On the occasion of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, Mediobanca Research Area presents its report on the winter sports industry, analyzed at global, European, and Italian levels, and examines the production map and sectoral specializations, focusing in particular on ski equipment, the dominant sector. The report examines the financial data of the 55 largest multinationals and the 86 leading Italian Sports & Outdoor companies, compared with the 30 national Winter Sports companies. The report is complemented by an analysis of the winter sports manufacturing supply chain and its Olympic disciplines.
Italy is the world's fifth largest exporter of sports products
Italy is the world's fifth largest exporter of sports products, with a 3,8% share behind China (30,6%), Vietnam (9,3%), Germany (5,5%), and the United States (4,4%). In winter sports equipment, Italy's lead is much more evident: our country accounts for 11% of global exports, placing it third behind Austria (17%) and China (13%). At least one in ten winter sports products exported worldwide is Italian, confirming a strong and consolidated global presence. This positioning reflects not only the breadth of Italy's winter sports product offering but also its qualitative specialization, demonstrating an ability to compete primarily on added value.
In the ski equipment market, Italy holds the world leadership in ski boots. The Asolo-Montebelluna Sportsystem district It is considered the world's leading ski boot hub and the most famous sports district in the world: the research and development centers of nearly all the world's ski boot manufacturers are located here, as well as all the suppliers of technical components and materials. This makes it essential for anyone producing ski boots to have a presence in this district, the cradle of product conception, design, innovation, planning, and industrialization, as well as all the artisanal and technological know-how associated with the ski boot.
In the ski equipment market, Tecnica Group, founded in 1930, is the second largest ski boot manufacturer in the world, with a 22% share, and the fifth largest alpine ski manufacturer, with 11%. Among the top 10 ski boot manufacturers in the world, there are three other Italian-controlled companies, all located in the Sportsystem district, where together they produce 5% of world production: Unimonteco (c/terzi), seventh, Rocca Group (Roxa brand), eighth, and Calzaturificio SCARPA, ninth.
The Sportsystem district is also a leader in figure skating: high-end ice skates are produced here by companies such as Edea and Rossignol Lange (Risport Skates brand), ranked second and third respectively in the global figure skating market behind Canadian company Jackson.
In snowboard equipment, Core (better known as Union Bindig Company), founded in 2004, is the fourth largest operator in the world, with a market share of 3,6%, and second in binding sales after the American leader Burton. In 2025, Core, through its Union Boot Division, opened a factory in Montebelluna to produce its own-brand snowboard boots.
Tecnica and Core also represent cases of Italian companies, usually targeted by international groups, which have instead followed the opposite path, acquiring companies across the border: Tecnica controls foreign brands, such as the German Lowa (outdoor footwear), the Austrian Blizzard (skis), and the American Rollerblade (inline skates), while Core owns the Austrian snowboard brand Capita. Also noteworthy is the recent acquisition, in September 2025, by the South Tyrolean group HTI-High Technology Industries of the American company HKD Snowmakers, specializing in artificial snow.
The world market
The global Sports & Outdoor industry will continue to grow in 2025, while the fashion industry remains in decline: the turnover of multinational Sports & Outdoor companies is estimated at €385 billion (+3,2% over 2024, compared to -2,6% for luxury brands). Extending the time frame to 2022-2025, the sports industry has seen double-digit growth (+10,0%), with a growth rate more than triple that of the fashion industry (+3,3%), resisting economic volatility, geopolitical tensions, and evolving consumer behavior. However, the line between fashion and sports is increasingly blurred: Fashion houses have also oriented themselves towards the sportswear segment high-end technician.
The meeting between sport and luxury is not a passing trend, but a structural shift that combines the worlds of fashion and sports, in a luxury-sport hybrid. The global winter sports industry is estimated to generate €13,5 billion in 2025, with growth expected to reach 6% in 2026. The market includes both soft goods (clothing and footwear) and winter sports equipment, which is divided into segments reflecting the main disciplines (skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports).
The growth of the Winter Sports industry is driven by the increase in outdoor activities (skiing in particular), inserted in a broader framework of growing attention to physical and mental well-being, supported by the revitalising purity of the air typical of mountain environments, with Europe is the main market in terms of number of ski areas and practitionersA further driver of expansion is technological innovation, which continues to refine both apparel and sports equipment, increasing safety, reducing weight, and improving comfort and performance. The development of ski resorts and snowmaking facilities has also expanded the accessibility of winter sports, including indoor ones, beyond traditional resorts and seasons, introducing winter sports to urban populations in new regions.
The ski equipment market, the dominant segment in the winter sports equipment sector, is estimated to be worth €1,8 billion in 2025, with growth expected to reach 4% in 2026. The turnover is divided between seven main operators: the Finnish listed group Amer Sports, with 27,2% of aggregate revenues, controlled by the Chinese ANTA Sports Products (which, a few days ago, announced the purchase of 29% of the German company Puma from the French holding Pinault Artemis), the US group Elevate Outdoor Collective (19,2%), the French Groupe Rossignol (14,6%), the Italian Tecnica Group (11,1%), the Austrian Group HTM (8,5%), the Slovenian Elan (6,8%) and the other Austrian operator Fischer (6,6%), with the remaining 6,0% of the turnover developed by other players.
