New freeski shop?????

stevoid

stevoid

Member
Hey everybody. Who all would be interested in a new freeski shop in Calgary???? It'd have a chill vibe, and be the kinda place you could go to hang out and watch ski vids on a couch all day if you wanted. Nothing but twins and fats, and possibly mogul skis as well. If you've got any comments please leave them, both positive and negative.
 
fat twins? i'm in!

i think it would be really hard to compete with the shops that are already in calgary if thats where you want to open.
 
Yea i know, but i've just been toying with the idea a bit. I have had some interest in it by a one of the people who owns/runs CHIKKO skateshops ( I won't say who; i don't want any stupid rumors floating aorund. This is meant to be a bit of a guide for me in figuring this out.). What I'm trying to find out is if anybody has some good ideas for what they would want to see in a shop like this, that could potentially give me a bit of an edge in the market as a new store in Calgary.
 
Maybe try and sell brands of skis that not other stores in calgary already sell.

Also make sure there is a good shop if people need work done on there skis

i have no idea though thats just what i think would make me go and try a new store
 
Sounds good so far. Remeber guys. I wanna hear what YOU guys want in a sotre. Try and think of your ideal ski shop (as long as that doens't involve getting free paris of skis whenever you want them) and tell me about it. Also, understand that there is a good chance that if this were ever carried through it would likely involve snowboard gear and outerwear as well, as well as a summer bike and skate shop type set up. Please try and get more people to comment if you can.
 
Sell skis and snowboards. Sell ski and Snowboard clothes. Sell ski and snowboard winter clothes. Sell ski and snowboard gear and accessorries etc. Your store could turn into something rad if you cater to both and make it appealing to both. Find out what snowboarders wear when they aren't riding, find out what skiers wear when they aren't riding. Don't be afraid to sell snowboard clothes to skiers, lots of us wear snowboard clothes anyways.

Get a good idea for where and how to set up your shop. I like the sit-on-couch-watch-movies-all-day idea. Find some people who would help you follow through with the idea. Tell these people that they probably can't expect too much cash flow from you in the beginning stages, just because it's a new shop with no roots really..

You won't be getting any sleep nor will you have any time to do anything but work. But definatly get people you can trust to work for you.. I don't know, maybe you know this or are being taught by your ties through Chikko, Im just re-iterating what I learned from the guy who owns mission when he came to our school.

Definatly try to carry brands and equipment from both sports. And it's cool that you want it to have a chill atmosphere, thats the ticket right there!
 
That's sort of exactly what I've been thinking so far. Thanks for the input though. Anything helps, you guys. Please comment.
 
oh man i would love that. you would be rolling in the dough like no other...but its not all about the money.. your philosophy and the way you want the shop to be is sweet. i dont know of to many stores like that, supporting both sports together is probably the best thing to do with a store right now. In the summer with the skate and bike shop would be really sweet to.. but make sure your still selling the ski stuff casue everyone likes out of season deals.. thats such a good idea for a shop though, i hope it works out.. would you sponcer me?
 
It's gotta be a super chill place. Like I mean super chill if you wanna compete with fresh. It's gotta be all about hanging out and having fun. Have like a basement with a TV and vids and a PS2 or something people can go hang out around.
 
JEA!! These are all good thoughts and it's starting to sound like there might be a few folks interested in this idea. But I need to get a wider sampling before I could even think about going ahead with something like this. Get as many people from the Calgary area to respond as you can. The more good responses like this I can get the more chance there is of this happening.
 
this sounds awesome,

the shop could also get a name for itself by hosting local ski and snowboard comps and such
 
Try to sell all the stuff fresh doesn't. I don't like selling alot of bike stuff in the summer because then the ski stuff isn't there. And don't make it too cramped like fresh.
 
^^...^ haha yea no doubt, make the shop in different sections, like, Chill Section: with TV video games, stereo couches and stuff. Ski Section: Equipment, and Clothing Section: Jackets, pants, shirts, hoodies, hats.

...and lots of free stickers.
 
