Another local ski shop going out of business

Sitzmark, in Pearl River

http://www.lohud.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2016/07/13/sitzmark-ski-shop-in-pearl-river-prepares-to-close-its-doors/87048762/

Never heard of it but that does suck. Although I think a brick and mortar could be an opportunity for the right person with vision.

Snoloco?

I have  known Bob and his wife for  almost 40 yrs..I bought my first pair of skis there in 1977..

Tough business , especially with weak  margins after the past several seasons .  Always sad to see main st merchants close , but the internet is crushing them in many fields ESPECIALLY in small towns across AMERICA.

We lost one over in my hood (that, of course, I never used). Ridgefield Ski and Sport.

Yeah it certainly is a tough business. They would sell lawn furniture in the summer. I think that business has been undermined by the Internet and big stores even more then the skis. I got my XScreams from Sitzmark but that was years ago. I got seasonal rentals for my kids there a couple times but mostly I've been having them tune my gear the last few years. I feel bad for not giving them more business but I'm not all that acquisitive.

Rei made 2.5B last year. There has to be something viable between big box, Internet, and mom and pop. As sad as it is, how many sole proprietorships last 40 years? Running a business takes an enthusiasm and willingness to reinvent yourself and adjust. Most people become inflexible and resistant to change as they age. Those things are incompatible.

But I would like someone to figure out the recipe for service like tunes to be viable in the flatlands. I hate bringing skis to a big box for remounts and stuff like that.

I've said this many times before on here

its very important that you support your local ski and bike shops.  Yes you might be able short term save a few bucks buying on the internet but if you need service, support or  warranty of those goods you need a local shop.  Many of the internet skis are grey market meaning they don't come with a warranty but they don't tell you that when you buy from them.

Some day when brick and motar ski shops are gone what do you think prices are going to do on line?  Skyrocket.

SHOP LOCAL!

local shops have to evolve, local shop out front internet sales out back.  

It stinks when small shops have to close their doors. I like TJ's idea, as well as I think it would be good for shops to advertise internet price matching. I think that would be good for business. We had 2 ski shops here in town for years and years. Sadly they've both been gone now for years. We're lucky in that Greek still has a good repair shop for tunes, repairs, etc etc. We do have to go out of town for purchases tho which stinks.

ml242 wrote

Rei made 2.5B last year. There has to be something viable between big box, Internet, and mom and pop. As sad as it is, how many sole proprietorships last 40 years? Running a business takes an enthusiasm and willingness to reinvent yourself and adjust. Most people become inflexible and resistant to change as they age. Those things are incompatible.

But I would like someone to figure out the recipe for service like tunes to be viable in the flatlands. I hate bringing skis to a big box for remounts and stuff like that.

How much of their profit was from Internet sales?  REI has a fairly large web presence.

Marcski wrote

How much of their profit was from Internet sales?  REI has a fairly large web presence.

Sure but, I'm just agreeing with TJF. You don't have to make 2.5B to be a successful business. I have bought lots of gear from random shops slinging gear online that I could only hope to visit in person one day.

Well, I shop local, but not local local. I patronize ski shops close to the hills I ski on. And, if they have a quick, next to the lift ski tune service, like Gore, I do that. Super convenient.

Same problem with brick and mortar bicycle shops. Tough biz.

ml242 wrote

Sure but, I'm just agreeing with TJF. You don't have to make 2.5B to be a successful business. I have bought lots of gear from random shops slinging gear online that I could only hope to visit in person one day.

I'm not busting on you.  In fact, I'm agreeing with you that the internet has drastically changed retail for everything, not just skiing!

warp daddy wrote

Tough business , especially with weak  margins after the past several seasons .  Always sad to see main st merchants close , but the internet is crushing them in many fields ESPECIALLY in small towns across AMERICA.

Not just small towns.  The Ski Center in Washington DC shut down after trying to find a buyer last season.  Had been around for 50 years.

Part of what they sent to customers:

"It is with great sadness that we announce the permanent closing of Ski Center. We tried very hard to find a buyer who had the experience, resources and values necessary to continue the business. We talked with many other ski shops as well as a number of local entrepreneurs and former employees. Our negotiations were not successful and our lease has run out.

