KJUS Newsletter- A great winter is drawing to an end

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Snow, Cameras, Action

The winter season is winding down. It's beginning to feel like spring in the Eastern states and the conditions are great. It's this time of year when companies, magazines, resorts, and retailers often do their photo shoots. The light is great, there's still lots of snow, and it's nice to be out on the hill. KJUS conducted its annual photo shoot and movie last week in Norway and many of our retailers have requested samples of next year's line for their own shoots.

Here are a couple of shots with sneak previews of next seasons line from a recent shoot by Vail Resorts. He's wearing next year's Formula in grenadine and she has on the New Ways in peat with grenadine.

Jack Affleck/ Vail Resorts

Jack Affleck/ Vail Resorts

Wish we were there!

What a difference a year makes

This time last year we were celebrating Bode's win of the World Cup overall. This year he ended his season early. The World Cup season is long and grueling, especially for athletes like Bode who compete in all disciplines of the sport. Bode suffered an injury in an early season crash that continued to nag him through-out the season. Once it was apparent the overal was out of reach, Bode decided to end the season.

Bode is uncompromising in his approach to life and ski racing. When he skis, he goes full bore, which has made him the most compelling skier to watch on the hill. It's an all or nothing approach and his decision to give up on the rest of the season coincides with this philosophy. We hope that Bode comes back healed, healthy and motivated for the 09/10 campaign.

We suffered a summer of golf without Tiger. Let's hope we don't have to suffer the same fate with Bode for next season's World Cup tour.

KJUS: Winter at the beach

Last fall KJUS participated in a fashion show in Miami Beach put on by SNOW Magazine. It was a very cool setting, with the stage set up over a pool that looked out at the ocean.

KJUS in latest issue of Apparel Magazine

In late November Nico Serena, the head of KJUS design, sat down with Apparel Magazine. Last week the issue hit in-boxes across the country.

In establishing its acclaimed high-end functional skiwear brand in less than a decade, the company attributes its success to the use of cutting-edge technologies as well as an "uncompromising" plan.

Check out the full story to learn more about our past, future, technologies, and "uncompromising" philosophy-
http://apparelmag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=CD746117C0BB4828857A1831CE707DBE&tier=4&id=F8857B36982F48799C50E2FE8B857F7C

Ski Racing Volume 41 Issue 3

The latest issue of SkiRacing magazine just showed up in our inbox. It was on display this week at the Beaver Creek and Aspen World Cup stops. While the majority of the issue focuses on the US nordic and snowboard teams there is some great inside coverage from Levi on Bode's first slalom podium since 2004.

We're a bit partial to page 7-

Casey Puckett- All Out

Casey Puckett joined KJUS as a team rider last season. He had a pretty good season with a number of podiums including a bronze at the X-Games. However, along the way he had a couple of injuries including an amazing crash in Grindelwald. Rehab is complete on his shoulder and Casey is ready for the season. He is also back on the US Ski Team as a member of the inaugural skier cross squad. Here is video that the ski team just released on Casey and the upcoming season.

New Management Team Structure at LK International AG (KJUS Skiwear)

Today LK International AG (KJUS Skiwear) announced the new management team structure.

Nico Serena, former head of sales, takes over the responsibilities of the design and product development department. Daniel Schaffo, who former lead the marketing department, is now also responsible for sales and will be leading both sales & marketing.

Didi Serena- President & CEO
Reto Holzmann- COO & CFO
Nico Serena- Head of design & product development
Daniel Schaffo- Head of sales & marketing
Roman Stepek- Head of production & supply chain management

Tech Tuesday- Ultrasonic Welding

Our ski jackets and pants are waterproof thanks in part to Dermizax. Another ingredient to the waterproof recipe is seam sealing. Where ever stitches are made they need to be seam sealed to ensure that the jacket does not leak.

Instead of stitching, on some of our jackets we use a method called ultrasonic welding. Essentially, a high velocity wheel bonds the pieces of the jackets together with out any stitches. It creates a very strong, clean, and waterproof seam. We also use it in the collar of a number of our jackets for design detail. Below is an example of an ultrasonic welder in action.

For our men's and ladies PRIME jacket- a 4-way stretch, 800 fill down waterproof jacket- we used ultrasonic welding to form the baffles of the jacket. On the jacket these baffles are curved, which is technically very difficult to keep the seams flat.

Happy Halloween!

