Staring at the horizon...

Well now it is official. We are in "snow drought" conditions. As snow farmers we simply need snow to make money on our products. And we have not had any snow. And it doesn't look promising for this week either. Crap.


So now what? Well, we keep waiting. And hoping. And praying. But at this point one must make some adjustments to the game plan too. We are down 28% for December as of Christmas eve. That means about $70,000 less money coming in for the month. Being down in an early or late season month is bad. Being down in December really hurts as it is the biggest sales month of the year for us. We are lucky to have had a strong year leading up to December and were up 30% going into the month. Now we are up only 8% for the season to date. Our big fall numbers have been off-set for the most part, and the rest of our cushion will be gone soon too, as January is our second biggest month. So I forced to deal with some cause and effects right now. We have staffed up big time due to our strong early sales. With good snowfall we expected to be UP quite a bit for December so I set staff levels to handle it. I have not cut back on hours yet as my staff depends on paychecks that were promised to them. So I have absorbed the hit myself so far. I have tried to keep them busy but there is only so much work to do. Mostly we need customers to come in and generate the need for work to be done. Tuning, restocking, selling etc. don't happen without customer flow. But now I will have to cut hours until it snows. Same sales plus higher payroll is not good business. I hate that and the other employees hate it more!

Also to be considered is sell through.  That is to say that we have stock that needs to be sold. If it is not sold in a timely manner it devalues (can you say close outs?). Not just here in these walls but all over there are shops that will be worrying about selling through their inventories of skis, boots, clothing, and, well, everything. So many of them will start to discount earlier than they normally would. Human nature plus nervous owners plus bills to be paid will make certain this happens in some stores. Which makes everyone's stock worth a bit less. It is a vicious phenomenon that must be managed properly form store to store across the land.

None of this lack of snow stuff and how it effects our business is a secret to anyone. KNBC news came and spent most of a day here doing interviews with staff and customers last week and filming for a ten minute spot on the evening news. It was my day off and I did not see the telecast but I understand that Martin may be up for an Emmy award. They say any press is good press...

The good news is that I am still sane and happy to be going in every day. Some of the sales reps have told me that they dread calling on certain accounts as the owners are either very depressed or very cranky. I just don't see the use in that. The weather is beyond our ability to control, so what good does it do to freak out or mope? But the fact is that some shops may not make it through the winter in a year like this. If you are not financially sound, a lack of snow can sink your ship. And it would indeed be depressing to think you were in that situation. That's why I try to keep some nuts stored up from the previous year to rely on if need be. So I think we will be ok, but I may have to stick with my Kirkland brand jeans for another year. And that's ok.

More important is that fact that the skiing is not great right now. Not great for me. Not great for you either. My daughter Rebecca bought a Squaw/Alpine pass this year and is on Winter Break from school. She is really bumming! She may change her New Years eve plans from Tahoe to San Diego! I think I convinced her that man made snow is still better than sand, but still she is not a happy camper. And all those Christmas ski vacations our customers planned that are less fun or cancelled? Not a happy thing.

So I just try to keep in mind that it WILL snow. And it will probably snow a lot. It is just going to be a few weeks later than we had hoped this year. Most people quit skiing well before the resorts close. If you feel like you need to get in a specific number of days to pay off that pass or make your ski lease worthwhile, just know that there will still be plenty of skiing available. Don't give up on old man winter- he's just a bit late to the party! And it is not like there is no skiing you know. It has been cold and the resorts have been making snow like crazy. I have only had one day on the slopes (I know, I know- I will catch up!) but it was great and I owe that to man made snow.

And if I can only get my Eskimo to stop looking at the weather every day and freaking out about all this, I should be able to hold it together on my end. You do the same out there too- ok? Just make sure you are ready when it happens. Because it will happen. And it will be great. In the meantime thank goodness for snow making machines!

Do a little dance

Martin is wearing his snow hat (above). In the shop. While he tunes your skis. A customer emailed me and said he was doing his snow dance three times a day, in his head, because he had school. He was worried that the lack of recent snow fall was his fault. A customer flew down from Seattle for Vacuum boots yesterday and told us about the great snow at Crystal Basin, his home resort. Thanks for that report I guess. My former employee and friend Dan who lives in Jackson Wyoming now sends me videos of him skiing deep powder in the backcountry there. Uh, thanks Dan. Many parts of the country have great snow conditions now. But not California. And not this upcoming week either. The weather reports show
...and more sun for the next week. I wore shorts to work last week when it was 72 degrees.