All small retailers are under tremendous pressure to survive. Our store was facing challenges on lots of fronts, many from forces beyond our control. The property was sold to a publicly traded company in October, 2014, and our property taxes have gone from $33,000 to $76,000 this year, and are projected to be $90,000 or more next year. This is on top of a $50,000 increase in our minimum rent 3 years ago. There will be a year of construction disruption as a new building is constructed on our parking lot, blocking visibility and making the parking situation less convenient. Our lease expired May 31, and we were not comfortable signing a new, long-term one. There would be too great of chance of us having to work just to pay the landlord, or ending the business in bankruptcy. Other locations are also very expensive, lack easy, ample parking, would require a large investment to build out, and could take several years to rebuild the business, if ever. Widespread adoption of newer generation smartphones makes it easy for customers to find clothing colors we don’t offer or price-match. Our suppliers are competing with us on the web and aggressively going after our customers. The business is labor intensive, management intensive, and capital intensive. The regulatory burden keeps increasing. So much work and so many moving parts.  When we started, it was a great lifestyle business, but now that it has evolved into three businesses, ski, outdoor furniture, and online with SkiCenter.com, it has become a marathon business. "

Coach Z wrote

I've said this many times before on here

its very important that you support your local ski and bike shops.  Yes you might be able short term save a few bucks buying on the internet but if you need service, support or  warranty of those goods you need a local shop.  Many of the internet skis are grey market meaning they don't come with a warranty but they don't tell you that when you buy from them.

Some day when brick and motar ski shops are gone what do you think prices are going to do on line?  Skyrocket.

SHOP LOCAL!

The problem is that it isn't just saving a few bucks but rather saving 50% (hundreds of dollars).

I've been considering either buying or starting a local business. I immediately dismissed any type of non-specialty retail as a complete non-starter. There is just no way to compete with online stores that can run at really low margins and save customers a ton.

And there is nothing wrong with that. Local stores need to adapt and they are not doing so. It is pretty rare that I visit an outdoor store that is really friendly and makes me want to come back.

I am loyal to a particular local ski shop for tunes. I actually drive an hour and a half round trip and pass by a half dozen shops along the way. That shop has a unique and local niche as a shop that supports the local racing circuit and has great techs. But I only go there for tunes, not shopping. However, I will drive 1.5 hours round trip despite having a shop in town.

I am okay with paying more for services like tunes due to buying gear online. My local ski shop and bike shop charge $50-70 for full tunes which seems expensive for like an hour worth of work but, I get it, I bought my stuff somewhere else and they need to make their money somewhere.

I suspect that shops need to make it more of an experience than a transactional affair in order to make it work. If they just sell gear and are friendly (which is, let's face it, the absolute bare minimum is being friendly), that isn't going to cut it. Something that attaches people to the shop emotionally is needed. What is the shops story? How are they involved in the community? How are they reaching out and drawing people in (selling gear isn't a draw)? What type of emotional connection are they creating?

Shopping at a location just because they are local isn't enough anymore. Businesses need to engage people on another level. Local shops just selling "stuff" aren't going to make it. Local shops need to sell a story, they need to sell emotion, they need to sell community, etc.

I think River is right on.

I wish that Gore could find a way to bring all of the on mountain service back from Centerplate and (somehow?) create a local business.  The food and ski shop and rental concessions are huge and only a small portion stays in the local economy.  It's all expensive (except the ski shop which is a great deal) and people pay it, and the money vanishes. Gore keeps 15%.  I think with some real incentives in place the service would really step up.  It's hard to understand when I'm the only customer waiting at 8am, there are 4 or 5 people behind the counter and nobody makes eye contact with me.

Here's a more detailed write up. I'm going to miss this place.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/orangetown/2016/07/14/pearl-river-sitzmark-ski-shop-ending-its-50-year-run/86984432/

Harvey wrote

The food and ski shop and rental concessions are huge and only a small portion stays in the local economy.

Don't they hire local workers?  The money that they pay them stays in the local economy.  ORDA usually goes with whatever option is cheaper, so maybe it's cheaper to contract the food service out to Centerplate rather than do it themselves.  It's not at all unheard of to do this.  Most colleges and universities contract their food service out to a separate firm.  

The internet is a fact of life. With Amazon prime I can shop from my chair and buy what I need at a great price and have it shipped to my door - free shipping, no minimums - even out in the boonies. Hell - I save a ton in gas. I even buy groceries on line now. So what is the local merchant going to do - branch out into services that the "Amazons" can't offer. I thoroughly enjoy going out for a morning bike ride and stopping midway in my journey for breakfast, a cup of coffee and a read of the newspaper - can't get that at Amazon. Ski shops will need to be mostly wax & tune shops, custom boot fitting and binding mounts. The exception are those that cater to race programs, they will do OK as long as they offer big team discounts on equipment and make it up on tunes and customizations (that special base structure, hot boxing, canting, etc).