Rukka Awarded Partner of the Year
27.11.2023
On Saturday Nov. 25, 2023, athletes, coaches, officials, clubs, volunteers and partners were honoured at the closing ceremony of Lahden Ahkera sports association in the City of Lahti.
Lahden Ahkera was responsible for organisizing the The Finnish Athletics Championships, known as Kalevan kisat, which took place at Lahti Stadium on July 27-30, 2023.
Rukka, which dressed the volunteers for the Games, was awarded the Partner of the Year award at the event.
Thank you Lahden Ahkera!
Luhta’s retail business to three chains
New fashion chain to be established
27.11.2023
Consumer shopping behaviour has changed, with the purchasing path increasingly starting online. This change also challenged Luhta’s retail business in Finland to respond. The five store chains will be merged into three and the planning of a new fashion chain will be launched.
In Luhta’s retail operations in Finland, it has been decided to streamline the operating model of the existing chains, increase the multichannel visibility of Luhta Sportswear Company’s own brands, and make digital products, services and shopping experience a robust part of the chains’ operations. At the same time, a decision has been made to create a new fashion chain.
As the consumer purchase path increasingly starts online and digital solutions are an important part of the consumer service experience, Luhta too sees the need to continue its systematic development efforts to ensure both the digital visibility of its brands and products and the customer service experience in a multichannel environment.
The company has decided to streamline the operating model of the existing chains in Finland and move from the current five-chain operating model to a new three-chain operating model, and to respond to the change in consumer behaviour with a more robust multichannel service offering, focusing only on sales of the company’s own brand collections already present in the online environment. The three-chain model will be built on the foundation of the existing chains of the fashion-focused Your Face, the casual sportswear and outdoors-focused Luhta Brand Store, and Luhta Outlet, which focuses on sales of previous seasons’ products. As a result of the decision, during 2024-2025 the company will close down the Aleksi 13 chain’s five stores and the Luhta Outdoor Store chain’s 11 stores; of these, the suitable stores will be converted into Luhta Brand Stores alongside the existing 21 stores, mainly during late 2024. In the same conjunction, the company has decided to close the brick-and-mortar Ril’s store in downtown Helsinki and the Ril’s Outlet store in Helsinki Outlet Village due to their unprofitability. Ril’s will open its own shop-in-shop in the Luhta Outlet store in conjunction with its renewal in spring 2024; the Luhta Outlet store has operated in the Outlet Village since its establishment.
In addition to the decisions to merge the chains, the company has decided to increase its investments in the development and offering of its fashion collections and to launch a new design effort to create a fashion chain with a wider target group and larger store size than the current Your FACE concept. The first stores of the new concept are scheduled to open in spring 2025. The aim is to integrate the existing 13 Your FACE stores as part of the new fashion chain during 2025-2026. The intention is also to expand the new chain with new launches.
We joined the UN Global Compact, the world's largest sustainability initiative
30.5.2023
We are strengthening our sustainability work and are now a participant of the UN Global Compact - the world's largest corporate responsibility initiative.
The UN Global Compact is based on the UN's universal principles on human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. We have a long-standing commitment to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and are committed to the ten Global Compact principles in our operations and in our Code of Conduct. We now wanted to join the ranks of signatory companies to strengthen our contribution to development and to commit to reporting our progress in accordance with the UN Global Compact reporting process.
We are honoured to be part of it!
The 10 principles of the Global Compact
The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. These core values make up the Ten Principles of the UNGC.
Human Rights
Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.
Labour Standards
Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and
Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.
Anti-Corruption
Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.
Read more about the Global Compact in Finland: https://www.globalcompact.fi/
Our Christmas donation to mental health work for children and young people
12.12.2022
Christmas is a time for remembering and giving. This year, we will once again donate the money we spend on Christmas cards and gifts to charity. There are many important items – together with our personnel we voted for a donation. This Christmas, our donation will go to Mieli Mental Health Finland’s mental health work with children and young people.
The extraordinary crises in the world have been prolonged and have made many young people even tougher than before. Too many young people have been left alone with their worries.
