New store. WTS?

TehClearOG

TehClearOG

Member
AIght so I know I don't have very many posts on this website yet.. almost no Karma, but I am opening my own ski shop very shortly. I have everything set out, but I was wondering, what do you guys want to see in a ski shop? What do you want to be offered? Any perks/shipping needs you want met? Tell me what your dream ski shop would be like. I will try and fulfill that.
 
Beginning with a freestyle skiing retail.. Will move into snowboards if I see the market. There are already a lot of big snowboard stores in the area that I would not be able to compete with...
 
I'm working on carrying Moment, Saga, FD, LD, Armada, Coreupt, K2, Line, Scott, Oakley, FT, Volkl, Nordica.. etc. I'm looking for more serious posts.. What do you want a store to offer that you have not found one offer yet?
 
if you have space in the back, a lil dry slope drop in and a few rails would be dope. like buy stuff and get a free sesh or something.

and try to get jiberish!
 
Definitely depends on where your shop is located and what kind of buyers you will be attracting. If 80% of your customers are rich gapers going on vacation, getting Jiberish, Saga, Fd, and other relatively small companies wouldn't be worth it. However if you're located where a ton of kids with rich parents will go, then you should absolutely go for these brands
 
atomic, rossi and you should be set. where is said shop going to be? (sorry if thats already been answered i skimmed most of the thread)
 
stock smaller brands, such as ON3P, Surface, Bluehouse, etc. But also get Armada's, Line's, Rossi's, etc. And get most of the models. And a good selection of boots, the full FT line, SPK's, Dalbello's. Lots of apparel and outerwear like Armada, UA, Orage, etc.
 
if you put full tilt, saga, jiberish,electric goggles,swix tools, and armada skis i dont care were the fuck your store is i will go there.
 
I have not answered the question about where it s going to be, so I will. It will be located in Kelowna, BC, closer to Big White. My father owned a chain of ski stores in Ottawa, and is now giving me the money to open a chain in Kelowna for him. The rich gaper idea is probably the biggest market.. I like the idea of selling more rare, and good brands like ON3P, but still the common good ones likes salomon.. It's hard to answer all your questions but I appreciate your input.

 
I personally would love to see under armor and some sick bandannas.

Just be really nice and understanding to your customers. Don't fuck people over, go up and above what needs to be done to please the buyer.

You should do alright just be a good manager!
 
Tobacco Glassware with ski logos, ive seen copyrighted logo'd ones at my local shop (roxy, quicksilver) so i think that it doesn't infringe anything, idk, i just really want a surface sherlock.
 
have toooons of small stuff. yes you will make lots of money selling the skis, but tons of cool small gear works on me at least. have a bunch of racks of things like go pros and accessories, cheap single use mini waxes, irons, ski gees, fancy socks, all that crap. I feel like everytime I go into a store that has something
 
Carry some mid 180s skis. Every time I go into a ski shop I struggle to find a ski that's the length I want.
 
Sorry but I dont think you will be able to get a lot of the brands people mentioned. There is only 1 retail store that sells on3p, and none that sell fd and saga. The smaller companies are harder to get onto shelves because there is such little quantity and demand, besides for NSers. Look for the big ones like k2, rossignol, salomon, and atomic first if you want to make it. Then later on start stocking smaller brands
 
Get some Ns'ers to work at the shop, not a bunch of gapers who only ride race skis with 2 dins, and no idea what a twin tip is.
 
depending on how big the space is and what your budget is looking like, i would for sure get a tramp in the place and possibly with a foam pit. slushie and popcorn machine would be dope too.

In the rare case thay you have leased a fucking warehouse, and you have a fuckload of money to sink into this, the dryslope idea is pretty intriguing. even if you just put a small slope with like 2 boxes and a rail it wouldn't take up much space or cost a fortune. You could have a pair of your most popular skis for "demo", that would really make your shop one of a kind. i am gettting too carried away with this, but yeah, tramps or dryslope.
 
I mean that a lot of the brands he listed won't even consider stocking into some two bit start up shop. If he wants "good" brands, he needs a good shop first before he can even consider trying to get them.
 
