Ogden, UT – In a move announced today that’s a first for the ski industry, Amer Sports Winter and Outdoor Americas, parent company to ski brands Salomon and Atomic, will launch a new winter sports equipment ecommerce platform in the U.S. in the fall of 2012. The online purchasing program, dubbed Ski Link, is designed to offer consumers global shopping options with local service benefits.

Developed in cooperation with American retail partners, the web-based Ski Link is dsigned to create a unique cooperation with specialty retailers that will increase consumer traffic and sales through specialty retail doors, in direct competition with Internet discounters. The individual U.S. brand websites for Salomon and Atomic will each host Ski Link. They’ll provide information on Salomon and Atomic products, refer consumers to local dealers through an online locator to encourage consumers to buy locally, and allow consumers to order products immediately online which will be fulfilled and transacted through the retailer of the consumer’s choice. The retailer will complete the sale as well as prepare and ready the equipment for use.

“As we have developed our Winter Sports Equipment ecommerce strategy, our first priority has been to enhance the overall experience for the consumer with the Salomon and Atomic brands without moving business away from our retail partners’ balance sheets,” says Jeff Snyder, Amer Sports Global Director of Ecommerce. “In fact our platform will drive new traffic directly to our retailers.”

“With the Ski Link model, specialty retailers are positioned squarely at the center of the equipment transaction,”adds Mike Adams, Winter Sports Equipment VP and Commercial Director for Amer Sports Winter and Outdoor Americas. “This represents the first and only Internet strategy in the winter sports equipment space that enables online product exposure for our brands without compromising the specialty retailers’ role or opportunity in managing consumer relationships.”