Going Downhill

Rossignol, France's premier ski manufacturer, has traditionally been the undisputed king of the slopes. From Jean-Claude Killy to Erika Hess, European stars have slalomed to championships on Rossignol skis. Last season the French company sold 1.9 million pairs, giving it 25% of the $800 million world ski market.

Suddenly, though, Rossignol's reputation has taken a spill. French skiers, ! two-thirds of whom use skis supplied by Rossignol or its Dynastar subsidiary, have had a dismal season. It culminated earlier this month with their total failure at the world championships in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. While Swiss skiers claimed eight gold medals and even tiny Luxembourg carried off a gold, not one of the 30 prizes at stake was won by a French skier. The dejected French competitors blamed the bad showing on their skis and on poor preparation by the team's technical support staff, most of whom are Rossignol trained. The case against the skis gained new evidence when a French downhill contender, Philippe Verneret, substituted skis from an Austrian company for his final run and improved his time by two seconds, enough to boost him from 27th to eleventh place.

When news of the ski switch leaked out, Rossignol's stock immediately slumped from 1,521 francs (about $249) to 1,350 francs ($221) on the Paris Bourse. The team criticism and the stock plunge, which wiped out 11% of Rossignol's market value, stung company officials. Stormed President Laurent Boix-Vives: "We don't have to prove ourselves. Half the 66 medals awarded at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics and the last two world championships, including 13 golds, were won on our skis."

Rossignol's stock recovered somewhat last week, but prospects for the French ski team are still discouraging. "The only way for them now is up," says a Rossignol spokesman hopefully. In the world of downhill skiing, however, that is not the easiest direction to attain.