So what is going on? Why hasn't it snowed in a while? Is this going to continue? What can we do? Well I don't know the answers to these questions. I figure we pissed the snow God Ullr off somehow, but I don't know how. I also know that every year is different. Lastly I know that it snows. It always snows. Some years are great (think, ahhh...last year?). Others are average. Some are below average. But every year there is snow. And skiing. And we don't know how a year is going to shape up overall until it's in the rear view mirror.

So is there anything to do about it? Probably not. But still I am doing three things:
--I dance naked under the moon in circles with garlic rubbed over my body chanting to Ullr.
--I worry a lot
--I lose a lot of sleep
Well I don't really do that dance thing, or at least I haven't for a few years, but I do the other two!

Nothing good comes from worrying or losing sleep. I simply can't help it. Other people fret over a lack of snowfall because they want to ski. I do too. But I have the added burden of snowfall being important to my livelihood. If it doesn't snow, I can't feed myself or my employees! And that is what causes one to lose sleep!

So business had been booming this year in the early part of the season before it mattered if it had snowed yet. At that point we are selling dreams and expectations more than anything else. The customers come in the doors with expectations and high hopes. Now it is different. Most have not gone skiing yet as the resorts are open but the conditions are marginal. They still have high hopes but you can feel a bit of trepidation. Because the reality is nobody really knows. The long range weather scientists are calling for higher than average precipitation this winter but we haven't seen it yet. And there are no guarantees.


Last week we actually started to feel it at the shop. Customer flow was down from what we had become used to. The staff levels are high now. The store set up is dialed. We are ready. And...a bit overstaffed. I had people dusting light fixtures to keep busy. Employees that asked to go home early or take an extra day off were met with a smile. I got caught up on paperwork.

But the register kept ringing. It seemed slow to me but we were still having $5,000 days. With Christmas and vacations upcoming, customers were still coming in and still buying gear. Then Thursday we did $8,000. Yesterday it was very busy. Seven Fischer Vacuum boots went out the door. We did $18,500! Wow. That's a big day.

So I will try to relax and get more sleep (last night I got 4 hours). But like you, I want to ski! This next Tuesday and Wednesday I am off. Will I ski? No. I made other plans. Not happy about not skiing but I will just have to be patient. I mounted my new skis. My vacuum boots will get new intuition liners. We hope these new liners will be a great hop up kit to make the best boot out there even better (warmer, stiffer, lighter) and have been working with the importer to develop them. But I will wait to ski them. I want my first day to be great.


So we wait. And we pray. And we do our dances. They probably won't help. But they might! And either way don't dispel that notion to Martin. He looks adorable in that hat!

The boots are vacuumed but the floor isn't!

Well the Fischer Vacuum boot is a big hit. We have sold dozens of them and the results have been great. The process is quick and the final product is as advertised. Other boots have been selling well too. As have skis, clothing, seasonal rentals and, well, just everything! So far this looks to be another very busy year. It has been quite a bit busier than last year. And that's saying a lot.

We started as usual with our kick off Parking Lot Sale in late August and into September. The numbers were outstanding. Then it usually goes quiet as we are only open weekends for a while. But this year it was busy every weekend. It became a situation where we would have occasional four to five thousand dollar days during the week when we were in just to deal with incoming shipments and to do paperwork. Any day I came in to do bookwork upstairs the phone was ringing all day and customers were knocking on the closed door asking if they could come in. So I let them in and helped them out. Early in the month I realized I needed to be open more days. So we changed to Thursday through Sunday. The sales stayed big and still I was getting behind on my bill paying and the like as every "off"day I would come in to work the phone kept ringing and the door knocking kept coming.

I said to John that I thought it was peculiar and a bit frustrating as I was having trouble keeping up with the books, receiving goods into the computer, bill paying, emails and the like. Plus the store is messy and disorganized compared to where I think it should be, I said.  I am usually on top of that stuff. "Well it's been busy!" he replied. So we checked the sales month to month. October was more than double last years sales numbers! Same with September. I hadn't actually looked (I am ashamed to admit- but as I said I was behind!). Wow. So I have spent the past two weeks beefing up the schedule to get things done. We need to be ready when it hits the actual busy season!

