Transworld Business reported back in June that California’s State Congress passed two bills requiring riders under 18 to wear helmets on the slopes while skiing or snowboarding . The category has already been doing well for specialty retailers with SIA reporting that high profile injuries helped boast helmet sales to 1.2 million units this year…without the helmet law. It’ll be interesting to see what next season brings. California boasts more snowsports participants and more snowboarders than any other state.

For Full Coverage please visit http://business.transworld.net/38058/features/california-senate-passes-helmet-law-should-helmets-be-required/

Parents of children caught without helmets will be fined $25 and resorts are required to post signage and information about the law. Part of the House version of the bill also has a stipulation requiring resorts to report on the number of deaths that occur each year. Neither bill has passed both chambers of Congress and has therefore not been signed into law as of today.

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SnowSports Industries America (SIA) reports that lower inventories and less sale items helped retailers of snow-sport equipment and clothing increase sales revenue for the 2009-10 ski season to $2.94 billion from $2.82 billion for the previous season. Top selling goods included helmets, powder skis and backcountry skis.

• Accessories had the biggest increase in dollar sales, at 7.4 percent to $1.02 billion, followed by apparel (2.48 percent to $1.1 billion) and equipment (2.13 percent to $799.2 million).

• Snow sports specialty equipment — 2009/2010 sales were up 4 percent to $1.8 billion, while unit sales dropped 3 percent.

• Online sales — Unit sales increased 1 percent, while dollar sales jumped 9.5 percent to $597 million. Last season, online sales leveled off after three seasons of “hyperactive growth,” the report said, though online snowboard unit sales went up 17 percent and dollar sales increased 20 percent.

• Chain stores — Unit sales dropped 40 percent, and dollar sales were basically flat at $563 million. While equipment sales generally were down at such stores, dollar sales of accessories such as hats, helmets and goggles went up 5 percent. (Accessories account for about 40 percent of snow-sport sales at chain stores.)

Based in McLean, Va., SIA is a not-for-profit trade group started in 1954 that represents businesses in the snow-sports industry. To learn more about the organization or their report, please visit their website at http://www.snowsports.org/.

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http://www.leisuretrends.com/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=535&EID=151&sid=RZ481PRXUAVRZEPQYADIRUE&j=22966124&e=roy@boardretailers.org&l=1704916_HTML&u=261994788&mid=22272&jb=0

Snowsports sales dropped 4.6% in January.Internet sales in the industry were down 6.2%.Specialty ski & snowboard shops fared the best, off only 4.1%. The article goes on to say that one reason for the decline was the lean inventory retailers had left after holiday and post-holiday sales.

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According to Boa:

The goal of the online educational push is to help retail salespeople grow more familiar with the history, features, and benefits of the Boa Lacing System on new snowboard, ski and winter sports gear.

Retail salespeople will need to log on to www.3point5.com, review the Boa Lacing System learning module, and pass a brief Edu-game to be entered to win the iPod contest. One randomly-chosen person per week through April 1, 2010 will receive an Apple iPod® Shuffle. You must complete and pass the Boa Edu-game to have a chance to win.

The promotion’s goal is to further educate retail sales staff on Boa, which in turn benefits ski and snowboard partners. “Even though we’ve been providing the best snowboard boot closure system since 2001, there’s still work to do in helping retail salespeople tell our story, clearly communicate the distinct benefits of our system and highlight the newest Boa product developments,” says Boa Marketing Manager Garett Graubins. “The 3point5 Edu-Game platform is the easiest and most direct way on the Internet for retail employees to access and learn these materials, plus you can win an iPod.”

Boa chose 3point5 to help spread their message because of the company’s unrivaled success throughout the categories in which Boa provides product. “3point5 has proven itself to be a valuable asset to training our retailers employees,” says Flow International Team Manager Andrew Mutty. “The platform is a quick, engaging, and enjoyable experience that educates but also helps promote the benefits to our brand. A true win / win for both parties.”

