Amer Sports

Amer Sports, Inc. is a Finnish multinational sporting equipment division based in Helsinki, Finland. Established in 1950 as an industrial conglomerate with interests as diverse as tobacco trading, ship owning and publishing, Amer has gradually evolved into a multinational firm devoted to the production and marketing of sporting goods. The company employs over 9,700 people. Since 2018, Amer has been a subsidiary of Chinese retail conglomerate Anta Sports.

Amer Sports owns a portfolio of companies, including Atomic, Arc'teryx, Armada, Peak Performance, Salomon, and Wilson, among others.

The company began life as a tobacco manufacturer and distributor, Amer-Tupakka, in 1950 (later to be renamed Amer-Yhtymä Oyj followed by its current designation) and acquired the right to produce and sell Philip Morris cigarettes in Finland in 1961. In the 1960s, the significant profits from the company's tobacco interests were invested in three commercial ships. A publishing and printing division was added in 1970 with the purchase of the Finnish company Weilin+Göös, and the company listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1977, four years after changing its name to Amer-Yhtymä (English: Amer Group).

In the 1980s, Amer moved into the vehicle import industry by acquiring the firm Korpivaara, and with it the exclusive rights to import and distribute such brands as Citroën and Toyota. In 1984 Amer was listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 1985, Amer acquired Marimekko. The decade also saw the company expand into for example the plastics markets.

The company got involved in the sports equipment market starting in 1974. They bought the Finnish ice hockey gear maker Koho-Tuote in 1974, its North East US distributor Koho Sporting Goods Corporation in 1978, the Canadien hockey stick manufacturer Les Industries du Hockey Canadien Inc. as well as ice hockey protective equipment manufacturer in 1979. In 1986, Amer sold all their ice hockey related businesses but established a sports division after acquiring a majority stake in the golf equipment maker MacGregor Golf from Jack Nicklaus.

In 1988, Amer represented, among others, American tobacco giant Philip Morris and held a 62 percent share of the Finnish tobacco market. A movement called Klubi 88 made a statement at the AGM claiming that Amer was the single largest causer of cancer in Finland. It said that the sponsorships by “tobacco figureheads” Hjallis Harkimo, a sailor, and Keke Rosberg, a Formula 1 driver, should be stopped. Amer's CEO Heikki O. Salonen thought sports products would be a better business for the company to focus on. The company's brands included Marlboro, Marimekko, Toyota, Weilin+Göös, and the American brand MacGregor Golf Company.

In February 1989, Amer acquired the Chicago-based company Wilson Sporting Goods Company, which specialized in golf, tennis, and baseball products. Wilson was the largest manufacturer of sports products in the US, but it was heavily indebted. The transaction set a new record for the largest foreign acquisition in Finland.

In 1991, Amer sold Marimekko to Kirsti Paakkanen. The company had incurred losses of approximately 50 million euros under Amer's ownership. Further acquisitions followed in the shape of the Austrian ski manufacturer Atomic in 1994 and the Finnish sports instrument maker Suunto in 1999. The American baseball and softball bat firm Demarini was purchased a year later, falling under the Wilson division. During this time, many of the business areas no longer deemed to be core were divested, although the company retained its tobacco business until 2004 when it was sold back to Philip Morris. In 2005, Amer acquired the outdoor sports company Salomon from Adidas for €485 million. In the same year, the company officially changed its name to Amer Sports Corporation.