on snow
Get On Board The SIA On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest by Colin Bane
“The SIA On-Snow Demo at Winter Park is one of the things that really sets the Denver SIA Snow Show apart from when the show was in Las Vegas,” says Dan Sullivan, director of sales at Rome Snowboard Design Syndicate. “Let’s hope that snowboarding in Colorado is reason enough for most anybody in the industry to tack a few days on to their trade show trip, but I do know that some people’s time is extremely limited and I think the key to getting more buyers to the On-Snow event is in how they manage their show time. The old paradigm is to be there right at the bell on Thursday, get to all your appointments in the first day or two, and get in and out as quickly as possible. But if I were a buyer and could only be there for a few days, I’d make all my appointments for Saturday and Sunday when, let’s face it, the show is a lot less hectic and it’s a lot easier to get deals done, and I’d leave at least a day to get to the On-Snow Demo and get some of next season’s boards under my feet.” or the third year in a row, Winter Park Resort will be hosting the SIA On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest, on Monday, January 30, and Tuesday, January 31. More than 100 confirmed vendors will be on-site demoing boards, boots, bindings, helmets, goggles, camcorders, and other gear. “The On-Snow at Winter Park is insane,” sums up C3’s Johan Malkoski. “To be able to sit on a chairlift and chat about snowboarding products, and then rip down the hill on them, to us, is the right way to do business.” Clark Gundlach, executive vice president and general manager of Burton, concurs, and says it’s an excellent opportunity to reconnect with the reason everybody is in the business in the first place: Snowboarding and having fun. “Probably most importantly, after working hard at a trade show for four days, is that it gives you an opportunity to do what we all love to do with the people we love to be with,” Gundlach says. “That’s it in a nutshell: It’s fun! I get to ride with some of the customers that I would never get a chance to otherwise, and it’s also fun because of the parties. For me it’s more about spending some time with the people who buy and sell our products, getting on the chairlift with them, and having fun doing what we do.” In just two years the SIA On-Snow Demo has become the biggest and best opportunity
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The Guide: 2012 SIA Snow SHow
for brands and buyers to connect on a national level, says Gundlach, adding value to the trade show for all parties and making it the perfect platform for brands like Burton to launch new products and educate buyers about new technologies and innovations. “We have a lot of fun on the showroom floor, but when we’ve got a new board, boot, or binding technology, the on-snow demos are where the real excitement is,” Gundlach says. “Innovation is our DNA, and every year we bring a lot to the table—we get excited about allowing others to experience those new products with us on the mountain.” The demo is also an unprecedented opportunity for buyers to try boards from brands, big and small, in one place, including some of the biggest names in the industry as well as smaller boutique brands and all of the made-in-Colorado brands national buyers might not otherwise have an opportunity to test drive. As this article was written, the list of confirmed snowboard brands included Arbor, Bataleon, Burton, Capita, Contract, DC, Endeavor, Flow, Forum, Gnu, High Society Freeride, Jones Snowboards, K2, Lib Tech, Never Summer, Niche, Nitro, NOW, OZ, Ride, Rome, Rossignol, Roxy, Salomon, Signal, Smokin’ Snowboards, Spice, Unity, Venture, Voile, and Yes. Buyers who have attended the SIA On-Snow Demo over the last two years say that the opportunity to test boards, boots,
Top: Louif Paradis Is on board. photo: Wellhausen Bottom: Packing it in at the SIA On-Snow. photo: Lewis
bindings, and other equipment as part of the SIA Snow Show has helped them structure their buys for the coming season. “I go into these demos with a very specific test list for my onsnow crew,” says Chris Dixon, regional merchandise manager and lead snowboard buyer for Specialty Sports Venture. Dixon has attended the SIA On-Snow Demo in each of the two years since the SIA Snow Show has been in Colorado and says it has influenced his purchasing plans both times. “Most of the buy was in place after the trade show, so the products we tested were focused on where we had doubts or needed to test two similar products side-by-side,” Dixon adds. “The feedback I get from my testers, coupled with the discussions that we have with the brand representatives, definitely helps shape the buy.” Last year, Denver-based manufacturer Never Summer Industries made the most of the opportunity to launch a new model, the Proto CT, on the occasion of the brand’s 20th anniversary.