Will Il Moro meet El Nino?

This could be an epic confrontation. The Il Moro boots came in from Dalbello today. They are very cool. Even to an old fart like me. Very bling. They have a chain attached, rasta colors, and cool graphics too. They are ready to take on the winter. Hopefully all the reports about this being an el nino year come true. Lot's of storms mean lots of powder days. That means lots of fat ski days. Are you thinking reverse camber perhaps? Yes, I think so too! It is indeed my hope that this year Il Moro will meet El Nino...

The second weekend of the sale has passed and business is still looking great. We slipped a few thousand dollars, so sales are now about even with last years numbers. Can't complain about that! Things in general look good at the shop too. I like our product mix as it is coming together all in one place for their first time. The ski wall is great. I really like our offerings. I want more display room but that is nothing new. The accessories look good, and clothing is still showing up a bit at a time. It typically comes later than the hardware, but from what I have seen it will work out real well. Back in the shop we have added quite a bit of tooling as well as a new storage chest for boot fitting supplies. No more cardboard boxes on shelves. Yeah! Thanks John! On the negative side of things the gondola is still not running. Boo! For now the little plastic Austrian tourists cannot get to the slopes. They came with the tram. Now they cannot use it. They are stuck down by the sales counter hanging out the Mattel sisters (Ski Barbie and Ski Skipper on their lift chair), and the Joe Skier Bobblehead. The Mattel sisters and Joe Bobblehead have both been pretty rowdy in the past, so the Austrian tourists are probably living it up pretty good anyway.

Sorry, I sort of digressed into little toys there for a minute. Back to the sale. Where was I? Last weekend it seemed as though everyone that came in made a purchase. This weekend had a few more lookie-lou's. "Just looking" is a line all retailers have heard a billion times. It is probably the most common response to "Can I help you?", which is the most popular form of retail greeting in the land. You get used to it, but it still rings hollow and cold in my ears. That is why a good sales person will not ask the "may I help you" question. You typically get the auto response cited above. Even if you are a smart sales person, who can always find a way to engage the customer, people still find a way to wiggle out of help. Some just don't want it for one reason or another. Some don't know a darn thing about skiing and are embarrased to ask dumb questions. Many just want to get the feel of the place before becoming engaged by us I think. If you pay attention, they will seek you out in a few minutes. Others don't want anyone to try to sell them something. That's fine too. We don't want to push you, but simply to assist you. Oh well, people can opt out of our expert assistance if they like... But if I can't help them I cannot find out why they are not going to buy anything if they leave without anything. If I don't know this, how can I improve the store? Do a retailer a favor and let them know why you didn't buy anything. I won't hurt my feelings. Or if it does, I will promise not to openly cry in front of you.

From the outside of the store looking in, I sense that the customers are eager for ski season. That was to be expected. There also seems to be a lot of consumer confidence regarding the economy. Also there is the usual hope for a good winter. New designs in equipment are interesting and moving forward quickly. People will be really turned on when they try the new wide skis. Not too long ago the Nordic Jumping ski we have on display seemed freakishly huge. Almost cartoon like. As I was lusting after the Line Prophet 130 today I realised that it is substantially wider than the jumping ski. It's not much shorter either! Radical. These new fat rockered skis are radical. How many will we sell? I don't know. I had to guess. I do know that we have the right skis. I do know that it is the wave of the future. I do know we will all be getting them!

Boot fitting continues to be the focal point to a great extent for many of us here. Storage of the boots alone means that they are everywhere. You can't avoid them. The boot area always has activity even if the ski area is quiet. You go through the boot area every time you bring a ski back into the shop for tuning or mounting of bindings. All the reports I generate show the impressive numbers generated by boot sales. We have also had a lot of midweek boot work as well, so I am always trying to coordinate appointments. An injection foam boot liner has been ordered for one customer who will get it foamed next week. I have a customer flying into town from Salt Lake to do a boot purchase with full stance alignment tomorrow night. Friday Morning we have a corporate group coming for boots and skis. I need at least two and preferably three boot fitters on hand for that. One person can sell skis to everybody pretty quickly. Boots are different. Boots take a long time to get right. I love boots. I love fitting them and working on them too. I like having the proper tools and knowledge to get it done right. I like having a staff that is so qualified to do the boot thing. This gives me the flexibility to do other things as needed. During the sale, I tend to be sort of a "master of ceremonies". You can't do that very effectively if you are stuck back in the boot area. I love boots. They are always on my mind. Maybe this week I will get to do my first boot fit of the year!