Beverly, MA – Ski maker Karhu Holding has awarded Startex Oy of Lahti, Finland, the exclusive licensing rights to the Karhu ski brand.

“With the addition of the ski rights, Karhu Holding now controls both a growing footwear and a growing ski business,” says Huub Valkenburg, CEO of Karhu Holding. “We can now look to future with complete confidence.”

Karhu Holding is the owner of the Karhu ski brand and Karhu Nordic AB, its distribution company in Sweden. Startex is the current footwear agent for Karhu Nordic in Finland.  Startex will now market both Karhu footwear and skis in Finland, and will coordinate the Karhu ski distribution in the Nordic and European region in close cooperation with Karhu Nordic and its current Startex partners.

“The Karhu ski brand has tremendous credibility and is a natural fit for our business model. Over the past several years, Karhu skis, ski boots and poles have seen significant growth and we look forward to continuing the momentum,”  said Jukka Jarvinen, CEO of Startex Oy.

Jarvinen continued that the Karhu ski brand is also a natural complement to Startex’ own Start Wax and Pole product lines.  Startex Oy has appointed Harri Alaltonen, currently export manager for Startex and former Nordic product manager at Atomic Ski, to lead the development of the Karhu ski brand.

“With the addition of Karhu skis, Startex and Karhu Nordic are now uniquely positioned to support our Nordic retail partners with counter-seasonal products — footwear for the spring and summer, and skis for winter and fall,” says Goran Bergsten, general manager of Karhu Nordic AB. “Startex has done a terrific job of growing awareness and loyalty for Karhu footwear in Finland. Now they can use our skis to create year-round customer engagement with one of Finland’s most legendary brands.”