Mieli Mental Health Finland is doing valuable work to prevent loneliness, bullying and social exclusion among young people. Their chat service gives hope to every young person and helps to solve problems that are weighing on their minds.
Luhta opened a store in Sapporo Japan
19.10.2022
On Saturday October 15 2022, we opened a store focusing on outdoor and sportswear in Sapporo, Hokkaido Island, Japan. The Luhta Outdoor Lifestyle store is designed with its offering to support leisure and outdoor activities in different seasons and in Japan's varying weather conditions. The store environment is clean, fresh and distinctive - in addition to physical products, customers are also introduced to the identity of Finland.
Finnish products have an excellent reputation in Japan, and the design, quality and functionality of Finnish products are perceived as important features. In addition, as the changed global situation and the mega-trend of well-being, which is still going strong, have further strengthened people's desire to be outdoors and in nature, we believe that the Finnish outdoor clothing we offer will be of interest to Japanese consumers.
We are constantly looking for meeting points with consumers to learn about the market and gain insights into consumer preferences. Opening a new retail store is an important step for us and a strong signal of our desire to succeed in the Japanese market.
Rukka of Luhta Sportswear Company dresses the Finnish Olympic teams at the Summer Olympics in Paris 2024
17.8.2022
The well-known and respected Finnish brand Rukka has been chosen to dress the Finnish Olympic team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris 2024, and the contract will continue until the Winter Olympics in Milan 2026. The collections are designed to meet the high quality standards of elite sport and the conditions at the venues.
The name Rukka is familiar to almost everyone in Finland and a number of sport enthusiasts in Europe. Cross country and alpine skiing, jogging, motorcycling, boating or golf - the brand is familiar to many different sports enthusiasts. What they have in common is technical performance and functionality in the sport for which the garment is designed.
The Rukka label on clothing means high quality and functionality in the sport for which the garment is designed. Rukka products are developed by product development professionals and tested in practice by active enthusiasts and professionals in various sports.
Rukka is a well-known and respected brand in Finland. Steadily growing exports have made the brand known worldwide. The Olympic Games offer an excellent opportunity to increase the visibility and sales of the Rukka brand in the important Central European market.
Luhta Sportswear Company's Olympic partnership continues with the Rukka brand
Since 2017, Luhta Sportswear Company has been responsible for the clothing of the Finnish Olympic team. The partnership will continue with the renewal agreement, but the Icepeak clothing familiar from previous Games will now be replaced by Rukka.
Pasi Luumi, Sales Manager Finland at Luhta Sportswear Company, is delighted that the partnership will continue until 2026:
- Exercising ordinary fitness enthusiasts and supporting competitive sports are both part of our company's DNA and an integral part of our value base, so the continuation of the cooperation is a valuable thing for us.
- We have received a lot of valuable information from the athletes of the Finnish Olympic team about collections suitable for different competition conditions. The 2021 Summer Olympics were held in the sweltering heat of Tokyo, the 2022 Winter Olympics in the cold and windy conditions of Beijing. Now it's time to take the next step and start planning for the upcoming Paris and Milan Cortina Games.
Ville Köngäs, Marketing and Customer Relations Director of the Finnish Olympic Committee, believes it is important that the Finnish Olympic team's outfits continue to come from a Finnish clothing manufacturer:
- The International Olympic Games will involve 206 countries, including both countries known for strong fashion industry and smaller countries without their own clothing industry. It is great that a country the size of Finland can find a suitable clothing manufacturer for its Olympic team from own country. The cooperation agreement between Luhta and the Olympic Committee is significant. In addition to the Paris and Milan Cortina Games, the cooperation will cover the clothing of the Paralympic teams, the Youth Olympic teams and numerous other multi-discipline teams during the contract period. A partnership of this level is of huge importance to us.
Luhta Sportswear Company:
Luhta Sportswear Company is one of the leading clothing companies in the Nordic countries. The family-owned company specializing in active sports and sportswear was founded in 1907 in Lahti, where the company's headquarters are still located. As an established, financially stable and reliable employer, partner and member of society, Luhta is one of the largest textile companies in the Nordic countries. The Group is internationally best known for its Luhta, Icepeak, Rukka, Torstai and Ril's brands. www.luhtasportswearcompany.fi, Rukka: /b/rukka
The Finnish Olympic Committee is a national sports and physical activity organization that works to help Finns move more and succeed in top-level sports. Together with our member organizations and partners, we build vitality in Finland through sport and physical activity.