MEN'S FORMULA featured in Outside Buyer's Guide

Today we picked up the annual Outside Buyer's Guide. Held by many as the holy grail of gear reviews, the Buyer's Guide is filled with latest and best outdoor tools and toys for the coming season. Doug Schnitzspahn reviewed all the men's outerwear for the magazine including the KJUS FORMULA Jacket (page 36).

If any of you ever wonder if these jackets are actually tested, wonder no longer. Doug visited over a dozen resorts and numerous days in the backcountry for the review and actually posted some videos from some review days on YouTube. As you can see in the video Doug was out on a few warm days. He told us afterwards that he was a little nervouse wearing the Formula on one warm day, but was really surprised and impressed at how well the FORMULA breathed. This is thanks to its Dermizax EV waterproof breathable membrane- learn more here.

Here is what Doug had to say in the Buyer's Guide:

The Formula is the Porsche of this test- damned pricey, just as flashy, but worth every cent. KJUS's designers tossed in everything from an integrated balaclava to a dedicated cell-phone pocket with a keeper leash. So plentiful are the hidden accessories that the goggle wipe features a graphic to help you find them all. Most important, though, the jacket performed along with the best in class. Stretchy Thinsulate insulation (enough for cold lift rides) and soft, four-way stretch fabric allowed free movement, while the waterproof-breathable membrane rivaled that of any hard shell we tested. Just maybe find a job that pays in euros to save some cheese.

When will it be in stores?

It's been some time since our last post. It's summer time and we're a winter sports brand, so we enjoy the warm weather the best we can before our busy fall season. This is not to say that we've been sitting on our hands. We've been busy preparing for the season- creating marketing materials,developing ads, and readying the warehouse.

You know the season is not far away when the phone calls, emails, and wall posts start inquiring about when the new collection will be available. The first shipments of jackets and pants recently arrived in our warehouse and we anticipate to have all our goods in by the end of the month. This means that our dealers should have KJUS in stock by mid September or early October.

The first pieces to come in were some that we ordered early because we knew there would be great demand for them. For the men this is the Pikes jacket and for the ladies it's the Viper.

These are the top two jackets in our Authentic line for 08/09 and both feature stretch fabrics, waterproof zippers, Dermizax EV waterproof breathable technology, Schoeller PCM climate control, and PrimaLoft insulation.

The Pikes also happens to be the jacket of choice for Bode Miller and Team America for the 08/09 World Cup Season. This season you will be able to purchase the team uniform from our retail partners like Gorsuch Ltd.

Speaking of Bode, he was recently the focus of a cover story in New Hampshire Magazine: Being Bode: Young Man of the Mountain. In the story they mention his upcoming BodeBash that will take place at his homestead in Franconia, NH, August 23-24. The weekend event consists of an afternoon of tennis, an evening "growers dinner", and a day of golf. Register here

If you happen to be closest to the pin you might win a KJUS Pikes jacket.

KJUS Spirit Collection Preview

This fall KJUS is introducing a new collection of casual apres skiwear. The collection includes sweaters, softshells, and lightweight down jackets. Last week we gave a sneak peek at the ladies Val jacket. Here is preview of a bit more of the collection.

Do you read before you buy?

According to SIA you do. Yesterday SIA released news on the impact consumer generated product reviews have on purchasing decisions, especially on "expensive snow sports equipment and apparel." According to its study more than 88% of those surveyed seek out reviews for these purchases and 7 out of 10 have decided not to make a purchase based on a review.

So, we decided to see what kind of feedback consumers were leaving about KJUS products. It was actually a harder task than we had originally thought. The majority of our retailers' websites are not set up for posting reviews the way Amazon and Backcountry.com are. That said, Sturtevant's in Bellevue, WA does. Here is what some of their customers had to say about KJUS:

Kjus: Women's Formula Pant - 2008-01-28
Love 'em! Fabulous fit, perfect in all weather, from blizzard to sunshine and I constantly get complimented on how GREAT they look! I'll definitely be buying more of this label!

Kjus: Formula Pant - Andrew Cherner - 2007-11-23
These pants are the best! I bought them in one color and loved them so now I am getting them in Black also! Stretchy, comfortable and great looking - THE BEST!

Kjus: Women's Royale Shirt - 2008-04-21
Kjus Royale Shirt I love my Kjus Royale Shirt. It fits perfect and I love the brand Kjus. I highly recommend all of Kjus products.

Hopefully in the future more of our dealers' websites will have the functionality for consumers to leave reviews. But nice to see that everyone who left feedback were happy customers.

