by Board Retailers Association | Sep 11, 2022 | Community, Industry, News, Outdoor, Snowboard, Sustainability
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia Peak Ski Area officials recently announced they will be closed this winter, for the second year in a row. The lack of snow on the mountain for the past five years has created a snowball effect. For the first time in at least the past 25 years, the ski area will not even make an attempt to open this winter. Push Play “It’s not been snowing in November or really in December, and then it’s ended earlier, so middle of February, early March, and just the total snowfall has been down,” said Ben Abruzzo, Sandia Peak Ski Area general manager. In 2021, the snow came too late. “On the last week of January, it snowed a little more and we started to get things ready to go and, just, it wasn’t going to happen, you know, trying to operate a ski area for three weeks is a pretty tough call,” Abruzzo said. The short ski seasons have made it difficult for management to keep the ski area operational. “Asking someone to leave their job and come work for us for three to four weeks is a tough ask,” Abruzzo said. “All that leads into – when you have those short seasons – obviously it’s greatly reduced revenue, so then it becomes difficult to maintain your equipment, do new things, pay your staff.” The future for the ski area is unknown. “We have been working on a mountain coaster that we thought would provide some economic stability for us, and the approval process became extremely cumbersome, very lengthy, and costly, and is on hold for now,...
by Board Retailers Association | Aug 30, 2022 | Holiday, Industry, News, Outdoor, Snowboard
Snowboarders ride the lifts at Brighton, UT, an Epic Pass resort. Photo: Jackson Blackhurst. Are the days of overcrowded Vail-owned ski resorts a thing of the past? Will the infamous “Epic Lift Lines” Instagram account have to be discontinued due to a lack of content? Vail Resorts came under a lot of fire last season due to, well, a number of things. In short, they were accused of low pay for employees, leading to labor shortages which significantly impacted the guest experience. Add to that a healthy dose of Epic Pass crowds, and you’ve got the makings of a problem. In response to the criticism, Vail announced a number of changes at the end of last season, not the least of which was a $20-per-hour minimum wage for employees at its resorts. And just yesterday, Vail took things a step further, announcing a cap on daily ticket sales across all 37 of its North American ski areas. The cap will be in effect the entire 2022-2023 season. However, the cap only applies to the sale of walk-up day tickets and online ticket sales. Season pass holders (including the Epic Pass), employees, and those taking lessons will not be impacted. Last season saw 23 days of limited day-passes during peak holiday periods, and this season they don’t necessarily expect to sell out often. “This is a lever that will let us manage the experience on the most popular days without having to change the experience for our pass holders,” said Vail Resorts spokeswoman Lindsay Hogan. Crowds at Stevens Pass last season. Photo: Change.org. One thing Vail Resorts reportedly isn’t changing is its policies on season passes. Last year Vail slashed Epic...
by Board Retailers Association | Jun 21, 2022 | Brick & Mortar, Industry, News, Retail History, Retail Strategy, Snowboard
BC Surf & Sport in Lone Tree, Colorado – Photo by SES Company Owner {and BRA Board Member} Bruce Cromartie answered some questions for us about how the snow season turned out, including what brands sold well. We also asked him about current sales trends and concerns about the potential for inventory buildup in the market. Please note that this article is a Shop Eat Surf Executive Edition article so you will need to sign up for access before viewing: Click here to login or click here to sign up for a free 30 day Executive Edition trial. We, at BRA, feel that the benefits of the SES Executive Edition Membership outweigh the cost. Be sure to visit the Shop Eat Surf website to view valuable Industry News and Resourceful Articles regularly via this link: Shop Eat Surf If you are not yet a BRA Retail Member, you can easily opt in to either Regular (no cost) or Distinguished ($100/yr.) Membership via this super simple join...
by Board Retailers Association | Jun 12, 2022 | Industry, Outdoor, Predictions, Snowboard, Tourism
Seattle’s main airport is surrounded by communities and has grown like a weed right along with the Seattle metropolitan area. It has no practical way to expand. Through recent technology and some clever evolution of facilities the airport authority is doing everything it can to shoehorn more passengers and flights into the same space. But there’s a limit. Airplanes, which are big and fast moving, need a certain minimum vertical and horizontal separation no matter how sophisticated the technology of the plane and control systems are. They also need to park and move around while they are on the ground. The same is true of skiers and snowboarders at mountain resorts in case you hadn’t figured out where I was going with this. It’s unlikely many new winter resorts are going to open. Climate change, at least for the immediate future, will mean an overall decline in snow days and season length (yes, I know- good for some mountains, bad for others). Here’s an interesting article on how conditions are evolving in Norway. Like with airports, technology in the form of snow making, faster lifts, etc. will try to ameliorate this where possible. And mountain resorts will increasingly try to build their year around business. It might be ten years ago I first suggested the National Ski Areas Association change its name to the National Mountain Resort Association. Still waiting, though the case is even stronger now. I’m wondering if resorts, or I suppose resort groups as things have evolved, will offer not just multi resort but multi season passes. Consider the permutations of passes you could sell- not just days...
by Board Retailers Association | Apr 27, 2022 | Community, Industry, Retail Strategy, Skateboard, Snowboard
New Tactics CEO Dugan Baker – Photo courtesy of Tactics By Tiffany Montgomery | Published Apr 26, 2022 Important industry skate and snow retailer Tactics (BRA Distinguished Retail Member), which is a big online player in addition to operating three brick-and-mortar stores, has a new CEO. Please note that this article is a Shop Eat Surf Executive Edition article so you will need to sign up for access before viewing: Click here to login or click here to sign up for a free 30 day Executive Edition trial. We, at BRA, feel that the benefits of the SES Executive Edition Membership outweigh the cost. Be sure to visit the Shop Eat Surf website to view valuable Industry News and Resourceful Articles regularly via this link: Shop Eat Surf If you are not yet a BRA Retail Member, you can easily opt in to either Regular (no cost) or Distinguished ($100/yr.) Membership via this super simple join...
by Board Retailers Association | Mar 25, 2022 | Awards, Competitions, News, Skateboard, Snowboard, Surf
Kelly Slater will be at the Oscars. Pretty good for a surfer from Cocoa Beach, right? Photo: WSL/Heff/Wikimedia Commons There are a few people in sports who transcend the sport itself. They get famous for their talent, but stay famous for something else. Take, for example, Kelly Slater. If you were to mention his name in non-surfing company, most would know who he is. Take John John Florence, and I’ll bet far fewer non-surfers would be familiar. Mason Ho? Clay Marzo? Probably not. They’re big names in surfing, but that’s a big fish in a small pond. Kelly Slater, Shaun White, and Tony Hawk are three action sports stars who have gone bigger than their sport. Which is why the Oscars, airing on March 27 on ABC, enlisted them as presenters. Slater, White, and Hawk join a cast of immensely famous people including Kevin Costner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Brolin, Jennifer Garner, Tiffany Haddish, Jason Momoa, Elliot Page, Bill Murray (Kelly’s golf pal), DJ Khaled, and more. Although Slater is certainly used to the public eye by now — he’s been in it for the majority of his life, after all — he’s aware of how incredible it is to be asked to present at the Oscars. “Well, I guess it’s remarkable that a surfer kid from Cocoa Beach is presenting on the big stage,” he told me. “Some things in my life have been unimaginable. I’m very honored.” As usual, though, the decision-makers at the Oscars are facing backlash for some of their choices. Scott Weinberg, a film producer and critic, is one of the people who...