We condemn the military action – we want to help
7.3.2022
We are shocked and fully condemn the military action in Ukraine. Our thoughts are with the ordinary people whose lives have been devastated by the war, and we want to help. We are donating €500,000 worth of clothing, shoes, blankets and linen to those affected by the conflict in Ukraine. We are also supporting our Ukrainian customers by writing off their debts.
All our deliveries to Russia have been stopped and orders that were about to leave have been cancelled.
Featuring Omerta 6/12
16.11.2021
Luhta Sportswear Company's brands Icepeak, Rukka and Ril's are official partners of Omerta 6/12 movie premiering November 19th.
Omerta 6/12 is an action film directed by Aku Louhimies, based on Ilkka Remes' novel 6/12 (2006). The leading characters are played by Jasper Pääkkönen, Nanna Blondell, Sverrir Gudnason and Cathy Belton. Finland's Independence Day celebration is crudely interrupted by an attack to the Presidential Palace. A set of distinguished guests are taken as hostages. Security service officer Max Tanner, starring Jasper Pääkkönen, is set as the negotiator of the hostage crisis, which proves to be a plan to destabilize the European security.
In the film, you will see Icepeak, Rukka and Ril’s products “in action”. And the products are, of course, available at the Group's retail stores in the Luhta Outdoor Store (Icepeak and Rukka) and at the Ril's Concept Store in Helsinki (Ril's).
Excitement and action promised!
#omertaelokuva #omertamovie #omerta612
Icepeak's Olympic collection for the Tokyo Summer Games was released today!
14.4.2021
At the Tokyo Games, Luhta Sportswear Company will supply all the clothing of the Finnish Olympic team's athletes for representational use, leisure, training and warm-up outside the sport itself.
Success for the Finnish team!
Luhta Sportswear Company’s retail operations expand
15.11.2019
Luhta Sportswear Company’s retail operations expanded this autumn with nine new stores. Stores were opened in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Hämeenlinna, Seinäjoki, and in Eben, Austria.
The Mall of Tripla opened its doors in Pasila, Helsinki, in mid-October. Three Luhta Sportswear Company retail stores were also opened in the mall: Aleksi 13, offering fashions for women and men, Luhta Brand Store for casual clothing, and Top Sport, specializing in sportswear.
The beginning of November brought the opening of Luhta Outlet, offering collections from previous seasons and close-out and special selections, at the Helsinki Outlet close to the Helsinki airport. Central Europe’s Luhta Outlet network was strengthened in November with the opening of a new store in Eben, Austria.
Seinäjoki Ideapark shopping mall in Westerns Finland opened its doors in mid-November. Three Luhta Sportswear Company’s retail stores were also opened in the mall: Luhta Brand Store, Top Sport, and Your FACE, specializing in women’s fashion with a high level of service. In October, the Group opened a Luhta Home Concept Shop, specializing in home textiles and accessories, at Shopping Center Goodman in Hämeenlinna.
Luhta set to acquire the Austrian footwear manufacturer Dachstein
1.2.2019
Luhta Sportswear Company acquired a stake in the footwear manufacturer Dachstein last summer. The ownership arrangements continue, and Luhta will now acquire the rest of the footwear manufacturer’s business activity. The goal of the acquisition is to further strengthen Luhta Sportswear Company’s footwear expertise and to support Dachstein’s internationalization.
Luhta Sportswear Company will now acquire the rest of the Austrian footwear manufacturer Dachstein from its main owner Austro Holding. The acquisition supports Dachstein’s internationalization to add footwear expertise for Luhta Sportswear Company’s outdoor segment. So far Luhta Sportswear Company has designed and manufactured outdoor and casual footwear under the Luhta and Icepeak brands.
