Snow Sports Pros Unite at Inaugural INDUSTRY + INTELLIGENCE Gathering

DENVER (January 28, 2015) – Today marked the first-ever INDUSTRY + INTELLIGENCE(#SIA15intel) gathering hosted by SnowSports Industries America (SIA), the snow sports industry’s member-owned trade association, has prepped the entire industry for the 2015 SIA Snow Show week (Jan. 29 – Feb. 1, 2015) with day-long educational offerings, market intelligence, networking opportunities, keynote speakers and social gatherings.

“So many good seminars, so little time,” said Geoff Brugler, Appalachian Outdoors, State College, PA. “There are a ton of good seminar topics today. Just walked out of one with a very engaging speaker, which is always a plus when time is of the essence.”

The industry day had nearly 20 sessions covering five core intel tracks – State of the Industry, Production and Protection, The Challenges and Opportunities of the One Season Business, Social Media and the Wealthy Retailer. INDUSTRY + INTELLIGENCE also included events the industry has come to rely on like Malakye’sShmooz job fair, The ASSEMBLY on mountain tourism and Product Category Overviews by SIA Director of Research Kelly Davis to be hosted on the same day before the Snow Show, when retailers, reps and suppliers have more time to focus on education.

“The whole idea behind today was to help the industry prepare for the Show and make smart business decisions – Show attendees are often booked solid from morning to night with appointments so today gave many people the opportunity to sit in on sessions they couldn’t before,” commented Davis. 

Davis delivered her Product Category Overviews to a packed room, and kept the mood light while giving attendees an overview of the market as well as information about the new NPD data system and SIA’s Downhill Consumer Intelligence Project (DCIP). Jon Easdon, owner of Blindside in Colorado Springs was thrilled with the insights he gained in Davis’ session to help him prep for the Show

“A resource like this that’s free and widely available to retailers is huge,” Easdon said. “It helps me take the data and see where I need to target and start focusing for the Show. This seminar is a resource everyone should take advantage of. I’m leaving the day with a completely honed in, focused view. I’ve been looking forward to this for months and it’s been even better than I expected.”

INDUSTRY + INTELLIGENCE was also packed with brand new educational offerings such as The Wealthy Retailer seminar series, a panel discussion on Attracting Today’s Time-Starved Consumer and two remarkable keynote addresses that energized professionals from all segments of the snow sports industry.

Rick Pasturczak, owner of Alpine Accessories in Lake in the Hills, IL, attended the Wealthy Retailer sessions and found them very helpful. “There were a lot of key points you could grab onto. I’m a smaller shop and I’ve learned things I can definitely bring back, like how often I email my customers. The way he presented it made sense, so I’m going to make some changes. I found it very useful. I’m extremely happy that the seminars are all in one day now, and the lunch is really good too!”

Jim Clark, CEO of Steamboat Springs Chamber Resort Association, attended THE ASSEMBLY sessions for Mountain Tourism, and said it’s been a very productive day. “We’re learning about trends happening in the winter industry and how we can build a more year round mountain destination. I’d say one of the biggest takeaways so far is that we’ll have to start diversifying our markets, addressing challenges with millennials and reaching minority populations, because those are all demographics we’d like to attract more.”

Brad Montgomery, a well-known humorist, published author and Colorado local, kicked off the speaker series with inspiration for how to create more happiness and humor in our lives and work.

“We’ve been attending all of the seminars today and to cap off the morning with Brad’s speech was awesome,” said Erik Korman, Gravity Sports @ Mt. Bachelor, Bend, OR. “He was super funny and enlightening and lunch was great as well. Even though it was an extra day, it was totally worth it and super informational!”

“I thought it was fun watching the crowd open up and grasping that happiness is something we can all do,” said Montgomery. “I love this industry because happiness is something this group gets; it’s a passionate group, and these are people who’ve followed their passion into their jobs. It’s been really an honor for me to be a part of it and such fun for me as a skier to be part of it.”

Amy Purdy, the top-ranked adaptive snowboarder in the U.S. who is a three-time World Cup Para-Snowboard winner and 2014 Paralympic Bronze Medalist, took the stage closing out the day with her presentation about the power of imagination. She inspired the crowd and showed by personal example that our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by the choices we make.

“I’m so excited and honored to be a part of the Snow Show and the first Industry + Intelligence day,” Purdy said. “I’ve been coming to the Snow Show for years and I love being a part of this amazing community. It’s been a really inspiring experience to be here with all of these people who are as passionate about snow sports and about life as I am.”

For more information regarding SIA Snow Show events, hotels/travel and exhibitors, go to: SIAsnowshow.com. For 24/7 updates on all things 2015 Snow Show, check SIA’s Latest and follow SIA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We’ll be sending highlights before and during the Show to keep you in the know. Use #SIA15, #SIA15intel and #SIA15demo to join the conversation. 

– SIA –

Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2014, SnowSports Industries America (SIA) is a non-profit member-owned trade association with a long history of working to support the snow sports industry. SIA, based in the Washington, DC Metro-Area with offices in CO, OR and RI, works year-round with North American snow sports suppliers, retailers, resorts, reps and service providers to develop products and programs for their individual and collective business needs. With member support and industry participation, SIA annually hosts the industry’s largest core winter sports trade show, the SIA Snow Show, along with the On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest and the Sourcing Snow supplier show. SIA also helps retailers and resorts connect with snow sports participants around the country through Snowlink.com. Learn more at Snowsports.org