We also come across this gem in our research:

Direct Collection on Amazon

In Good Spirits

Yesterday, we announced that KJUS increased sales by 40% over last year's pre-season results. In the US, our pre-season order were up by 27%. All great news.

One of the things that we are very excited about and was mentioned in the press release is the KJUS Spirit Collection. The collection of sporty and fashionable apres ski wear, including ski sweaters and cardigans and ultra-lightweight down jackets for ladies and men, was very well received by our dealers at SIA.

One of the most popular pieces, with our dealers and athletes, is the men's CIO and ladies VAL down jackets.
The ladies Val is shown above in methyl blue. It is also offered in white, nightshade (a deep purple), java, and black. The men's version, the CIO, is offered in black, white, java, treetop (like a hunter green), and nightshade.

They will be available at KJUS dealers in the fall.

KJUS Skiwear announces excellent order results for the winter collection 08/09

Cham/Switzerland, May 6, 2008- While the majority of ski apparel brands continue to see flat sales, KJUS skiwear over the past eight years has had consistent double digit year over year growth which has lead to its position as the recognized leader in the premium and high tech oriented ski clothing sector. LK International AG today reported that its worldwide net order results for the 08/09 winter collection of its KJUS Skiwear brand increased by 40%.

This season, the young Swiss company launched the KJUS Spirit Collection, a sporty and fashionable after ski collection of ski sweaters and cardigans and ultra-lightweight down jackets for ladies and men. The CIO and VAL ultra-lightweight down jackets are sure to be coveted prizes for next winter with their use of fresh colors in eye-catching designs.

Reto Holzmann, COO of LK International AG is very pleased with the sales results:”These brilliant results are an indication that we are on the right track and that our clients’ reception of next year’s KJUS Skiwear Collection as well as the new KJUS Spirit Collection was very positive. We are very proud to be working so successfully with our partners in 29 different countries around the globe. We are especially pleased by the growth in a number of our key countries, including Germany where pre-orders for this period increased by 58%.”

Holzmann went on to report the results from other key countries included Austria with a 38% increase, Switzerland with 32%, and the United States of America with 27%.

Connoisseurs of design and skiwear alike appreciate KJUS for its attention to detail and use of lightweight and advanced materials to create skiwear with a clean design with unobstructed freedom of movement. These are the essential attributes that have constituted to the success of the brand. KJUS Skiwear will follow this strategy of uncompromising skiwear into the future as it ventures into new territories off-piste.

KJUS is “Uncompromising Skiwear”, characterized by straightforward design, perfect fit and total ease of movement. KJUS and KJUS systems are registered trademarks of LK International AG based in Cham (ZG, Switzerland) who develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes KJUS brand products. The KJUS products are currently available in selected shops in 29 countries world-wide including Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Holland, Finland, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Latvia and the United States of America.

KJUS is proud to be associated with some of the world’s most recognized skiers. KJUS team riders include: Lasse Kjus, Norway; Bode Miller, USA; Casey Puckett, USA; Daniel Mahrer, Switzerland; Michaela Gerg-Leitner, Germany; Karin Roten, Switzerland; Mario Reiter, Austria; Frederik Luytkis, Norway; Ylva Nowen, Sweden; Sara Orrensjö, Sweden

www.kjus.com

Star Sighting

Keeping with the constellation theme... Kelly Ripa was photographed by People Magazine wearing a KJUS Yukon jacket.

Congratulations Bode

Bode takes the World Cup Overall! By Cuche deciding not to ski in the slalom, Bode is assured the Cup. Way to go Team America-

KJUS Welcomes Sara Orrensjö to Freeride Team

Today, we announced that Sara Orrensjö, one of the world's top female freeride skiers, has joined the KJUS team of riders. You can learn more about her on her website, or if your Swedish isn't what it should be, try here.

These shots of Sara also give a sneak peek of next year's KJUS line. In the top photo she's wearing the 08/09 ladies Fomula in Java, and in the bottom photo she is wearing the ladies Val jacket, which is part of the new Spirit Collection we are introducing next fall.

Bode breaks out the KJUS Team America race suit for Kitzbühel training

images: Reuters

Bode was 15th today in training in Kitzbuhel- he was 5th in yesterday's training. He's looking to pass Phil Mahre as the American with the most World Cup Wins. The Hahnenkamm would be an amazing place to do so. The weekend schedule currently is Super G Friday, Downhill Saturday, Slalom Sunday.