Currently with 5,312 snowsports retailers educating their employees on the Boa Lacing System, 3point5 has over 200 companies offering training programs, including big names such Flow Snowboarding, Salomon, Skull Candy, The North Face, Under Armour, Helly Hansen, Merrell, Gore-Tex, Arcteryx, Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, Timberland, and New Balance. 3point 5 has 179,000 regular users at 19,000 retail locations worldwide. Over 6.5 million Edu-Games have been taken by retail employees.

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CREDIT AND CASH FLOW PROBLEMS RESULT IN PALTRY PRE-SEASON ORDERS
Results of the 2009/10 Orders survey indicate significant declines in pre-season orders for snowboard and alpine ski equipment.  Alpine ski equipment orders are down more than 20% and snowboard equipment orders declined more than 30% in dollars compared to last season’s orders.  Retailers discounted prices and sold less last season resulting in thinner margins and less cash flow to pay for 2009/10 season’s orders.  Additionally, retailers face a market in which credit is much more difficult to get and interest rates are poised to rise rapidly.

The credit issue was exacerbated last month when the near bankruptcy of CIT, a major creditor to small businesses (including the sports industry), rocked markets worldwide. According to CIT, more than 1,000,000 business customers “depend on CIT to provide the financing they need to run their businesses. And for more than 100 years, CIT has remained committed to the lending needs of the small and middle market – providing needed capital to markets that other larger and smaller financial institutions often don’t.”  CIT’s near bankruptcy and the subsequent bailout by bondholders may result in exorbitantly high interest rates and difficulty getting terms other than “net 30” into the foreseeable future.  With limited cash and credit, retailers are curtailing their orders for the 2009/10 season.

SIA conducted a short survey with members in July about the potential impacts of CIT’s funding crisis.  Most respondents worried that a collapsing CIT would hurt retailers who are already struggling from poor cash flow due to last season’s anemic margins and a very tight credit market.  The domino effect created by retailers unable to pay for orders is clearly evident in the Orders Survey results and losing the most prolific creditor to small business would only exacerbate the problem with ever tighter credit and increasing interest rates.

One member surveyed summarized the situation:

“The credit market is extremely tight right now and has been for nearly one year. Access to working capital is already constrained and the collapse of the largest factor/asset based lender would make the problem even worse and drive the cost of capital even higher than it’s been trending, as there would be too much demand for capital relative to the availability in the current market.”

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I had the pleasure of being permitted to listen in on the SIA/Leisure Trend conference call this afternoon highlighting the 2008/2009 Snowsport Season Analysis from August 2008 – March 2009. There were about 100 people registered for the call led by Kelly Davis of SIA and Scott Jaeger of Leisure Trends. Kelly began the call by reiterating that retailers sold less and made less this year. There were still 57.1 million ski/riders this season which is only a 5.5% decline from last year’s record setting season. Passionate riders find the money and snow will always trump the economy.

Below I have taken the liberty to highlight some of the interesting reports. Not a shocker but it was a tough year for specialty retailers. Northeast retailers faired okay with Southern California retailers reporting the worst sales stats. Strong early season sales helped to offset slow downs at the end of the season in some cases. Online sales ($5456 million) made up for brick-and-mortar sales. In fact, internet sales were up 12.1% while specialty stores were down 7.82% and chains were down 7.36%. There was aggressive discounting across the board, which is going to have long-term effects on profit. There will be fewer OTB dollars out in the market next buying season. In addition, consumers are being trained to seek discounts. There needs to be a partnership between retailers and manufacturers not to devalue industry products as a whole.

Hot Trends:

In the ski arena, the sale of ski systems are down. People want freedom in bindings. Flat ski twin tips are up. Carve skis are down.

