New range for Asolo

In South Africa, where mountaineering is a niche sport, Asolo, distributed by Himalayan Outdoor, has a relatively small footprint. In Europe, it is a major mountaineering brand, and their massive stand at the OutDoor Show bore testimony to this.  Asolo chairman Marco Zanatta  explained that they group their footwear in four categories:

The Alpine range, which consists of the Expedition and Climbing sub-categories of high altitude (over 5 000m) climbing boots;

The Backpacking category, which consists of Power Matic and Triple Power Structure technologies and the Mountain Trekking range for multi-day treks;

The Hike collection, which includes the Power Lite, Radiant, Matrix, Energy, FSN and Motion ranges, and the Access range, which is their entry-level ranges of escape, junior, cross walk and sport sandal footwear. 

Marco Zanatta, the chairman for Asolo, says that the ranges that will fit more appropriately to the South African market will be the Backpacking, Hike and Access ranges as well as the lower climbing ranges in the Alpine category.

Zanatta explains that the Asolo brand is very focused on fit – they have a triple fit system (either medium, wide or narrow fit) as well as a dedicated last for ladies (which is designed with a narrow fit). Asolo will be launching a brand new range of footwear for 2012, called the Motion range – a low cut, light hiking or approach shoe - which will fall under the Hike category. The outsole, developed in conjunction with Vibram, consists of an EVA midsole, a polyurethane heel and a cushion pad placed between the EVA and polyurethane.

Chairman Marco Zanatta with his latest Motion range

The Asolo stand at OutDoor Friedrichshafen