^AAAAAAAAHAHAHA!!!! yea. that'd work i guess. But I am still interested in the ski shop idea. Keep adding to this if you guys can think of some good ideas for stuff you'd like to see in a ski/snowboard store.
 
being a business student, and having comon sense, the only way you are gonna keep a shop open is by selling skis and ski related items, you dont make money and pay rent by having friends coming and playing video games at your store all day, sure its great to have a place to hang and watch vids and chill, but you can just abuse the free stuff, you also have to buy things from the shop, now dont get me wrong, that would be fun to go to a shop and play video games and watch ski movies(which u can do at fresh) but that should be a perk of buying from a shop, not just something u do on your way home from school everyday
 
true true, ben knows whats up.. although that would be cool to just go chill after school
 
i dont understand whats so special about "chilling out" at a ski store. Whats so great about a ski store. Arent there better places to "Chill out". I'd rather a store like kmart or something where i can buy my shit and get out as fast as possible.
 
no just when you bought a new pair of skis you could do that or when you brought your skis in to get tuned up

or there could be a bunch of new skis for trying ou and then they could sel for cheap near the end of the season or in the winter we could put snow in it.
 
no i mean like if you were doing the rail and fell or came off it weird you could run inot lots of stuff
 
you wouldnt have to they could have new(as in skis that are the new year)skis that are strictly for the turf and then they could sell them for cheaper at the end of the yaer

ok nevermind thats a bad idea
 
i think the idea of another ski shop that caters to the progression of skiing is a great idea. you have to make sure that your shop is good to deal with and is good about warranty and stuff.
 
Ya it would be sick to have an indoor astro turf rail, what would also be sick is not stock your shelfs with all the brand name skis, only stock it with qualitie skis, and have a huge price range, so there are skis for everyone, have everything else like outerware and what not, but focus mainly on skis boots, bindings, poles. It would also be sick if possible to have a place that you could rent ski movies, just like a little room to rent from.
 
I never said all brand name skis are crap, most are good because they have the experience, what I was saying is stock the shelfs by quality not just because of brand names
 
Well guys, Fresh seems the obvious choice for a comparison here. Steve is an astute businessman, he makes his money from ADULTS and PARENTS (or atleast parent's money). He has applied the chill-vibe about as far you would want to go with a ski store, me thinks. Although in recent years that vibe seems eroded slightly. And, I definitely agree that Steve needs more space. Also, Fresh has a small target market and limited product lines.

I like your idea of catering to both genres, especially in caterring to the progressive side of both disciplines. However, I think you will find, just as Steve did when he opened Fresh, that most of the ski manufacturers have existing contracts with existing ski shops, which limits what brands and porducts he can get, and in which quantities. I'm sure snowboarding is the same. Another challenge you might face is the saturated market in Calgary. I sincerely do not believe, and I have a B.Comm from U of C and am deeply involved in the ski industry as a pro, coach, and ski club coordinator, that there really isn't enough room for a whole new shop. A better idea might be to partner with your buddy's skate shop and bring in some indy brands and unique gear from both disciplines, as opposed to a whole new venture.

Either way, good luck!
 
hah honestly its not about hte contracts. In the ski/snowboard industry its also hugely about who you know in the industry. like the skate store commit in fernie it started by people who are friends with mission and mission gave them rep's numbers etc etc etc
 
Who are you? Do you know me? I do teach skiing, and I coach, but I also compete and am sponsored. I just don't feel the need to brag about it. I love skiing and all its glory, but I detest the nepotism and bigotry that goes on the ski industry. If you want to bash someone for trying to shed a rational viewpoint on a great idea, then at least have the decency to message me directly.
 
I must not know much about the ski industry because i've never heard of any nepotism or bigotry. Not in any significant forms. If you could kindly give some examples of said nepotism or bigotry it would be very much appreciated because from my point of view it may be inferred that you are implying that navigator is a nepotist or bigot. I would find it very unlikely that he has ever fathered a child. Let alone a child who would be of an appropriate age for any special parental favors/opportunities to be bestowed upon him or her. And as for bigotry his post did not show any evidence of such.

So you see I am confused here. Please enlighten me to the ski industry's nepotism and bigotry which you so despise.
 
i dont know you, and i never bashed you for your opinion or the idea of a new ski shop in calgary. i actually agree with you completely on what you said about the new shop idea but you dont have to go around saying that your a instructor/coach/pro to justify your response. it doesnt make your opinions any better then what anybody else said.
 
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