is coming at it from a different starting point. Arc’teryx has leaned on direct-to-consumer growth for years and is now adding more wholesale doors, while Salomon, which executives said was long seen as a wholesale-first brand, is using new wholesale doors as one piece of a broader push toward an omnichannel model.
Arc’teryx is entering Dick’s Sporting Goods for the first time, with 15 select House of Sport locations set to carry the brand in shop-in-shop formats this fall.
Salomon, meanwhile, is expanding its wholesale footprint with Nordstrom, JD Sports and Foot Locker.
Salomon CEO Guillaume Meyzenq said on the call that its U.S. wholesale approach is deliberately selective, prioritizing a handful of top-performing doors in key U.S. cities over broad distribution. Meyzenq said Salomon has previously been seen as reliant mainly on wholesale, or B2B, and that the brand is now building toward a true omnichannel model, one that combines owned stores, e-commerce and selective wholesale partnerships.
Arc’teryx
Arc’teryx-led Technical Apparel revenue grew 32% to $674 million in the quarter, or 30% on a constant-currency basis, reflecting 17% omni-comp growth. Direct-to-consumer sales expanded 34% while wholesale grew 27%.
All four regions posted strong double-digit growth, led by Asia Pacific, with accelerating growth in EMEA and the Americas. Women’s was the fastest-growing category, with newness and seasonal colorways driving more than 60% of women’s sales in the quarter.
The brand opened eight net new stores in the quarter and plans 30 to 35 net new stores for the full year across all markets, including a two-level, 7,000-square-foot flagship opened in Chengdu, China.
Arc’teryx now operates about 140 stores in Greater China, with management seeing potential for 200 long term. In North America, the brand operates 75 stores, with room seen for 200 over time.
In EMEA, still Arc’teryx’s most under-penetrated market, the brand opened locations in Oslo and Copenhagen and now operates 19 stores, with potential for more than 75 long term.
The Dick’s Sporting Goods partnership marks a new wholesale channel for Arc’teryx in the U.S., with the House of Sport locations emphasizing outerwear and footwear.
Arc’teryx CEO Stuart Haselden said on the call, “D2C has been critical and a massive catalyst for our growth around the world,” while noting wholesale still plays an important role in placing the brand alongside comparable premium labels. Haselden described the brand’s U.S. approach as building awareness in major urban “epicenters” such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, paired with a “mountain town” push in places like Aspen and Park City.
Salomon
Salomon-led Outdoor Performance revenue grew 37% to $569 million, or 35% on a constant-currency basis. Direct-to-consumer sales grew 52%, reflecting new doors and higher productivity, while wholesale grew 25% on strong sell-through and reorders.
The segment posted a 28% omni-comp, with growth led by Asia Pacific and Greater China and accelerating growth in the Americas and EMEA.
In Greater China, Salomon opened 13 net new stores in the quarter, bringing its store count to 315 doors, with management seeing potential for 400 to 500 doors over time. The brand plans 45 net new Greater China stores for the year.
Salomon also opened seven net new stores across Japan, Korea and Australia in the quarter.
In the Americas, Salomon opened its first North America flagship, a footwear and apparel store on Fifth Avenue in New York’s Flatiron District, and plans a Beverly Hills opening in October. The brand also highlighted continued strong performance at its existing Upper West Side store in Manhattan.
The brand also signed global superstar Jisoo as a brand ambassador during the quarter, a campaign the company said reached nearly 1 billion consumers across social platforms.
The Rest of the Portfolio
Wilson-led Ball & Racquet Sports grew 24% to $390 million in the quarter, led by continued momentum in Wilson Tennis 360, new racket launches including the Blade v10 and the Defyer, and expanded distribution in Dick’s Sporting Goods, where Tennis 360 is now in 450 stores.
The Bigger Picture
Amer Sports posted total second-quarter revenue of $1.63 billion, up 32%. The company raised its full-year 2026 forecast for reported revenue growth to about 24%, up from a prior range of 20% to 22%, and raised its adjusted diluted earnings-per-share forecast to $1.27 to $1.30, up from $1.18 to $1.23.
CEO James Zheng said on the call that the company’s portfolio of sports and outdoor brands is unique in the marketplace, adding that Arc’teryx, Salomon Softgoods and Wilson Tennis 360 all remain relatively small businesses with substantial room to grow.
