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Rossignol Sushi - Acculturating Nagano Vibes

If you never skied or snowboarded, the title must be gibberish for you, but even experienced shredders are likely left wondering what on Earth relates the French manufacturer of alpine equipment to the Japanese cuisine, and what does it all have to do with acculturating vibes? Allow me to dissect.

Courtesey of rossignol.com

For those of you who don't know, Rossignol has been around for over 100 years now, and it is one of the leaders in the ski industry. Rossignol stands for nightingale in French, and like most things French, it is very French. Growing up in Belarus, my family and I would go on skiing vacations to Europe. For some unknown reasons (perhaps, breaking off my teetotalism would yield a hint), we have always gravitated almost exclusively towards the French Alps, namely Les Trois Vallées. Let me tell you, Rossignol was probably the first French word I ever learned. In the Three Valleys, most rental options are Rossignol since they manufacture pretty much everything these days. Gradually, my parents accumulated an entire arsenal of "you guessed it" gear. This is what I mean by acculturation, by the way, but more on that later. At last, I was presented with a Rossignol device of my own when I turned 15 and expressed the desire to transition to snowboarding. Apparently, it was a Rossignol Taipan since it's the only board mentioned in the two links you get by googling the barcode. But we digress.


By now, the shredders reading this are dying to point out that Rossignol is not all that big in snowboarding, to put it mildly. Here are some notable customer quotes to explain what they mean. "Rossignol has always been a ski company and that's the image they've always had... ...they somehow forgot that snowboarders are on the mountain" (Angrysnowboarder, 2010). "Id stick to a real snowboard company" ([deleted], 2011). In essence, things weren't always "Ça plane pour moi" (a French idiom meaning "everything's going well for me") for the European manufacturer when it came to entering the snowboard market. In their defense, the first snowboard was developed by Jake Burton in the US, which helps explain why American companies like Burton (wow), Lib Tech, Arbor, and others dominate the industry to this day. This is all very cool, but why put sushi in the title? Because this is Rossignol's response to the status quo.


Launched in 2017, Sushi became the first powder board offered by Rossignol. Endorsed by a well-known freeride (off-piste riding) evangelist, Xavier de le Rue, it tapped into a growing segment of small, wide, and highly directional snowboards made for riding thick fresh snow, a.k.a. powder. Powder freeriders constitute such a peculiar microculture, it requires context to fully grasp what it is about. Take a look at a surfboard I rode in Hawaii:

Compare it with Rossignol Sushi:

Courtesy of evo.com


Plain and simple, powderhounds, as we call ourselves, are surfers of the slopes. Ликбез окончен (Russian for "done with the elimination of illiteracy").


Amy Angell, a lecturer in marketing at the Ross School of Business, highlights that "value is largely influenced by the microcultures to which we belong." The powderhound microculture is united by the pursuit of a very particular vibe, for lack of a better word: the combination of sensations you get when a whole plethora of factors align in accordance with a picture you've been carrying in your head for months. Arguably, this vibe is as much dependent on the quality of the activity itself as it is on other, seemingly tangential things. One of those things is the destination. Just like the fact that Waikiki beach is not much different from hundreds of other beaches worldwide does not stop people from aspiring to pick up surfing there, the powderhounds of this world have also settled on a Mecca - Japan.


To understand why Japan, it is first essential to learn about the consumer culture of those in the market for powder boards. The notion of consumer culture incorporates the effects of physical environments, traditions, customs, politics, media, etc. Snowboarders are everywhere worldwide, and thus they represent a broad spectrum of consumer cultures, which doesn't help simplify the task. Powderhounds tend to share some similar consumer culture trends, but by no means do we come from a singular one. From Tajikistan to Alaska - various people enjoy the sport. Perhaps the only thing that unites us is a certain level of affluence since it is a pricey activity after all, but this is not a cultural trend per se.

Since powder freeride is such a niche area, there hasn't been any research published on those trends. However, I believe there are at least two that readily come to mind. Firstly, high long-term orientation - one needs to be extremely patient to fall in love with an activity that is available only in some of the most remote parts of the world and only when the weather conditions allow. Secondly, high individualism - it is a solo activity at the end of the day, and it is hard to argue that we don't derive social value from standing out on the slopes.


Japan being a highly strategic society that cherishes craftsmanship, the match is somewhat more apparent now, yet why Japan and not say Germany? This must have to do with geography. The islands of Honshu and Hokkaido offer a unique combination of weather conditions that provide high precipitation and temperatures just low enough to create a stunning carpet of powder. Perhaps the mystic aura of Japan is another reason. Or it might be that, unlike with other exotic destinations like Kamchatka, you can plan to there and then expect to actually make it there (not in 2020 anyway). Whatever it is, any powderhound would tell you that Japan is their dream destination, and within Japan, Nagano is one of the crown jewels.


Unsurprisingly, Nagano is exactly where Rossignol decided to shoot its mind-blowingly professional and likely equally costly commercial:

Courtesy of Rossignol at youtube.com


Now that I have dissected the title, I hope that it starts to come why a French alpine gear manufacturer decides to name its product Sushi and why is it an example of acculturation. To be fair, it is not a perfect example of acculturation simply because Rossignol is still a French manufacturer that only mimics some Japanese traits. Who exactly is getting acculturated here: the consumers that fall in love with the Japanese vibes or the manufacturer that goes above and beyond to tailor to their demands? Is it the chicken or the egg?


One thing is clear: Rossignol is attempting to showcase a different brand personality to steal a share from more dominant competitors in a new market segment. Rather than trying to project the confident if not sophisticated personality of its century-old ski division on the infant snowboard line, Rossignol decided to create a personality of excitement. Daring, Spirited, Imaginative, Up-to-Date, and hence... ...with a Japanese touch.


P.S.

I could not resist the temptation to try Sushi myself, and so I am excited to announce that I have just ordered a Sushi splitboard (yep, they make those to), and it will be arriving shortly. As soon as I get the board, I will be posting an unboxing review here. I also plan to review the Karakoram bindings that I got with it, and hopefully, I will get a chance to reflect on the performance of both after my trip to Eastern Kazakhstan in December. Stay tuned.


Word Count: 1250


Relevant CB terms:

1) Microculture

2) Consumer Culture (Individualism & long term orientation)

3) Acculturation

4) Brand Personality (3 types)

5) Social Value

6) Market Segment


Citations:

Angrysnowboarder (username). (2010, October 18). Who Cares About Rossignol? Retrieved November 07, 2020, from http://www.angrysnowboarder.com/who-cares-about-rossignol/

[deleted] (username; account deleted). (2011). R/snowboarding - Does anybody ride a Rossignol snowboard? Retrieved November 07, 2020, from https://www.reddit.com/r/snowboarding/comments/f1sbo/does_anybody_ride_a_rossignol_snowboard/


Content Accessed (In the Order of Appearance):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPfYk0wg87g&t=17s

 
 
 

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