In the snowboard category, reverse chamber, freestyle snowboards are the new big thing. Freeride snowboards are going away like carve skis. The trend is moving to freestyle. Overall, (adult) snowboard sales were down 9% with a 7% decline in dollars. Boots remained a positive category with a small decline of 1%. The thought being that as feet grow, riders are forced to get new boots. In a down economy, they might keep their board and bindings. More riders are apparently tuning their own boards with the sale of wax on the rise.

Apparel led the charge in declining categories, after an eight season increase. The category fell 10% this year. Brutal temperatures early in the season kept sales from falling further. Retailers were forced to discount as shoppers were gun shy.

Specifically, insulated parkas which used to be a retailing golden child is no longer a hot selling item.

Margins in apparel and equipment have been dropping for the past couple of years. The loss was only felt more as retailers struggled in a down economy.
Inventory management is more important than ever.

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By: Ed Clancy

The corporate-ization of action sports. Live free, or die – like the remaining mom and pop stores?

Cut backs, downsize, lateral move. These are not terms used only to describe tricks in action sports but more-so what is happening in the current economy and the effect on everyone.

I’ve been watching industry trends and talking to many store owners, snowboarders, and workers over the past several years, trying to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of snowboarding. So far the news isn’t good.

There is fear and loathing within the industry. Should start up brands go corporate – to keep production and development competitive – compromising quality? Insiders and veterans in the field hate retail chains for pushing a massive amount of goods into the market; a trade show that is nothing more than a dump site for last years goods, is as much the villain as the internet in cutting out personalized shopping experiences, and retailer profit margins.

We know the origins. In the 70’s, this guy with a unique middle name, and a few others, start to surf down the mountain; production of snowboards then starts in converted garages; fluorescent this, that and everything are the “in” gear to put on to protect your body against the elements; skiers-ONLY friendly mountains (?); competitions on tour; snowboarding becomes an Olympic sport; “hundreds of millions of dollars” are used to describe volume sales.

Fast forward to the present. Now top-tier executives dictate the trends of actions sports through their Madison Avenue advertising campaigns, public relations teams and countless sponsored competitions. The respective owners are often overheard swearing allegiance to keep it “real” but their companies have Wall Street investors, distinguished boards of directors and hundreds to thousands of employees. Do they really care about what is genuine?

Small companies need to survive. They are holding on for the long term, through up and down economies; avoiding a take-over or hasty mergers, or closures and selling out. The experts on staff, selling, traveling, making the 20 a day follow up calls, and calling on customers are working the market individual by individual to maximize the experience and build customer residuals the old fashion way.

A similar venture takes place on the streets of Venice, CA. on Abbott Kinney Blvd. Here, on this mile and a half strip, there is an organized business development association to keep major chain retailers from opening. The small stores thrive, some perish, though pedestrian traffic is constant. Meanwhile, the 3^rd Street promenade in Santa Monica, only 2 miles away and many times longer, has anchor stores, big name brand shops, huge signs of clearance sales, 110% off, and empty windows.

The proverbial writing is on the wall. Riders and shoppers alike need to be a part of the program: not gouged on pricing. They need to be educated on quality versus inundated with action photos/videos; nurtured like it’s the first and last set up they’ll ever buy.

Gone are the days of $1600+ to ride Mammoth Mountain(Mammoth Lakes, CA). The Californian “mother of all resorts” is bringing back the MVP pass – a discounted season pass with no black out dates – for under $600 – after a 5 year absence. The loyal customer (and economy) have spoken.

Ed Clancy is a marketing-community based relations expert, and shred jedi.
Emaclancy2@yahoo.com, (310) 902-6159

The opinions in this article are not necessarily the opinions of the Board Retailers Association. This blog serves as a sounding board for the industry and as such, we often post submissions submitted by others as a means of facilitating discussion.

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According to SIA (SnowSports Industries America), snow sports market sales declined 1.5% Aug-Jan this season compared to Aug-Jan 2007/08. Consumers are buying small ticket items like hats and gloves but appear cautious when it comes to bigger purchases like snowboards. Current year model equipment sales are down 7% in snowboard equipment while carryover sales accounted for 24% of all snowboards sold so far this season. As a result, 40% of participating retailers said that they have limited their snow sports spending and 32% have purchased no gear at all as a direct result of current economic conditions.

