Salomon Footwear Sparks 42% Revenue Surge for Amer Sports’ Outdoor Segment in Q1 2026
20/May/2026
Amer Sports Inc. reported a blockbuster first quarter for its Outdoor Performance segment, driven by what CEO James Zheng described as another “outstanding quarter” from Salomon Softgoods.
The quarterly surge was overwhelmingly powered by global momentum in footwear—even within the historically challenging North American market—alongside an aggressive worldwide expansion of owned retail stores, particularly in Greater China.
The Outdoor Performance segment saw total Q1 revenues jump 42% year-over-year to $714 million, while its adjusted operating profit margin expanded by 480 basis points to reach 20.4%.
The Salomon Footwear Engine
Salomon Softgoods are on track to represent 75% of the Outdoor Performance segment by the end of 2026, a massive leap from 54% in 2022. Brand executives attribute this trajectory to a perfect storm of retail expansion and "brand heat" across both casual and elite athletic lines.
“The investments we are making to grow Salomon brand awareness and the distribution footprint are paying off, as Salomon footwear momentum is expanding across regions, channels — and in both Sportstyle and Performance,” noted CEO James Zheng.
Amer Sports highlighted two distinct pillars driving footwear demand:
Sportstyle Momentum: Casual, high-fashion outdoor sneakers like the XT-6 and XT-Whisper are successfully capturing younger and female demographics.
Performance Running: The new GRVL (gravel running) franchise is unlocking the specialty run category across North America and Europe, supported by high-performance drops like the ultra-lightweight S/LAB Phantasm 3 and the Aero Glide 4.
Global Retail Execution & The "Arc’teryx Playbook"
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) revenues for the segment skyrocketed 57% year-over-year, anchored by a 29% omni-comp growth rate spanning both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce.
Amer Sports is heavily leaning into an "epicenter strategy," focusing retail expansion on high-profile global metropolitan hubs including Paris, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles.
Greater China & APAC
Greater China stood out as Salomon's fastest-growing region. Amer Sports raised its full-year guidance for the region, now expecting to open 45 net new stores in Greater China this year (up from the 35 projected last quarter).
Following a playbook successfully deployed for sister-brand Arc’teryx, Amer is prioritizing larger-format, highly productive spaces. This quarter featured the opening of an 8,000-square-foot Salomon Flagship in Beijing’s premium Chaoyang Hopson One shopping center. The brand finished the quarter with 302 total doors in Greater China. Meanwhile, APAC saw five net new store openings across the sophisticated sneaker markets of Japan and Korea.
The Americas & EMEA
In the United States, Amer Sports is initiating a highly strategic wholesale expansion. While deepening relationships with existing partners like Nordstrom and REI, Salomon footwear is making its first calculated moves into select doors at Foot Locker and JD Sports.
On the retail front, Salomon recently opened an Upper West Side location in New York City, with a Flatiron District store slated next, alongside its first-ever location in Mexico City. The company plans to add 7 to 10 new Salomon shops across the Americas in 2026.
In Europe, the brand expanded its footprint with a highly successful first brand store in Copenhagen, Denmark, with further epicenter expansions planned for Spain, Germany, and the UK later this year.
Channel / Sub-Segment | Y/Y Growth | Key Drivers |
Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) | +57% | New door openings, high store productivity, surging global e-commerce traffic. |
Wholesale | +34% | Strong consumer sell-through and high reorder volumes for softgoods. |
Winter Sports Equipment (WSE) | "Solid Performance" | Alpine en piste market held healthy despite low snow in the Western US; cross-country and touring remain pressured post-COVID. |
Financial Outlook
Fueled by the portfolio's collective strength, Amer Sports' management noted that strong margins at the group level give them the unique flexibility to aggressively fund early-stage growth vectors like Salomon sneakers and Wilson Tennis 360.
For the full year 2026, Amer Sports expects the Outdoor Performance segment to achieve 22% to 24% year-over-year revenue growth, outpacing overall company growth expectations of 20% to 22%. Full-year operating margins for the segment are projected to land between 15.0% and 15.5%.
