Vail Resorts and Helly Hansen announce exclusive five-year apparel & marketing partnership

Vail Resorts, Inc. announced a new five-year partnership with Helly Hansen, a global leader in technical apparel and footwear.

The partnership makes Helly Hansen the official uniform and apparel provider for the 15,000 mountain professionals working at its six world-class mountain resorts of Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Heavenly and Northstar-at-Tahoe. The partnership begins with the 2011-2012 season and continues through 2016.
All ski patrol, mountain operations, ski/snowboard school, ambassadors and customer service staff will be protected from the elements by Helly Hansen’s line of technical apparel, designed specifically for professional use.

“With 100+ days on snow each season, Vail Resorts employees need to feel confident about their gear,” said Heidi Kercher-Pratt, chief marketing officer of Vail Resorts. “World-class quality and style are imperative for our brands. Helly Hansen’s blend of technical performance and Scandinavian style was a key factor in our decision to work together. They clearly demonstrated they have the expertise and commitment to keep our employees comfortable and looking good in all conditions. We’re excited about this partnership and are looking forward to wearing our new gear next season.”

Helly Hansen embarked on a dedicated uniform development initiative in 2006 building on a long standing reputation of protecting outdoor professionals in harsh environments. The program ties together Helly Hansens’s work wear, sportswear and performance apparel collections into an easy-to-manage program that provides a single brand solution for every segment of mountain resort operations, from mechanics to ski patrollers. The Vail Resorts agreement is Helly Hansen’s largest uniform and marketing partnership to date, according to Erik Burbank, Helly Hansen’s global vice president of marketing.

“As one of North America’s leading ski resort operators, Vail Resorts has extremely high brand standards so we’re honored to have been chosen as their uniform partner.” says Burbank. “The sheer size and scope of the Vail Resorts organization combined with the diverse weather conditions found in Northern California and the Rocky Mountains make this a unique challenge. We look forward to leveraging the experience and insights we’ve gained from our work with other resorts around the world to ensure we meet and exceed the performance, durability and style expectations of Vail Resorts. When they’re wearing a uniform with the HH logo, we view patrollers, instructors and the rest of the resort professionals as ambassadors for our brand. We want to make sure they’re protected, enabled and confident when they get out on the mountain each day.”

As part of the agreement, Helly Hansen will receive exclusive marketing and advertising rights as the official uniform partner to Vail Resorts’ six world-class resorts. Helly Hansen will also be a key marketing partner of unique promotions and signature events of Vail Resorts including: Vail Snow Daze, Spring Back to Vail, Carnivail, Breckenridge’s Spring Massive, Keystone Resort’s Kidtopia, Beaver Creek’s Talon’s Challenge, and The Gunbarrel 25 at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

Currently Helly Hansen’s uniform prototypes are being tested at all levels of Vail Resorts’ mountain operations and final production will be delivered beginning in fall 2011.