With a fast-expanding global presence and new brands entering international markets, the Nidecker Group needed to grow at speed without putting its reputation at risk.
Founded in 1887 in Switzerland, the family-owned sportswear company has grown into a global powerhouse – with nine brands spanning snowboarding, skateboarding and footwear. While expanding to international markets is a solid sign of success, it comes with new, often unseen, risks.
And, after acquiring some major footwear brands from SoleTech, Nidecker Group was exposed to new and impactful threats. Brand protection became mission-critical to keep pace with the group’s global expansion.
That’s when SnapDragon stepped in.
The tipping point for Nidecker Group’s brand protection
For years, intellectual property protection sat on the sidelines at Nidecker Group. Trademarks were registered, but there was no active strategy, and little sign of brand abuse.
That changed overnight with the acquisition of global footwear brands etnies, éS Skateboarding and Emerica. Almost immediately, fake websites began replicating Nidecker Group’s online stores: scamming customers with lookalike digital assets, contact forms and checkout pages. Counterfeit products were all over online marketplaces like AliExpress, Temu and Wish.
The impact was brutal. Within weeks, 90% of customer service queries were linked to scam orders. Consumers were confused, trust was being eroded, and the company’s hard-won reputation was under attack.
Brand protection could no longer wait.
Building a proactive protection solution
Nidecker Group’s first move was to get the fundamentals right by registering and transferring trademarks across its expanded brand portfolio. With nine global brands to protect, the company knew resources had to be allocated carefully. The focus went first to high-risk footwear names with the widest consumer reach.
But the real shift came in mindset. Instead of constantly reacting to scams after customers had already been duped, Nidecker Group set out to get ahead of the threats. With SnapDragon’s guidance and brand protection services, the company identified the biggest risks and built a step-by-step plan to tackle them.
By securing its brands online, Nidecker Group could expand into new regions with confidence — knowing customers, retailers and distributors could trust what they saw was genuine.
Choosing SnapDragon as a trusted protection partner
When Nidecker Group decided to shift from reacting to scams to defending proactively, they knew they couldn’t do it alone. With limited resources and a global portfolio, they needed an expert partner they could trust.
As Anna, Nidecker Group’s Customer Service Manager, noted, “We needed a partner who understood how fast we were growing. SnapDragon gave us that balance of speed, trust and expertise.”
After exploring multiple providers, SnapDragon stood out. From the very first call, the focus wasn’t on selling brand protection software: it was on understanding Nidecker Group’s challenges and shaping a solution. That human approach, combined with SnapDragon’s deep expertise and founder’s first-hand experience of counterfeiting, made the difference.
Anna explains: “What stood out from the start was the relationship. SnapDragon focused on how they could solve our problem and support us in achieving the bigger goal.”
Trust, transparency and collaboration formed the foundation of the partnership: exactly what Nidecker Group needed to take its intellectual property strategy to the next level.
“What stood out from the start was the relationship. SnapDragon focused on how they could solve our problem and support us in achieving the bigger goal.”
How SnapDragon’s protection solution works in practice
The threats facing Nidecker Group are constant, but SnapDragon keeps them manageable as the business scales.
“Without a tool like SnapDragon,” Anna said, “we’d have needed several people working full time just to track fake websites and marketplaces. Now, we can focus on growth.”
Our online brand protection software continuously monitors the digital landscape: flagging fake websites, cloned social media ads, and counterfeit products on global marketplaces. Instead of reacting to consumer complaints, Nidecker Group can now act before customers even notice.
The technology is backed by advanced tools that give Nidecker Group control:
- Distributor and shop whitelisting to avoid false flags and streamline enforcement.
- Comprehensive threat mapping that exposes risks beyond websites, including marketplaces and social channels consumers rarely report.
- A real-time dashboard showing takedown rates and threat trends, making it easy to brief senior leadership.
Alongside the software, SnapDragon’s brand protection experts provide ongoing support – sharing best practices, prioritising threats, and helping the Nidecker Group team adapt fast.
The result is a proactive defence that saves time and restores consumer trust, while protecting and powering the growth of Nidecker Group’s nine global brands.
"Instead of trying to follow up on consumers, we are really proactively taking down social media ads and websites before the consumers even notice. Without a tool like SnapDragon, we would have never been able to do so, or we would have maybe have to hire three or four people that every day go through all the first Google searches pages and try to scout those ones."
The results: fighting back and winning trust
The turnaround didn’t just stop the problem, it also gave Nidecker Group the confidence to keep growing fast without fear of reputational damage.
The shift has been dramatic. Since partnering with SnapDragon, Nidecker Group has removed 1000+ counterfeit listings and achieved a takedown rate of 96% (with close to 100% success on marketplaces and social media).
The effect on consumers has been just as powerful. Scam-related queries, once making up 90% of Nidecker Group’s customer service workload, have almost disappeared. With fewer frustrated customers and more time for genuine support, the brand’s reputation is back where it belongs: strong, trusted and secure.
As Anna put it: “We’ve gone from being overwhelmed with scam complaints to almost none at all. For the business, it shows customers are coming back to us with trust.”
"From having the top request from consumers being, "Where is my order from a scam website?" to almost not having any reports anymore. For my team, it's amazing. At the same time, for the company, it's a good sign to also getting the trust back from consumers and reducing the amount of fake products out there."
Lessons for global brands
Anna sums it up: “If you don’t do anything, you’ll only have more work later. Tackle the threats consistently, and they start to reduce.”
Nidecker Group’s experience offers clear takeaways for any brand facing IP theft online:
- Don’t wait. Leaving IP protection on the back burner only makes the problem worse. Start early and act consistently.
- Educate your customers. Make it clear what a genuine website or logo looks like so customers can spot scams quickly.
- Keep your records tight. Updated distributor and retailer details make enforcement smoother and prevent false flags.
- Stay proactive. The more consistently you tackle threats, the less ground counterfeiters gain.
- Choose the right brand protection partner. Working with SnapDragon gave Nidecker Group both the tools and the trusted expertise to take control of brand protection without adding headcount.
Stop firefighting, start future-proofing with SnapDragon
For a company growing at global scale, brand protection isn’t just about defence — it’s about enabling safe, confident expansion into new markets.
By moving from reactive firefighting to proactive defence, the company has restored consumer trust, lightened the load on its customer service teams, and safeguarded the reputation of its nine world-class brands.
SnapDragon is proud to be Nidecker Group’s strategic partner in that fight. Our AI software, backed by expert insight, gives brands the power to see threats clearly, act quickly, and grow safely – without compromise.
See the full Nidecker Group case study, or book a free consultation to discover how SnapDragon can help your brand grow confidently at a global scale.
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Laura Sodaymay
SnapDragon | Brand Protection Specialist
