Since the global financial crisis, the British skiing industry has "been on a downhill slope," according to Jack Torrance of the London TELEGRAPH. Wholesale U.K. ski sales dropped around 40% to just 24,000 units between '08-09 and '15-16, according to data from Statista. But while the wider market "may have found itself under a snow cloud," several entrepreneurs have found it is "possible to grow a ski business by carving out a niche." Jöttnar is a fast-growing U.K. brand "catering to skiers and mountain climbers looking for jackets, fleeces and salopettes with a functional focus." Steve Howarth, who started the business with fellow ex-Royal Marine Tommy Kelly, said, "We saw what we thought was a gap in the market for a British brand making extremely high quality and technically focused clothing for skiing and mountaineering." The top line is growing 30% annually and this year the company expects to turn over more than £1M ($1.34M). It also just took on a "seven-figure" investment from London venture capital firm Venrex. At the same time, some skiers want to wear t-shirts and hoodies. It is "only turning over £150,000" ($200,800), but Syndicate Clothing's "eye-catching apparel has become an increasingly common site on the slopes, especially in resorts with lots" of U.K. skiers. While the U.K. is not "exactly a hotbed for hardware companies," they do exist. New among their number is Nix, founded by industrial design graduate James Mechie, who "builds all of its skis and snowboards by hand" in a workshop off London's Caledonian Road (TELEGRAPH, 12/17).
