30,000 jobs since september 2008. further, the 2008/’09 snow sports season saw its worst economic conditions in recent memory, with consumers losing 35 percent of their wealth and the unemployment rate for those in the snow sports demographic increasing from 2.1 to 4.7 percent. while things are looking up – Boulder, colo.’s leisure trends Group reports a 12 percent growth in outdoor sales in October 2009, the first positive growth month in a year, and indicators point to a dropping unemployment rate – reps are still in the crosshairs of both manufacturers and retailers not wanting to be left holding inventory. “a lot of business is down and the market is smaller,” maintains Mike lamb, 58, a 30-year rep carrying atomic, uvex, swix and wintersteiger. “there are more brands and fewer places to place them.” Jump to the west coast and the problems are the same. “the problem is a lack of customers,” says Mike day, who has 35 years in the rep trenches, most recently carrying nine categories for scott. “a lot of retailers have gone out of business so there are fewer buyers. He adds that in the ‘90s there used to be as many as 150 shops in southern california; now there are seven to eight. and even though sports chalet has increased its footprint to 57 stores, things just aren’t the same. He says a lot of it boils down to a burgeoning demo market. “customers who might have purchased something before now seem to be turning to demos,” he says. “they maybe go out 10 times a year or so, and for less money they can use better, more modern equipment.”
The role of relaTionships despite all this, most feel a rep’s role is the same as it’s always been: facilitating communication between shops,
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