1935
The Salewa story started on July 8, 1935, when Josef Liebhart, the director of Munich´s cooperative for saddlers and tapestry handlers registered a sister corporation for saddler and leather wares: Sa (sattler / saddler) Le (leder / leather) Wa (waren / wares).
1940
The monetary reform on June 21st, 1948 marked a new beginning for salewa and west germany. For some years, photobags, produced for agfa, were the major sales item. Besides backpacks, soccer balls (made from leather) and tank bags for motorbikes were part of the portfolio. Ski poles (made from the wood of hazelnut trees) eventually became the major sales item.
1955
Salewa developed the unique andes backpack and supported the andes expedition of Hermann Huber, who was to become the managing director of Salewa.
1990
Salewa was acquired by Heiner Oberrauch and his Oberalp Group and the headquarters were moved to Bolzano.
1994
The development of the Helium, then the world´s lightest helmet, was an outcome of the new goal of “half weight – double resistance”.
2001
Ever since ‘half weight – double resistance’ had been defined as the reasearch goal, Salewa focused on lightweight products and in 2001 developed its own lightweight collection. Highlight products of this collection were for example the Sub 33 carabiner (33 g) and the Ultra Jacket with a weight of less than 350 g."
2002
The first retail store was opened in Finale Ligure.
2003
Salewa continued on the path to success and established subsidiaries in France and Spain. Now, the mountain sport and outdoor brand is present in all european markets and starts an export offensive."
2005
A new division was established at Salewa: footwear.
2007
Salewa established a branch in Boulder, Colorado, to offer better care to the North American market. An important move for Europe’s leading multi-specialist. In Korea, the most important market for outdoor equipment in Asia, 44 Salewa stores were opened with a local partner, 16 more stores followed. In Poland, Salewa established a local subsidiary to offer better care to this market with its long tradition in alpine sports."
2011
The new Salewa Group headquarters, including a world-class climbing gym, central warehouse, and office space, was opened in Bolzano.
2014
Global brand relaunch. a new logo and a new corporate identity are introduced. Salewa is now a world leader in alpine products, present in 30 countries and supplies to some 2,500 shops around the globe.
2015
For us there will never be a standstill. And so, with the 2015 summer collection, we introduce our new logo and design language to consumers.
2017
Since 2017, we’ve been using Tirolwool® Responsive Technology in our insulation jackets. Tirolwool® Responsive is a natural product that is sourced from tyrolean and south tyrolean mountain sheep farms. We use it to replace all synthetic fills.
2018
In addition to wool, we harness the benefits of the natural performance fibre hemp. Our proprietary Alpine Hemp Technology is particularly environmentally friendly. The fabric is known for its hardwearing character and pleasant feel next to skin. Our Alpine Hemp products have been available commercially since 2018.
2022
Weighing just 175 grams, the Piuma 3.0 is the lightest helmet that Salewa has ever developed for climbers and mountaineers . Despite its low weight, it provides high comfort. as such, it is continuing in the footsteps of its predecessor. Around 30 years ago, Salewa introduced the Helium helmet, which was the lightest helmet of its kind on the market. Salewa Committed products have an especially low environmental and social impact – and provide our customers greater transparency and orientation to help them find socially-responsible, sustainably produced clothing and equipment.
2024
Salewa launches the WE_AR* NATURE campaign with its Summer 24 trekking collection. The products are primarily made from natural materials (Wear Nature) and inspire people to be outdoors (We are Nature). A completely new visual language combines traditional alpine with modern urban codes to consciously introduce city dwellers to the mountains.
