From the Ashes of Bankruptcy: SGN Skis Relaunches With a Bet on Swedish Manufacturing

Three months after its parent company was declared bankrupt, Norwegian freeride and ski-touring brand SGN Skis is back — leaner, Scandinavian-focused, and betting its future on a small ski factory across the border in Åre, Sweden.

A quiet collapse, a quick restart

SGN Skis, founded in 2012 in the small mountain town of Sogndal, was formally declared bankrupt on June 18, 2026, according to Norwegian business registry records. The brand had built a following among backcountry and freeride skiers over 14 years, but by this summer the original company could no longer keep going.

What followed was unusually fast for a ski brand: within weeks, founder and CEO Marius Feen was already negotiating a new company to buy up the old one's assets, including its entire remaining inventory. Feen, who returns as CEO of the new entity, described the move as a fresh start rather than a start from scratch — the team is keeping the customer relationships, dealer network, and ambassador roster built up over more than a decade, while stripping the business down to a much smaller core. Where the old SGN employed four people, the new company will run with two, leaning more heavily on the hours put in by founders, investors, and ambassadors.

Feen has been candid about why the old structure failed: raising capital for the relaunch took longer than expected, because ski manufacturing is capital-intensive and finding the right investors takes time. The timing is also difficult industry-wide — ski sales have roughly halved since the pandemic-era boom, according to Feen's comments to Norwegian outlet Fri Flyt.

The bigger shift: production moves to Sweden

The most consequential change isn't corporate — it's geographic. SGN is consolidating all of its manufacturing in Scandinavia, shifting volume that had been produced in Asia over to Åre Skidfabrik, the Swedish factory that already makes roughly 60% of SGN's skis. The company's stated goal is to reach 100% Scandinavian production by autumn 2027.

Åre Skidfabrik is not a new partner for SGN — the two have worked together since at least the mid-2010s, when SGN was one of several Norwegian brands (alongside Stereo Skis and Moonlight Mountain Gear) that first shifted production to the Swedish facility. Billed as the only alpine ski factory in Scandinavia, Åre Skidfabrik has spent the past several years investing in more efficient, higher-precision equipment and touts a low-carbon manufacturing process powered by local hydropower. The factory will now also take on warehousing and distribution for SGN, a move the companies say should shorten lead times and make it easier to adjust production to demand mid-season — with shorter shipping routes and a more local supply chain as added selling points.

What stays the same

For skiers, the relaunch is designed to feel mostly invisible. SGN is keeping its dealer networks in Norway and Sweden, along with its roster of sponsored athletes, including Benjamin Forthun, Asbjørn Eggebø Næss, and Martin Venedik. Sogndal remains the hub for product development and testing, unchanged from before the bankruptcy. The company's first ski under the new structure, an all-mountain freeride model called "Streifar," is designed to work with most standard bindings.

The bigger picture

SGN's story is a small but telling data point in a ski industry still working through a post-pandemic hangover. Demand spiked when outdoor sports boomed during COVID-era lockdowns, then cooled sharply as spending patterns normalized — leaving smaller, capital-intensive manufacturers exposed just as costs and competition both rose. SGN's answer — shrinking the company, regionalizing supply chains, and leaning on an established Scandinavian manufacturing partner rather than lower-cost production abroad — reflects a broader trend of niche outdoor brands trying to make "local and small" a viable business model rather than just a marketing line.

Whether that bet pays off will depend on something no relaunch announcement can promise: skiers actually buying skis again.