I love you guys!

Well, there is a bit of hysteria in the air it seems. An election year combined with global warming to start with. Now an economic meltdown has led, it seems, to the media calling out anyone interested in a full blown freak out. As a retail businessman this is a worrisome proposition. I do sell "adult toys" and if people are going to reign in the finances, the toys get cut first? On top of this there has been no snow to get things going. The sales reps are reporting doom and gloom from the retail sector in California. Some manufacturers are (panicking and) going to "off price" reorders much earlier than typical. I have heard that a few Tahoe shops have closed their doors, which happens in any economy. The reps and shopowners see it as "a sign of the times". My take is a bit different. I think that mother earth is the key component. We are all "snow farmers" here. Crisp, white, fluffy snow is the main component. Regarding the economy, I am probably less optimistic than most of you. That being said, a poor economy combined with a lousy snow year means the entire industry will suffer. A great economy combined with a lousy snow year and the entire industry will suffer. Mother Earth rules. How will the economic situation effect California Ski Company? Well, we will see. I have lost many hours of sleep on that one! I need more evidence before I can prognosticate with authority but here is my hunch: 1) The economy will bring ski shop sales totals down about 15% for the industry across the board nationally. Hit most hard will be rentals (ski 1-2 times a year? May pass to save $), and destination resorts. Instead of Whistler you book a local mountain for the week. 2) Enthusiasts will still ski. Face it- it is a passion and a lifestyle decision for us and we will find a way. Skiing is a priority for happiness and we are just not going to give it up. 3) Skiers can afford to ski. Let's be real. Skiing is not a sport that you can do cheaply. Therefore skiers have some decent dough (if you don't believe me, there are Lot's of median income studies out there I can send your way). While lower income families may have to make cuts, the middle income and above still have disposable income. 4) Things could change for good or bad in the upcoming months which will change points 1 through 3. For now, all I can look at is empirical evidence to base my business decisions on. To that end I ran end of the month reports and year to date comparisons on 11/30 just as I do at every month's end. My evidence shows that we are considerably up in sales from last year which was a record high for sales for the business. We have been breaking sales records as I lose sleep over the economy/business/weather. That being said it really comes down to two things. First is that I love you guys (and girls). Our customers are absolutely kick-a**! Thank you for continuing to support the small local independent ski shops. Second is that I should quit losing sleep over the economy and simply lie awake worrying about the weather. We need snow at this point and if we don't get it I could blame the economy but I think I would be wrong. We all want to feel the sliding action of ski base against snow and the only thing that can stop us is Mother Nature.