Craft Sportswear has signed a 5-year contract with the Norwegian Ski Federation, meaning that the skiers of the world’s most successful national cross-country ski team will race and train in Craft apparel as of 2022.
“Craft has for several decades been a world leader in the design and development of cross-country ski clothing. The partnership with NSF is one of our biggest investments ever in this category and gives us a great opportunity to further strengthen our market position both in Norway and internationally”, says Craft’s CEO Stefan Persson. “The skiers on the Norwegian national team will wear our latest and most innovative garments, items that will also be made exclusively from sustainable materials.”
Craft is represented in more than 50 markets worldwide and is currently experiencing strong growth. The main markets are Scandinavia, Germany, Benelux, USA and Canada.
“Cross-country skiing is one of our biggest and most important categories and we see great potential in increasing our impact and presence in the Norwegian market”, says New Wave Norway’s CEO Tom Henriksen. “The opportunity to collaborate with the world’s leading ski nation combined with our international experience provides a perfect platform for us to build our brand in Norway. We have several interesting initiatives planned for the coming five-year period, plans that also include the areas B2B, Club and D2C.”
The partnership means that Craft will supply the Norwegian skiers with apparel for racing and training as well as with running shoes and training wear for the summer season.
“Norwegian cross-country skiing is privileged in that we have already secured a new strong apparel partner for the years after the Olympic season 2022. The new five-year contract is a long-term and important partnership for Norwegian cross-country skiing. Craft has had solid progress for the past few years, and they will also make sure that our team is wearing clothes that as far as possible are made of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials,” says Norway’s national team manager Espen Bjervig.
The partnership between Craft and the Norwegian Ski Federation begins in 2022 and will last for at least five years.