The ski trade is on such a wacky sell-in cycle that our regional ski rep association wrapped up their first trade show of 2017 yesterday, displaying 2017/18 product just as the current year has crested the holiday season and settled into the heart of winter. The reason the sell-in cycle starts so early – in fact, the reason it’s already been going on for months – is off-shore clothing manufacturing obligates soft goods suppliers to submit orders absurdly early or risk losing their place in line and with it any hope of shipping orders on time.
Equipment suppliers, particularly those who own their own means of production, shouldn’t have to move in lockstep with clothing vendors, but any time there’s a show that brings dealers and reps together they feel pressure to attend lest they lose more ground in an already retracting market. Thus we have the somewhat dislocating phenomenon of viewing next year’s skis just as shops are beginning to put out demos of this year’s models; what was brand spanking new on Monday is a fading flower by Friday.
The only thing better than riding on new skis
is riding new skis in conditions like this.
This puts suppliers in a bit of a quandary: they need to promote their 2017/18 collections and celebrate all that is new when they talk to the trade, but they don’t want to leak information to consumers lest they dampen sales of current products with three solid months of ski season still to come.
Ski suppliers aren’t the only ones caught with one foot in 2017 and the other in 2018, an uncomfortable yoga position they strive to hold for a few months; we nattering nabobs of the ski scene are caught in the same stance. We can see the future, albeit in fuzzy focus, but we understand that to relate all that we know the moment we know it will not only limit future access to privileged information, but may dilute our own efforts to build readership in the fall.
So I’m not going to get into blood-and-guts details on 2018 skis and boots just yet. If you’re planning to buy new skis this year, for heaven’s sake go ahead and buy them; buy two pairs, while you’re at it. Deferred gratification is a form of self-denial no one should have to live with. Another season without new skis isn’t going to make your life any better.
Now that you’re duly admonished not to let the shiny object of future products distract you, here are some thoughts about what lies ahead in ski design, based on a peek at a handful of bellwether brands I spoke with last week.
What’s in a Name?
Sales magic, or so it seems, with a few model names so popular they’ve become mini-franchises within the brand. For example, consider the Nordica Enforcer, which two years ago didn’t require “100” after it to differentiate it from its younger bro, the Enforcer 93. Once the Enforcer 93 followed in the 100’s footsteps as an oft-cited “ski of the year” award winner, other Enforcers were bound to follow. I won’t reveal (yet) how Nordica chose to extend the Enforcer name; suffice it to say the venerable brand may have to buy a bigger trophy case.
Sales statistics allege that Blizzard’s Black Pearl is the best selling ski in America, a point not lost on the parent company. Next season, Blizzard’s oyster will contain three Black Pearls (alongside two Sheevas where this year there is one). If the Pearl name indeed has irresistible allure, Blizzard will be an undeniable force in the women’s market, validating the brand’s Women to Women campaign.
A strong model name can re-invigorate an entire product category: case in point, the Hawx name at Atomic. It began as a single medium last in a handful of men’s and women’s flexes. Now the name encompasses narrow, medium and wide versions of alpine boots and for 2018, a full line of backcountry boots using a Hawx chassis mated with a Backland hike mechanism.
What to Do for an Encore?
The marketing mandate to always offer something new compels suppliers to renew each segment of their line every 3-4 years, whether they need to or not. For a run-of-the-mill model the inevitable euthanasia is more relief than cause for grief, but what if we’re talking about the most popular model in its class, a single-ski profit center that generates invaluable brand publicity among the press and brand loyalty among the skiing public?
The tricky question the supplier must answer is how to go about changing such a ski without disenchanting its following or extinguishing some ineffable quality that made the ski a star in the first place? This is the conundrum faced by brands like Rossignol and Blizzard, two market leaders who chose to modify star products – the Soul 7 HD and Bonafide, respectively – for next year even though these models were recently updated and sales, a strong indicator of market acceptance, remain robust.
I won’t get into the details of how each model evolved, except to say that both brands have successfully navigated these treacherous waters by focusing on enhancing on-trail performance (they couldn’t get much better off-trail) without altering the essential character of their star performers.
It’s interesting to this observer that despite multifarious limitations on ski suppliers’ opportunities for growth, the major brands continue to introduce incremental improvements in all categories, enriching what is already the most diverse market ever presented to the high performance skier.