“Dachstein is a very interesting, traditional outdoors-segment brand that is growing strongly in a modern way. As a new owner, Luhta wants to strongly support its international growth strategy. Dachstein perfectly complements the Luhta product and brand portfolios (Icepeak, Luhta, Rukka and Torstai) that are growing our company in the outdoor and sportswear markets,” described Vesa Luhtanen, Managing Director, Luhta Sportswear Company the background of the acquisition last summer.
Kerstin Gelbmann, Managing Director of Austro Holding, the company selling its share, is pleased to have Luhta as a new owner that will develop the footwear brand further. The new ownership is expected to improve Dachstein’s position as an innovative footwear brand in the German-speaking region of Europe, which is a strong export area for Luhta Sportswear Company.
Luhta Sportswear Company’s most recognized brands are Luhta, Icepeak, Rukka, Torstai, Ril’s and Your FACE. Additionally, the Group includes the Aleksi 13 retail chain focusing on comprehensive fashion, the Luhta Brand Store chain focusing on casual sportswear, the Your FACE and Ril’s stores offering women’s fashions, the TopSport sportswear chain and Luhta Outlet factory outlets offering collections from previous seasons. In 2017 the Company’s turnover was EUR 245 million and it employed 1,700 people. The Company’s main markets are in Finland, Germany, France, Russia and the Netherlands.
Dachstein – Austro Holding
Dachstein has over 90 years of experience as a footwear manufacturer. Since 1925 the Dachstein brand has been associated with traditional Austrian shoemaking craftsmanship and imaginative ideas. For Dachstein, alpinism is about much more than just sport or competition. It’s a philosophy, a way of life and a passion. The main shareholder of Dachstein is currently the Austrian investment company Austro Holding.
Additional information:
Tarja Malinen, Corporate Communications and Marketing, tel. +358 40 522 3172, email: tarja.malinen@luhta.fi
Luhta 110 Years – An international Finnish success story
20.4.2018
For Luhta, 2017 has been a celebratory year for two reasons. Finland has been celebrating its 100 years of independence, and Luhta its 110-year history. Over the years, the company has grown from a small sewing workshop to an internationally successful business operating on multiple continents.
In 1907, Vihtori Luhtanen founded his own company in Lahti with his wife, Jenny. First, they purchased a sewing machine, and, later they brought home an embroidery machine from their trip to Helsinki. Their business idea was to combine Jenny’s craftwork skills with Vihtori’s sales talent. Vihtori started off by doing business at the market square in Lahti, selling men’s and women’s underwear and aprons embroidered by Jenny. Sales were successful, and so the Luhtanens broadened their selection to cover new products. As well as aprons, their range now also included cotton work shirts, moleskin, nanking and everlasting trousers, as well as regatta shirts, the fashion items of their time.
Soon the smaller room in the Luhtanen home was converted into a shop, and they branched out into selling their products to travelling salesmen and to small shops in the neighbouring villages. Vihtori employed more seamstresses, and so the business started to grow and expand in its operations.
The first Luhta sewing workshop was set up in Anttilanmäki, Lahti. The company later moved to the centre of Lahti, where a sales outlet was also opened. From downtown Lahti, the main office moved to a new business building in Asemantausta, where it operated from 1989 to 1992. Today, the company’s headquarters is still located in its hometown of Lahti, now in a fine twelve-storey high-rise building beside the motorway to Helsinki, with good connections to Helsinki Airport as well. Since its beginnings 110 years ago, Luhta has grown from a small sewing workshop to an international clothing business.
Growth through outerwear manufacturing
For more than one hundred years, Luhta has mastered the upward and downward phases of the economic cycle. At the same time, the world around it has changed, and the operating environment has transformed enormously. The ability and will to change have been key elements in Luhta’s success, both in designing collections as well as in developing and diversifying the company’s operations.
In the 1960s, Luhta created a clothing range that was more modern, technically lighter and suitable for everyday use. Consumers started to be better off than in previous decades, and in addition to having more money and choice, they quickly learnt to demand more and better products. People were keen to buy new and fashionable clothing, and wanted it to be high-quality, easy-care, well-fitting and comfortable. Luhta fulfilled these wishes creating the supply to meet consumer demands. Providing consumers with a continually up-dated product range and collections is vital, year after year. In short, the combination of an unbeatable price-quality ratio and modern design and look is the key to success.
