Haglöfs, the Swedish outdoor brand, has sealed an agreement with Step Hill to start distribution in Taiwan from the second half of this year. This is the last Asian country where Haglöfs has made arrangements for distribution as part of an expansion drive that started shortly after its acquisition by Asics, the Japanese company. This drive has seen Haglöfs opening subsidiaries in Japan and South Korea, and teaming up with distribution partners in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Asian sales made up about 7 percent of the Swedish brand's turnover in 2011 but that share is set to expand significantly this year. Another part of the company's current expansion strategy is the opening of mono-brand stores: Haglöfs already has one store and two outlet stores in Sweden, and has been opening its own stores in Oslo and Tokyo, while preparing to support a store to be opened by an independent customer in South Korea. Haglöfs indicated that the start of the year had been tough, partly due to the fact that many retail customers in the Nordic countries were struggling with unsold inventories after the warm winter, but it was still ahead of budget so far this year. The company's eye-catching monochrome range generated much buzz at the OutDoor fair last week.

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