Featured Image: Sam Taggart
In one of the wildest headlines of the summer, a former Atomic employee of the brand’s factory in Altenmarkt am Pongau, Austria has been accused of stealing 1,900 pairs of skis and reselling them.
Originally brought to light by Andreas Widmayer of the Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper, the story goes back several years but was only recently discovered. Widmayer published his article earlier this month (August 2nd, 2024) saying that he found public court documents from the Salzburg, Austria Public Prosecutors Office. Atomic was alerted of the ongoing theft and subsequently relieved the employee in question in November of 2023.
A police raid later revealed 300 pairs of skis stashed at the employee’s home. Atomic filed charges against the 57-year-old and an alleged accomplice. The two now face possible prison sentences of up to three years, reports Julia Schneemann of Snow Brains. The trial is still ongoing.
According to Widmayer, the employee had begun this grand heist operation in August 2021, and for two and a half years, this individual took skis with “minor defects” from the Factory and sold them for 50 €. While many brand representatives or ski shops will sell used demo gear at the end of the season, with drill marks from past bindings or other obvious imperfections, this is much different. These skis were deemed defective off the line, and Atomic had instructed the employee to dispose of them properly.
If a company knowingly sells defective skis, they can oftentimes be held liable in the event of injury. In Colorado for example, which saw over 14 million ski area visits during the 2023-24 winter, ski operators or product manufacturers can be sued based on a Negligence Standard or a Liability Standard. Atomic, which distributes over one million pairs of skis to 49 countries annually, has to adhere to strict rules when it comes to negligence and liability relating to its products since they are spread across so many different legal jurisdictions.
While the case is still on going, the whole ordeal raises a good question; do massive outdoor companies know where their defective gear is going? Could it be getting filtered into their regular product stream? This employee at Atomic was obviously not just mixing skis in and selling them like any other pair, but they were able to sneak away hundreds and hundreds of pairs over the course of 36 months without being noticed.
This is important because, unlike many other global manufacturers, the gear that outdoor companies produce can have life-or-death consequences associated with it. If a ski, beacon, climbing rope, life jacket or other tool is defective, it can lead to a deadly outcome. Clearly, Atomic acted swiftly and professionally in stopping this scam artist, but the ordeal begs the question; will this be the last time we hear about someone trying to profit off of life-threatening products?
