The local angle is that lots of listers, myself included, own Rossignol skis or boards, Dynastar skis, or Look bindings. Doesn't Liberty, for one, have Rossignol rental boards?

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ZQK&d=t

Reuters article:

http://yahoo.reuters.com/financeQuoteCom...22156082_newsml

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Quiksilver to buy Skis Rossignol in snow-sea deal
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PARIS, March 22 (Reuters) - Loss-making French ski maker Skis Rossignol (SKIR.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed on Tuesday to be bought by U.S. surf clothes maker Quiksilver for 240 million euros ($317 million), creating the world's biggest maker of outdoor clothing and equipment.
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LATE SNOW

Rossignol said late snow had affected orders for new lines, especially in Japan, while snowboard sales had fallen and weakness continued in the rollerblade market. [Sic. Rollerblade is a trademarked name. The term the writer should have used is "inline skate market."]

Facing overcapacity in its core ski business and increased competition from China, Rossignol is also exposed to the weak dollar as a large chunk of its sales are in the United States.
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Skis Rossignol leads the world's winter sports goods market with its Rossignol, Look and Dynastar brands.
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It's not just Ski Chalet that has encountered financial difficulty lately.

Frankly, I'm not too surprised about Rossignol's troubles. Traditionally, Rossi and Dynastar have been associated with innovation and racing (Rossi made some awesome skis for racers like Alberto Tomba). However, Rossi and Dynastar have lost their edge in these areas along with market share. Rossi and Dynastar have also faced major competition from brands like Atomic and Volkl. K2 and Fisher are also solid brands. I sure hope that the sale works out and Rossi finds it's identity again.

my guess is that the Rossi snowboards will be discontinued since Quik already owns other snowboard lines like Libtech and Gnu.