It’s not that this group of retailers, speaking at the Transworld Industry Conference in Banff, was wrong in the comments they made about how suppliers work with them. God knows I wouldn’t want to be a snowboard retailer and, in the words of one participant, it may indeed be a good year if you manage to […]
Everybody Needs a Balance Sheet; Notes from the Conference Retailer Panel Read More »
Okay, what was I doing at the Ski Industry Summit (formerly known as Ski Week) and why am I writing about it for Snow Biz? Anybody got a problem with some early season turns in Vail when there’s hardly anybody here? Didn’t think so. Also, there was an open bar each night. But aside from the
I Think I See a Plan. News From the Ski Industry Summit Read More »
By now, you should all have seen SIA’s study “Growing the Snow Sports Industry” and NSAA’s growth model for the resort business. They don’t claim that any industry initiative by a trade association is the salvation of the winter sports industry’s issues of participation and profitability. They say, if not exactly this way, “It’s up to each
Benefiting from Recent Industry Initiatives; It’s Up to Each of You Read More »
I walked out of ASR feeling positive about skateboarding and its market and will discuss why below. Still, when things look too good to be true, it’s been my experience that they usually are and I’m as susceptible to the hype as the next person. Let’s start, then, with this cautionary tale from Edward Chancellor book “Devil
Let me start by telling you, in no particular order, some things you already know. 1) Margins on hard goods suck, but carrying them draws customers in and legitimizes you as a skate retailer. 2) Truth be known, hard goods from different brands are pretty much the same. You may have some brand loyalties, but
In internet years, it seems like ancient history. But it really wasn’t long ago when it was taken for granted that on line retailing represented a new paradigm in selling to consumers. Maybe it still does- or will. But so far, making money as an online only retailer has proven illusive. How come? How many pairs of surf trunks do
The Dot Com Equation; What Does it Take to Make Money? Read More »
Use to be that I’d scurry home from Vegas in March with my extra backpack full of snowboard dealer packages and, like a kid at Christmas, throw myself into them to see what was new. It still takes an extra backpack (though a smaller one- fewer brands but a lot more pages per brand). This year, though,
The Retailer’s Dilemma; Are There Any Snowboard Shops Left? Read More »
Rarely, but once in a while, I come across something I want to plug. Not too long ago, it was the new Board Retailers’ Association ( www.boardretailers.com . If you haven’t joined yet, get moving. Opps, there I go plugging them again.). This time, it’s some inexpensive, easy to use, financial planning software that the Retail
I hold in my hand the Transworld Skateboard Buyers Guides from 1999 and 2000. Everything you could possibly want to know about decks, trucks, wheels, and bearings are in these guides. Well, okay, Transworld exercises some discretion in which brands make it into the guide and which don’t. All the product from each brand isn’t necessarily
Public Wisdom, Maybe; Comparing the 1999 and 2000 Buyers Guides Read More »
In the early 90’s, when snowboards started pouring into the U.S. from the Austrian ski factories, there were claims that consumers wouldn’t accept boards labeled “Made in Austria.” Mostly, those claims were made by U.S. factories threatened by foreign production. If there was a marketing advantage to a board “made in the USA,” it didn’t last long,
Snowboards from Afar; The Potential Impact on Retailers Read More »