I really like the trampoline idea.. maybe a little ways down the road. I'm going to start getting into contact with some companies and see what I can get. I might have to charge at the beginning to get the trampoline paid off, but after that then I might reduce that to free, or really cheap. (Start off at like $10/2 hrs.. to $5 a sesh (morning/afternoon). I am also not positive if I am going to go into this business.. If my business fails then im gonna be in a lot of debt. Btw I would not be charging for the use of 1 trampoline, i would probably set up 4-6 in a room close together. The other thing I was thinking of is GoPro rentals... So kids who can't buy the camera can rent em.
 
I completely agree. I am going to start with some of the bigger brands like volkl and salomon who seem to offer their product easier than moment and saga do. I would eventually like to become the spot to practice and buy ski stuff from for most of BC.
 
i like that idea, another good one would be if there is snow on the ground where your shop is at, banshee bungee rentals is something i have always had my mind on.
 
I think that a thing that really is the best is not necessarily having a bunch of different brands and every ski but have ever size of that ski or snowpantor jacket so people have a selection. you need to think about a market against that of online shopping. what can you provide that online shopping cannot because it sure as hell isnt price.
 
and so you know, saga does not stock into shops, they make more money selling on their own site (along with every brand), im sure there have been a ton of super legit shops that have tried in the past to get them
 
Wow, I'm from Kelowna. I's be super stoked if this actually happened.

Fresh Air is Kelowna's main ski shop. The have 2 different shops in town. 1 is a more park orientated store (Concept) and the other is more for normal downhill skiing (Experience).

If you are aiming just for the park/pow scene. Make sure the shop has that vibe. Location is key too. You don't really wanna be in the mission. Not Rutland. Kinda near downtown or where the mall is. Those are 2 great locations.

As for brands. Brands like Moment, Armada, Rossi, Full Tilt. You want to get the popular brands. At big white. Almost all the park kids have full tilts including myself. FKS are really popular so you'd wanna get those. Armada is very popular. Oakley is also very popular. If you were to get Oakley, you'd wanna try and get the customizable Oakley bar. Both Fresh air experience and concept have them though. You'd just have to go up to big white and survey what people would want.

As for staff, it would be hard to find a good staff who know what they are doing. All the people who know what they are doing have jobs at all the other ski shops.
 
The tramp idea is super good. I'll sometimes go with my friends to the Energyplex to go on the tramps. The only problem is that you can't jump into the foam pit from the tramp. And it is also fairly expensive. Almost $20 for 2 hours. Tramp would be a great idea. My friend would go to the energyplex every week to train before the season started. He'd spend $20 each time.

As one kid mention, a small dryslope would be a cool idea. Have it all year around. Have memberships for it. I'd buy one. You'd need more space then a small shop. Not sure how big you budget is, but try and get a fairly big sized space. Half of it could be the shop, then next door would be a tramp and a dryslope. There is a skate shop in Rutland called "The Bakery" and they sell skateboarding stuff, but they also have some rails and a halfpipe set up. Supre chill place.

GoPro rentals would be cool. But there are just so many people who have GoPro's it's crazy. I'll go into one of the main lift line's and I'll see like 3 or 4 middle aged people with GoPro's on their helmet. Too many people have GoPro's at bigwhite.
 
A tramp would jack your insurance costs through the roof, not to mention all the other liability shit you would need to go through. Not worth it until you are established and making a good profit on goods and ski services.

I'd love to see ON3P! Ski logic also looks dope, you should check them out.
 
make a good, professional business plan. With a good business plan you could get better loans or more investors.

Seven out of 10 new employer firms survive at least 2 years, half at least 5 years, a third at least 10 years, and a quarter stay in business 15 years or more. From American Small business association

You sound like your in area that would get alot of customers, but also set up online site for us NSers.
 
posably the ablity to custum dye 3 peice boots (i.e. full tilts and adllbellos ect.) for kids who dont know about it or how it is a cheap money makr buy a case of dye for dirt cheap and charhe $20 a dye instant profit. plus all ns's have full tilts
 
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