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For the week of March 5 - 11, 2003

News

Skiing industry touts hot, new stuff at shows


By TONY EVANS
For the Mountain Express

Each year, at the end of January, a handful of professional gear freaks and sportswear aficionados quietly leave the Wood River Valley heading to Las Vegas and then to Salt Lake City for two weeks of merchandise madness. The Ski Industry Association (SIA) trade show in Vegas and the Outdoor Retailers’ Winter Market (OR) in Salt Lake City each draw thousands of retailers, manufacturers, designers, and athletes from all over North America and abroad to mingle and make deals on the latest outdoor winter sports gear.

What goes on at SIA and OR has a lot to do with what we see on the shelves of local retail shops in Ketchum the following year. The trade shows are enormous in size, each comprising several acres of merchandising "booths" designed with flair and staffed by "reps" hawking their latest design innovations. The atmosphere may be carnival, but the intention is all business. Marketing and merchandising seminars are offered throughout the week, along with product demos, beer fests, and book signings. There is a 50-foot climbing wall sponsored by Climbing magazine, latte cafes by Royal Robbins, and a lot of Schwag (free stuff) and stickers to go around.

Judging by the suspicious looks at my press credentials, I knew there must be a certain amount of design espionage going on at the trade shows. The tenuous patenting process involving clothing and apparel make it impossible to protect a design until it hits the retail market. I heard stories about clothing designs being copied, assembled in Asia, and returned to the trade show with a new label before the show even ended. The result of all of this "borrowing" is a homogeneity that leaves many retailers, like Tyra MacGuffie, manager of the Wood River Valley-based Sturtevants, nonplussed. "Sure, ‘soft-shell’ is great. But why is it always in black or brown? And why does every major company have the same four colors of zip up T-shirt?"

Vanguard companies like Arcteryx, which originated the waterproof zipper and has driven style innovation over the last few years, is now owned by Salomon, which also happens to own patents on skate-ski pole strap technology, even though Salomon is not involved in skate -skiing at all. Salomon licenses the patent to Swix, Toko, and other pole manufacturers, until they can come up with a better idea on their own. It gets complicated, even before you look closely at attributes of "technical clothing."

Many observers this year attribute low numbers in the outdoor industry to the general state of affairs in the U.S. economy. For others, this represents a marketing problem. Some suggest it may be a result of an ever-narrowing target consumer; one who must be attuned to the "extreme" nature of the outdoor experience. The innovative technical aspects of outdoor clothing and gear have always been a fundamental component of style.

"But we shouldn’t forget," says Kate Rosso, also of The Elephant’s Perch, "Hilary went up Everest in a wool sweater and leather boots." Like John Muir, he managed to stay dry and warm enough to focus on the mystical aspects of his experience, rather than relying on the percentage of micropores per square inch in rip-stop nylon.

These days, exclusive licensing agreements between fabric manufacturers like Gore–Tex and Polar Tech and big-following companies like Patagonia or Arcteryx are a means of establishing and maintaining brand identities, and premium prices that go with them. Specific colors are also under contract for certain periods of time. Also, good "PR" usually includes an effort at environmental conservation ( 20 percent of Patagonia revenues go to environmental causes).

"Outdoor enthusiasts really care about this sort of thing more than other people," says MacGuffie.

But retailers may be seeing a limit on what people are willing to pay, says Brent Hansen of Ski Tek, of Ketchum.

"The real shame is the outrageous prices of the alpine gear. Sure it’s great stuff, but who can afford it? Ski and boot companies are pricing themselves right out of the market," Hansen said.

But, perhaps due to the rising cost of a lift ticket (50 percent goes to insurance companies), backcountry activities are increasing rapidly. Snowshoeing, with its flat learning curve has replaced snowboarding as the fastest-growing winter sport.

Michael Malko, from Backwoods Mountain Sports in Ketchum, is excited about the latest randonnee gear, the free heel enables alpine skiers to trek through wilderness and pick their own powder runs.

However, with increased interest in backcountry activities, there has been an increased price. A basic Nordic package costs about $500 (up from $150 ten years ago)

Snowboard and alpine ski designs continue to influence one another. Skis are getting more artsy and rebellious-looking, ever wider, shorter, and more carved. And get this: the first lace-up ski boots since the 50s. Several lines of split-decision snowboards are available (split into two sections and used like touring skis for trudging up hills) No need to go up Durance with a snowboard on your back anymore.

Kate and Bob Rosso of the Elephant’s Perch have been doing the trade shows for many years in order to carry the latest technical clothing, climbing and Nordic skiing gear. Bob cites a rivalry between the entities which produce the two events that, has led to overlapping dates at an awkward time in the winter season. "The trade shows used to happen in March, and that made sense," he says. "Now, they are in the middle of the season. They expect us to make decisions for the following winter even before we know what is a success this year."

"Soft-shell" technology, while not exactly new, is finally making a real impact on the American market. Widely used in Europe for years, soft-shells are thick and stretchy like a sweater, but somehow keep out the water and are breathable. According to Mark Malko at Backwoods, "It is perfect for Sun Valley with our dry climate." This fabric technology, which reduces the need for layering and seems to defy reason, may also mark an aesthetic return to basics.

But good old wool is coming back, too, after the big successes of Smartwool. It will be used more in base layers (underwear), especially wool from the Merino sheep, originally from Spain, but now concentrated in New Zealand.

Sportswear designer Heather Hansen of Ketchum attended OR and SIA in order to research fabric technologies for a new clothing company. "We are interested in Alpaca and Merino wool, and other sustainable resource fibers. There is a company making cloth out of bamboo, but it is still in the experimental stages."

 

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