Bad News for Glacier Shop

mckeeman

Active member
Unfortunatley the decision has been made to close Glacier Shop as of June 1st. Plans are to turn the store into a W/B Logo shop for Whistler/Blackcomb Olympic attire. No plans as of yet have been decided to relocate.

The flagship store for Intrawest and the freeskiing culture in whistler is done.

What are your thoughts?
 
I have a feeling that this is due to the global economy tanking like a mother fucker. Intrawest are feeling the pinch bigtime at the moment and theyre cutting all the non-essentials. Be prepared for more of this bullshit.
 
That sucks! I love the vibes in that shop. TMC is dope too, but glacier shop is huge and they have everything! They had plans to make a legit online shop too for a while, but now that it's going away I guess that's not gonna happen... This is like Transworld killing Freeze: sacrificing a fresh sport for some tradition that's losing its popularity.
Too bad...
 
i love you GS! you guys are my heart and soul!

we should have a protest. and i mean reeally

i will bring the cookies.
 
It really is disappointing, but to be honest i can blame them.

I would really like to see them keep the shop alive, and move it to a better location, maybe into another intrawest shop that isnt doing so well. The location right now is HUGE and the rent has got to be outrageous. They have to fill the shop with other products that just dont fit with the freeskiing culture just to pay the rent. If they were to find a smaller location, take all the killer and scrap the filler, keep the vibe and the CORE freeskiing feel, that would be amazing. People would buy into it.

I like the location right next to Showcase in the Burton Womens store the best.

Keep your thoughts coming. Let them know what Glacier Shop means to the freeskiing community, because I bet you a large double-double INTRAWEST monitors this site...
 
that surprises me, i figured pretty much having a monopoly on the freeskiing market in whistler would allow them to stay open?

 
im backing the womens Burton store. or even Showcase II formally Westbeach. i love that store but they'd fit in in the burton womens and we could move in there.

 
For sure - plus those Hot Dogs outside are just killer.

Seriously, that would be an excellent location - so much traffic.
 
TMC is where its at

but Glacier Shop going selling out is a huge loss man that was a huge store for the town. I remember walking into the store one day and there was dog in there that everyone thought was a bear. scared the shit out of a lot of tourists
 
WE'RE not selling out.

intrawest sold the shop space to VANOC.

we have no choice in the matter and are NOT STOKED at the moment
 
This isn't surprising, though it is disappointing.

As someone who is both a skier AND a commercial real estate broker though, I understand this move. I was surprised when GS Freeride moved into this space. Does anyone remember where they were before? (Hint, it was near the Burton Women's store) This store is close to 10 times the size of the old one. Anyways, this space as well as the space the Nike store is in, are THE 2 best retail locations in Whistler. As a result, the rent will be high. Very high. It only makes sense for Intrawest to turn this into an Olympic store. Hopefully Intrawest finds somewhere else to put the Glacier Shop, hopefully in a smaller size, there was definitely excess space. Though, in this economic climate, I doubt they will be in any rush. There is WAY more margin in selling Olympic crap than there is in skis.
 
I never really felt like GS was the same after they moved it anyway, to be honest. Obviously the location it's in now is way bigger, better, more visible, but I never got used to the change. Unfortunately they can't move it back now. Is it just dead or is it being put somewhere, or is it going back to its current location post-olympics, or... what?
 
thats my old house....

who wants to have a party at glacier shop? kinda like a save the shop and move it elsewhere party....
 
The shop had decent skis & techs but the rest of it was bunk with plenty bad service. It's a big space -- they could serve the same gear in a space 1/5th the size. A lot of lame gear you could see anywhere else. That said, losing GS sucks completely. Comor & Snowcovers will have to pick it up. TMZ has been slack on selection for a few years now, though this might give them the edge or energy to get back in the game.

All you parkrats should just get touring gear anyway ;p
 
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