Ski Press World Inc. - Index

Ski Press World Inc. - SIA Day 2 - Index

cover story
When he walked into Otto’s store, there was no wall-o’-skis
looking like a colorful, confusing picket fence. There was
a pod of beginner skis, a cluster of cruisers, another of allmountain
skis, fat skis and racing skis so that customers could
immediately begin in a section where they felt comfortable.
Each had a couple of selections from the major manufacturers,
not everything from everybody. “Why bother,” was
always Otto’s response to being asked why he didn’t carry
more skis. Besides, if there was a ski someone really wanted,
Otto would order a pair in a couple of days.
There was always a pot of coffee, a comfy, serviceable boot
bench to linger around, knowledgeable sales staff, and at
least once a month, during ski season, Otto would conduct
a seminar on ski tuning, waxing, boot adjustment or
something informative and highly social.
Outerwear was organized intuitively, from base layers to
jackets to pants to one-piece suits for the diehards. It was
further clustered by price point, technical features and quality.
Stocked colors and styles, though not necessarily from
the same manufacturer, were tastefully paired to present a
well-turned-out collection of styles.
Though he had no formal customer loyalty program, Otto
always seemed to discount the sticker price in a way that let
you know you were a valued customer. And if you weren’t
happy with something or had a warranty issue, he was
quick to set things straight.
Now he was gone.
Bill stumbled into a large, chain sporting goods store but left
in dismay after a ‘sales associate’ his daughter’s age tried to
sell him on a pair if twintips… right after he fi nished selling
another customer a tennis racket. After a few more forays
into other suburban stores, Bill was pretty much ready to
forego this year’s planned re-equipping expedition.
That’s when his wife, Gayle, took over. Once again, she
proved women are smarter than men, not to mention
being way better shoppers.
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Gayle proved to be a no-nonsense shopper. The SIA’s Model
for Success could well have been describing her when it
teased out shoppers’ motivations. Unlike her husband,
who seemed to reach with never-waning hope for gear
that would, if not help him improve, then at least let him
remain an expert skier as long as possible, Gayle was motivated
by comfort and fi t. Actually, she was motivated by
the fact her boots had become both cold and malevolent
toe-torture machines. She wanted her family skiing in safe
gear, especially her children, whose growing penchant for
backcountry forays and terrain parks were, in her words,
designed solely to prematurely age their mother.
Once she was convinced she could fi nd those features, the
deal-clincher came when she negotiated a great discount
with a specialty retailer at a store near their ski hill. The
store had a good selection of hard goods, outerwear and
accessories, and reasonably helpful salespeople. And once
the manager saw she was going to outfi t her family head
to toe at the store, he realized he had a chance to make a
large sale and gain a great new customer, so he made her
an offer she couldn’t refuse.
ACCORDING TO THE 2007 SIA INTELLIGENCE REPORT
The McAlpines walked away stoked to slide. Here are some
of the key ingredients that made the sale:
Mom walked out with a pair of Volkl Attiva Pearl skis after
being assured they could perform well all over the mountain
and give her enough sass to not feel out of place when
meeting up with her daughter in the park. Plush, comfy
Salomon Charm 7 boots were an immediate choice when
the saleswoman sang the praises of the built-in heaters.
A DNA Cindi jacket over DNA’s Lassie pant was a warm,
stylish pairing. Worn over a wear-it-inside or show-it-off
Under Armour base layer completed her cool mom look.
Dad had been angling for skis with a little more base underfoot
that might feel a bit more stable and fl oaty in the event
his son managed to drag him out into the backcountry. He
settled on a pair of Head 82 Monsters paired up with Head
S11 boots. Spyder’s Conquest jacket paired up with their
Tarantula pant gave him a classic look while their Varsity
cotton/poly T-neck base layer seems destined to become
his preferred around-the-cabin lounge wear.
Junior just about did backfl ips when he discovered a pair of
Rossignol B83 skis mounted with Rossi/Naxo AT bindings.
The salesman spent the next 10 minutes explaining to his
still-unconvinced mother how that set-up was just as useful
in-bounds as it was out-of-bounds to let know her son
could still ski with her, too. Junior opted to order a pair
of Scarpa Tornado Pro Intuition, but was stoked when he
found the sleek, no-nonsense look of SMS’s Shelta jacket
and pant combination at the store. Building on his mom’s
safety sensibilities, junior and the salesman also managed
to talk her into popping for Ortovox’s Free Rider knapsack
on the strength of its Spine Protection System.
The Daughter fl ipped over a pair of Roxy Broom twintips
and found a perfect fi t in Rossignol’s Elite Bandit B2 boot,
a combo she’s convinced will make her the jibbin’ queen.
A two-piece Helly Hansen Electra CIS jacket and matching
Vega pant in what her mother described as a “Hey, look
at me!” check had instant appeal for its comfy cut, street
sense and fl exibility — the inner, light jacket worn over a
hoody makes, as she says, a statement.
What started out as an exercise in fear management for Bill
turned into a relatively painless experience once he discovered
that the fi ne tenants of salesmanship and relationshipbuilding
are still available at many specialty retail stores.
• The typical alpine skier is between 27 and 31-years-old, has a college degree and an average household
income above $100,000/year
• Alpine skiers spent an average of 12.9 days skiing during the 2006/07 season
• Sales of ski equipment declined 6% by unit and 5% in dollar volume in 2006/07
• The average skier is skiing on gear purchased in 1997
• In 2006/07, 37% of skiers were women. The split the previous year was 50/50
BY THE NUMBERS
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