The company was founded in 1935 by Josef Liebhart in Munich as a mountain sports specialist, who later developed into an outdoor outfitter with sleeping bags, backpacks and tents. In the 1980s, Salewa gave the South Tyrolean Oberalp Group the Oberrauch family a license to sell clothing under the Salewa brand.
When there were financial problems with the German company in 1990, the South Tyroleans took over the brand and moved the company headquarters entirely to Italy. More precisely to Bozen (South Tyrol), where people speak better German than Italian. Only the equipment division - bindings, tents, backpacks - has remained in Germany.