Retailers optimistic holiday sales will offset current lull

Internet sales help

At both ends of the valley, storeowners have found creative ways to stay ahead of the dwindling flow of cash coming into the area. Some have shifted their strategies, finding people are willing to spend money on sale items or brand names. Others have cut store hours, or employees.

If there’s a thread that runs between them—besides their business—it’s a belief that things will get better.
Looking out on the base area from a Crested Butte Ski and Snowboard shop window in Mt. Crested Butte, retail manager Toni Westerholm laments a weak turnout in the weeks between Thanksgiving and the Christmas rush, but reminds himself there will be a rush.
Westerholm said a slow couple of weeks before Christmas is expected, gaining speed again around December 20. The good turnout for Thanksgiving was enough to sustain retailers while they wait. He also hopes the turnout for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was a sign of things to come.
“We’ve done pretty well but it’s slower than last year. With the economy the way it is, there aren’t enough people here, yet. But maybe with a little snow, with the six to 12 inches that is coming, that might increase business a little bit,” Westerholm said.
Even without the snow, more than 7,600 potential shoppers a day are expected to be on hand for the weeks around Christmas and New Years. The resort reservation numbers look strong starting December 20. Whether visitors come ready to shop is still up in the air.
But a few weeks around Christmas, even after a strong Thanksgiving, is only a small part of the winter to be making money and Royal White, a manager at Colorado Boarder at the Mt. Crested Butte base area, isn’t sure the reputation Crested Butte got after last winter’s snow is enough to keep people coming through this season.
“You find a residual effect where those people that came up last year will probably assume for three to five years that we always get snow like that. As far as that creating extra business, I don’t think we’ll run into that this year. With the economy being down I think those two factors will probably wash each other out,” he said.
Despite what White sees as a slowdown in the amount of business being done, the store already has the inventory for the season and has had it for several months. Like nearly every retail store on the mountain, stocks are ordered up to a year before they go on the shelves, leaving owners reacting to an event they couldn’t have predicted.
For stores that wait until winter to display their wares, ordering so far in advance leaves only a few months to sell things before the change in season.
Karen Saeger, a manager at Butte & Company, said her store wasn’t able to anticipate fewer shoppers when the ordering was being done, but they were able to cancel some of the inventory that hadn’t shipped.
“We were able to adjust our buying and I think we’re trying to be optimistic. Christmas is looking good, but it should. That’s our busy season and we’ve managed to keep the same number of employees, they’re just working less,” she said.
Other shops aren’t keeping the same number of employees that they had last year, even after a Thanksgiving weekend that exceeded expectations.
Rusty Thompson, a department head at Peak Sports, said his store had to cut five employees from last year because of overall decreased sales.
“Our sales are definitely, definitely down from last season. We’re working with 16 employees this year instead of 21 and we even cut back our store hours by an hour every day for the next two weeks,” he said.
But Thompson, like others in the industry, is excited for the next wave of powder hounds to come and is optimistic that the resort’s new ownership can pump some needed capital into its operation.
“Because Crested Butte got so much snow last year, I think people are going to book trips just hoping for that snow this year. And you know the new news of the resort getting some more financial backing, I think that’s only going to help,” he said.
At the opposite end of the valley, snow doesn’t mean the same thing to those in the retail industry as it does on the mountain.
At Ace Hardware in Gunnison, Kevin Walter says although business has been down for most of the year, winter is always good for selling snow blowers and shovels.
But Gunnison isn’t a retail environment focused on the ski industry. Instead, anywhere you look, the summer season is what makes business run.
Even at Gene Taylor’s Sporting Goods, where ski rentals make a large part of winter business, it is the fishing, hiking and camping gear sold in the summer that sustains them through the slow season.
“We don’t bank on a Christmas season to increase our sales—we just promote the same stuff and throw out some good ads and specials,” said manager Craig Otto. “Summer is definitely our busiest season. Ski season is a good season, but it all comes down to Christmas and spring breaks and President’s Weekend—that’s where we really make our money.”
Like several other retail shops in the valley, online sales are beginning to bridge the gap between low shopper numbers and a slow economy.
“We’re buying a little smarter and we look at orders every month. But getting into the online sales is one way we’re looking at improving our business throughout the year,” Otto said.
Karina Steele, who deals in online sales at the Alpineer, in Crested Butte, has been “cranking” as orders were coming into the store the week after Thanksgiving.
White said Colorado Boarder has been able to extend its selling season through its website, where almost a third of all business is done.
“Our online sales are down a little bit but they’re still going strong. Because of the online business we have our inventory shipped super early. Most people don’t want their winter stuff in July,” he said. “But it’s a benefit to us because getting it then, that early, just gives us more time to sell online.”