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Inside Outdoor | SUMMER 2020 The parent company of outdoor brands Salewa, Dy- nafit, Pomoca, Wild Country and Evolv, Oberalp Group has added two to its staff of regional sales representatives, giving the company a pair of experienced outdoor enthusiasts with strong familiarity with Oberalp’s biggest brands, said the company. David Anderson, based in Whistler, B.C., joins Oberalp as the regional sales repre- sentative for Western Canada, covering Alberta, British Co- lumbia, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Ander- son previously spent nearly nine years working as a sales representative for Mthree, the British Columbia-based marketing and sales agency that represents brands such as Smartwool, Rossignol and Black Diamond Equipment. Anderson will serve as a sales rep for three of Oberalp Group’s brands – Dynafit, Salewa and Pomoca. Alec Sandberg, who is based in Truckee, Calif., joins Oberalp as the regional sales representative for the South- west United States, covering California, Nevada and Ari- zona. Sandberg has spent the last four years as a sales rep at the Backcountry, an inde- pendent ski, bike and moun- tain shop located in Truckee, Calif. He will serve as a sales representative for four Oberalp Group brands – Dynafit, Sale- wa, Pomoca and Wild Country. Swedish heritage brand Primus and Brunton, the U.S.- based manufacturer of outdoor navigation instruments, an- nounced partnerships with three respected sales agencies to expand brand representation, including sales, service and customer relationships in North America. Retaining Seattle- based Alta Group in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. will provide focused attention to accounts in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Wash- ington, while a change from one agency in Canada to two new agencies will provide increased coverage and support for retail- ers across that country Serving eastern Canada, Agence Quartier Général Inc. will cover Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. The western territory over- seen by Tandem West Ltd., will include coverage of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatch- ewan, Manitoba, Yukon, North- west Territories and Nunavut. For more information on these agencies and their territo- ries, contact the Alta Group prin- cipal Dave Haavik at dhaavik@ altagroupinc.com, Agence Quartier Général principal Yan- nick Raymond at yannickr@ me.com, and Tandem West principal Gordon Chin at gor- don@tandemwestsales.com. Vasque Signs Norwegian Distributor Vasque Footwear this summer announced a part- nership with Norwegian distributor TRACX, which is bringing Vasque footwear to the Scandinavian market. Founded in 2018, TRACX is based in Oslo, sup- plying the Norwegian sports market with products in outdoor and sporting goods, including those from Darn Tough, Mountain Works, Goggle Soc, Takeya, Gorilla Glue and among others. “In 2021 we will open in the UK and look forward to launching into more countries soon after,” said Joel Lee, Vasque’s global sales director. Merrell Names VP of U.S. Sales Merrell announced the appointment of Alex Brown to the position of vice president of U.S. sales. Brown will be reporting directly to Merrell’s global brand president, Chris Hufnagel. Brown joins Merrell after having spent his entire career in the outdoor and active lifestyle indus- try, most recently serving as senior sales director for The North Face division of VF Corp. Prior to that, he founded and managed his own sales and marketing agency, and previous to that had senior sales roles with Pearl Izumi and Playmakers, a run specialty retailer. AKU Increases Rep Base in Southern States Italian footwear brand AKU Outdoor has retained The Uber Group as its new sales rep agency to support sales throughout the southern states. Uber Group is a full-service sales agency that was started in 2006 by Steve Carvalho, Michel Lumpkin and David Kramer. It has represented key outdoor brands including Arc’teryx, Salomon, Smartwool, Eagle Creek, NEMO, Petzl and more. Uber Group will cover sales for AKU in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Caro- lina and Florida. “We’ve been trained by nearly every footwear manufacturer, and we’ve outfitted thousands of cus- tomers for backpacking, trail running, climbing and skiing,” said Lumpkin. “We’re excited to get started with AKU footwear and to be a part of building this unique European brand here in the U.S. Oberalp Group Adds Two in North America Primus, Brunton Add Three New Agencies 10