Ski Press World Inc. - Index

Ski Press World Inc. - SIA Day 3 - Index

Being Gen Xers, the fi rst place they looked for guidance was
the Internet. The Internet is a wonderful mall for people
who want to immerse themselves in the world of boundless
choice and unlimited comparison shopping. One site
not only had great prices on bindings but offered three for
the price of two, a tantalizing come-on when you’re in the
market for four pairs of bindings even if the math leaves
a pesky remainder. Free shipping was offered by almost
everyone. And the outerwear selection was encyclopedic.
Things were moving toward an all-Internet solution until
daughter — the rapidly developing tween fashion queen,
much to the horror and dismay of her parents who spent their
formative years immersed in the black hole of Goth culture
— announced she wasn’t going to make a choice based on,
“those stupid little pictures.” Internet, meet Gen Next.
A binding is a binding is a binding, Gertrude Stein might
have said, had she shred. But a jacket’s got to not just fi t, it
has to embrace senses more discriminating than vision — it
has to feel good and feel right. The fashion tween’s revolt
proved prescient when the Parkers started pulling on pants
and slipping arms through sleeves at a snowboard specialty
shop near their home because, in another Steinian twist,
a small is not a small is not a small when labeled by three
different manufacturers.
And while that revelation was being played out in the
store’s fi tting rooms, Chris was receiving his own retail,
not to mention literary, schoolin’ over in hard goods.
Oscar Wilde once observed a cynic was a person who
knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Chris had a long list of boards, boots and bindings to check
out and knew the prices of each of them on at least three
different snowboard websites. The store had many but not
all of his choices. Predictably, their prices were not as low
as the lowest price Chris found online.
But that particular retailer had two things the online purveyors
didn’t. The fi rst was a buy-and-trade program for children
who have a nasty habit of outgrowing gear from one season
to the next. The other sleeved ace was a saleswoman that
knew hard goods inside and out. Coming from roughly the
same demographic as Chris, she knew how to sell to him.
She started by asking a lot of questions about how Chris
rode, how often and where. When he told her about his
ACCORDING TO THE 2007 SIA INTELLIGENCE REPORT
• 5.2 million Americans 7 or older snowboarded at least two times in 2006
• Snowboarders rode an average of 9 days during 2006
• Snowboarders are typically male (73%), 18-24 years old and live in a household
with annual earnings above $75,000
• Participation in snowboarding declined 13% in 2006
• 13% of all snowboard equipment was sold online in 2006/07
• Sales of all-mountain snowboards increased 31% in value while sales of
freeride boards declined 29%. Total dollar sales of freeride boards was still
230% greater than all-mountain boards
• The average boarder is riding on gear purchased in 1998
BY THE NUMBERS
year as a snowboard bum, she told him about her years as
a snowboard bum. But her most important questions were
the ones that stoked Chris’ imagination about the future,
about how he’d like to ride and how he’d like his family to
enjoy snowboarding.
It was a prelude to an upsell and by the time she was
done with Chris, she’d managed to upsell him on just
about every item he thought he wanted. Here are a few
examples of what the saleswoman did well in discussing
with the Parkers:
Chris (dad) had entered the store more or less convinced
he was going to buy Burton’s Custom board… online.
He left with the Custom X after the saleswoman sang
the praises of its superior ride quality, its more positive
carve, Dragonfl y wood core and PDS feature. He had also
pretty much decided to make a bold boot statement with
Forum’s Constant Black, a wickedly cool boot that borrowed
its look from the Converse hightop sneaks Chris
considered everyday shoes. But once the saleswoman
urged him to slip a foot into 32’s Ultralight, he almost
wore it out of the store.
And playing on the rider he wanted to be, she upsold
his binding choice from Burton’s Triad to its CO2. The
experience ended up costing Chris a few hundred bucks
more than he’d planned… but he felt like a million
because of the better gear and vision of who he wanted
to become.
Having cast his future with a person-to-person retail
experience, the rest of the shopping spree fell easily into
place. Kat settled on Option’s Bella board mounted with
Forum’s Aura Creamsicle binding and Burton’s Sapphire
boot because of the superior features, fi t and undeniably
current fashion.
Their son was unmoved and stuck with his fi rst choice,
a Forum Destroyer board and Republic binding combo
coupled with Vans BFB boot, selections informed more by
skate style and his personal take on current culture than
the pitch he was getting on the fl oor.
The daughter, a fashion queen, fell in love with a pink K2
Kandi snowboard, Kit binding and Kat boot. Her mother
was mortified and nearly passed out when the queen
announced in a defi nitive voice that she was going home
with a 686 Mannual Airhart, light pink jacket or nothing.
Faux fur and pink! The only saving grace was 686’s Smarty
Crown pants were only available in a color called butter, a
look the saleswoman said was way smarter than all-pinkall-the-time.
Perhaps the shock of realizing she’d given birth to a girly
girl drove Kat into buying an outfi t best described as foxy
mom: a white Bonfi re Dream down jacket with the same
touch of faux fur and white Bonfi re Blur pants with a très
chic silver rope belt.
Not to be completely left behind, Chris settled on a Zimtstern
Diablo jacket sporting 3D checks and Zimtstern
Acrobat pants… in a color Kat describes as frightened teal
crashes into Kelly green!
They left the store different people from when they walked
in, all because of the personalized experience and information
they got from dealing with knowledgeable sales staff
in a specialty snowboard store. — G.D. MAXWELL
Photo: Courtesy of Bonfi re/Sarah Wirtanen/Rider: Bev Vuilleumier