So we added staff to the days roster to help get some stuff done and low and behold...still behind! The vacuum boots have been active but not the Hoover. Quite a few times someone would start to vacuum the floors at opening which we can typically do during the "slow" season, and then have to stop to help a customer. At the end of the day I have put the vacuum away a number of times realizing that only a small portion of the store has been vacuumed. The customer flow just keeps ramping up. Finally, at the end of last week we went to full staff. Seven employees every day plus a few more on weekends. Now the to do list is getting shorter. The displays are getting finalized. I am feeling more in control. I also added a few new employees. You may get to meet Derek, JB, or Jenny when you come in. An ex lawyer, an ex pro baseball player, and a recent graduate waiting to take the CPA exam. Good hard working talented folks. I am very greateful to have them on board!

So we are just about ready for the snow to hit. The store is prepped. We sent four people to Masterfit University this fall. Three got their Masters degrees. John went along to hang out in the Dark Arts class and pick up a few tidbits as well as network with other boot fitters. He loves to do that more than just about anything other than take on a difficult foot! Everyone is schooled up to work on bindings. The reps have come and given us their knowledge. Our new custom insoles have arrived built to our specs and we like them very much. Almost all the new product is in the store and set out for your perusal.

Now I just have to stress out until it snows a bit more and we really get rolling. When it does I don't know what to expect. If we have been doing double the numbers every month so far from last year, December may be wild! Every day will look like a frat party is going on at the store! And to that end I will have about 30% more staff on hand to try to keep the customer service top notch. If you need boots, come now, as there will be lines on the weekends in mid December. If you just need skis or a helmet, we should have plenty of staff on hand to help!

If the snow hits hard, it could be a wild ride!

A special thanks to Chris Fellows of NASTC. Regulars to the store have probably heard about this organization. They do adventure instruction in Tahoe, across the nation, and also across the globe. I have participated in their courses and can recommend them highly. Chris is a co-founder and has a new book out called Total Skiing. He stopped by Saturday after work for a small group of about twenty interested customers hastily assembled for a wine and cheese meet and greet. Chris put on a great presentation. Check out NASTC at www.skinastc.com. They have an event December 7-10 at Squaw Valley that is designed to jump start your ski year. If you want a great start to the season, there may still be openings. Check it out!

 Another happy customer! We have her decked out in a POC Synapasis 2.0 helmet and Uvex Ultra goggles. That's one happy labby mix! Ready to hit the slopes!

Getting an Eskimo a new coat

The ski jacket is a tough cookie. Each year styles change. As a consumer, you need to buy a new jacket from time to time. Many people have jackets that last for ten or more years. Others buy new parkas every year. When it is time to choose one, the perfect jacket can prove to be elusive. I know an Eskimo that is having a hard time finding her perfect parka right now.

 

Some people want to know the technical specifications to determine their new jacket. Waterproof and breath ability numbers, material specifications, and the like. Others want a particular cut, pockets in all the right places, or a certain type of hood (or lack of one). Fashion is foremost to others. One thing almost everyone wants is to think they look good on the slopes. Or at least create the image they want to convey.

 

So the search begins. Looking at colors and styles. Deciding if new pants are part of the purchase too. And will the pants be black (easy), or color coordinated to go with an entire outfit (much harder). Clothing racks are perused. Catalogues consulted. Possibly many, many stores visited.

 

And the search can go on, and on. One jacket looks great but doesn't fit well. The orange and white jacket from Marker looks great but is the wrong shade to go with the orange Orage pants that look so good. Arrgh!

 

So the search continues...

 

People can look for months to find the perfect coat. The search goes through the new jackets in the fall locally. Nothing quite right. Spreads to resorts and towns visited during the ski season. Still not finding it. Summer closeout racks are scoured. No success. And then an influx of catalogs, ski magazines, and new apparel arriving at the local stores again the next fall. With renewed vigor the skier begins the search anew. 

Now is the prime time to find the perfect ensemble. Stores are filling up with new stock. All sizes are in stock (remember that one jacket at that one place last February that was perfect but they didn't have your size?). Mannequins across the land are beckoning with the latest fashions. Hope is restored!

Come on y and check out our latest jackets. My daughters do most of the clothing these days and by all accounts it is much more dynamic than what I would bring in! Every Eskimo needs a new coat from time to time. I hope you find yours. I hope my Eskimo finds hers.