According to the Retail Audit, Alpine ski and snowboard equipment sales have decreased just 5% overall compared to this time last season but were heavily leveraged by sales of carry-over equipment. Carryover is defined as anything sold at less than the average wholesale cost of that item.

The market data presented in by SIA comes from the SIA Consumer Panel maintained by SIA and the Retail Audit conducted by the Leisure Trends Group. The Retail Audit supposedly consists of data gathered directly from the Point of Sale systems of about 1/3 of the snow sports retailers (1200 stores) in the U.S. market.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Melissa Clary
Board Retailers Association (BRA)
910.509.0109 x. 1005
melissa@boardretailers.com
www.boardretailers.org

Board Retailers Association and 3point5 Launch Online Training

SALT LAKE CITY, UT and WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC (April 25, 2008) – Online retail trainer 3point5.com and the Board Retailers Association (BRA) today announced a partnership to build and promote Web-based training for the board sport industry.

3point5.com is a leading provider of Web-based retail training. The company tests brand, technology and product knowledge using interactive “Edu-Games”, which retail salespeople must pass to earn access to deep discounts on the products they sell.

“BRA, which represents independent snowboard, skateboard, surfboard and wakeboard retailers, had been looking for a partner to help deliver on its longstanding training initiative,” said Melissa Clary, BRA Executive Director.

“The collaboration with 3point5.com will ensure that all board sport retailers – including BRA members – get free access to training developed under the new initiative,” she said.

“The future of retail sales training is online, and this agreement points us in that crucial direction,” Clary added. “We’re excited to be working with a proven leader in Web-based retail training.”

Under the agreement, 3point5.com will:
• Offer free sponsorship benefits on all BRA-created courses on 3point5.com, including logo placements and BRA contact information.
• Deliver marketing capabilities to BRA, including the ability to conduct polls, surveys, offers and events and administrative functions that will include reporting and editing capabilities.
• Offer BRA retail members a free three-month trial upgrade to 3point5.com subscription-based services and free hosting on one BRA-created course for a month.

In exchange, BRA agrees to endorse 3point5.com within the board sport industry as the online resource for its members’ retail employees. In addition, BRA will provide content and other expert resources to jointly build training courses with 3point5.com.

The partnership is good news for retailers, said ZJ Boarding House co-owner and BRA Chairman Todd Roberts.

“Access to standardized yet engaging employee training covering sales floor basics, product fundamentals and vendor specific training – as well as real-time tracking of employee progress by management – is long overdue,” Roberts said. “It’s going to be very well received by board sport retailers.”

“The agreement will introduce board sport retailers to a proven concept that can significantly improve sales staff proficiency in a challenging retail environment,” said 3point5.com Director of Action Sports John Telfer. “It will open up a wide segment of the Action Sports market to the leader in online retail training and draw more manufacturers to 3point5.com.”
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About 3point5.com
3point5.com is an online campus that represents over 68,000 registered pros and sales professionals, 250 manufacturers, over 8,500 retailers in an increasing number industries, including Outdoor, Snow, Bike, Action Sports, Golf, Tennis and Hunt/Fish. 3point5.com offers a fun and secure place for retail sales professionals to train, access information and interact within their industry. Contact John Telfer jt@3point5.com, 714.368.7583

About the Board Retailers Association
The Board Retailers Association (BRA) is a non-profit representing almost 500 independently owned board sport retailers. Under the direction of BRA’s Chairman and Board of Directors, the association serves as the preeminent voice, for independent retailers of surf, skate, snow and wake products, on a grassroots level with manufacturers, trade show representatives, and other associations. The Board Retailers Association also works to provide educational resources and exclusive discounts and savings from vendors on the day-to-day costs of business via our Associate Membership Program. www.boardretailers.org

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