Of all the single brands of the Group, Icepeak is one of the major international success stories. Icepeak was established in 1996 and is widely sold in Europe. The brand is sold in over 50 countries altogether, with the newest export countries being Japan and the USA. Furthermore, the brand has a shop chain in China. On foreign markets Icepeak doesn’t bring its Finnish roots to the fore, and at home also the brand has a predominantly international image rather than a Finnish one.
Better Performance and Efficiency
Finland is where everything happens – the design and marketing of all Luhta Group’s brands, as well as steering the engine of the corporation. Product manufacture has moved away from the domestic market over the past several decades. Manufacturing was transferred to Portugal at the end of the 1960s and beginning to the 1970s, then to the Baltic countries and Russia in the 1990s, and to the Far East in the 21st century. Most of Luhta’s manufacturing operations are located in China, where a subsidiary is responsible for production.
The whole 21st century has been a time of strong growth, development, investments and change to the company. Until now, most of Luhta’s expansion has been within Europe. In the coming years, the strongest growth will be sought from further afield, including from China, the USA and Japan. Among the preparations for this growth are modernisation and automation of the logistics centre in Finland, and construction of a bigger and more functional logistics centre for the Chinese subsidiary. Due to these investments, Luhta will improve both its deliverability and efficiency.
Visibility through Sponsoring
Luhta has sponsored many renowned top athletes and public figures with great success. Among these are Formula 1 world champion Keke Rosberg, race car driver Ari Vatanen, ice hockey player Jari Kurri and American movie star Don Johnson. Luhta is also known as the outfitter of winter competitions for many decades. The company has provided apparel for national team athletes in winter sports games and at a number of Winter Olympics games since the 1960s, for example in Zakopane, Squaw Valley and Oslo. Luhta has been the official outfitter of the Lahti winter sports games for several decades. This cooperation began in 1978, when Luhta had the honour of being the clothing supplier for the World Championships for the first time.
At the 2017 Nordic World Ski Championships, Luhta and Icepeak brands were highly visible to spectators, both on location and to TV viewers. In addition, the 2,500 organisers involved in the event wore the Finnish manufacturer’s apparel. Sports events will be the surroundings for the company’s brands in the future as well: the Finnish Olympic team will represent Finland in apparel designed and manufactured by Luhta in PyeongChang in 2018, in Tokyo in 2020, and in Beijing in 2022.
Full Circle
Retail business has grown into an inseparable part of Luhta Group’s operations throughout this century. At the turn of the millennium, one of the most significant decisions in the company’s history was made at Luhta with the company broadening from traditional industrial clothing to the retail business. Vihtori Luhtanen started off as a market vendor at the beginning of the 20th century. Now retail business is part of all the Luhta’s divisions, so we have come full circle.
The retail shop chains of the Group offer diverse services to consumers. Aleksi 13 shops are centred around the capital and the city of Tampere. Your FACE shops cover the biggest towns from the middle of Finland southwards. Luhta Brand Store shops are already in operation in nearly 20 locations, and more are being opened at a steady pace. Luhta Outlet has also grown into a national network of shops. The sportswear chain TopSport was bought in 2015. Following the acquisition, Luhta gained its own distribution channel to the sports shop sector. Luhta is making its very first venture into the children’s clothing market with Luhta Kids Store. In autumn 2017, Luhta opened the first two shops, one in Hämeenlinna and another in the Aleksi 13 department store in Helsinki.
The Luhta aClass Customer Loyalty Programme operates in all of the shop chains of the company and it currently includes around 700,000 members. The more customers purchase from the Group’s shops, the more they benefit. Luhta aClass members also receive exclusive offers.
Luhta has gained ground in international retail markets, as well. Luhta Finland Fashion chain will open its 34th shop in Russia before the year-end. The first Luhta Outlet shops have already been launched in Germany. This year, the first Icepeak Store was set up in Italy and the number of Luhta shops exceeded one hundred. The retail business has also been expanded to China. Enquiries began a couple of years ago, with the goal of opening 70 Icepeak shops in the country by the end of 2017.