Industry Follows Fashion, Trends & Influencers on Day Two 2012 SIA Snow Show

Denver, CO (January 27, 2012) -- Day Two of the 2012 SIA Snow Show in Denver, Colorado, started off with a string of well-attended educational seminars, panel discussions and events available on-site for Show attendees.  With dozens of seminars to choose from, topics ran the gamut, but stayed focused on issues specific to snow sports including major fashion trends, market overviews, social media strategies, eco-friendly practices and growing consumer participation.

“Having attended SIA since its inception, as both a retailer and a rep, the Show allows me to have the best overview of our ever changing snow sports world. Where else can I get all the information I need to service and educate my retailers and consumers?” said Joe Decker, Sale Rep for Level Gloves of Italy.

“At SIA you get the pulse of the industry and a peek at how to plan your next season. You get the vision of where you need to be tomorrow with your business.  Relationships, partners, strategic partnerships - it’s all about the vibe and the tribe,” said Kevin Cooper, Director of Social Media, Strategic Partnerships & Events for Kirkwood Mountain Resort.

The Mile-High Ballroom was filled with both men and women eager to hear prominent female leaders discuss How Can Snow Sports Tap into the Powerful Influence of Women? With SIA’s Research Director, Kelly Davis, acting as moderator, the discussion led with current statistics that included women influencing 95% of all household purchases and then turned to the panel to discuss what that means to snow sports in terms of sales and participation. Panelists included Amy Caldwell (Caldwell Sport), Donna Carpenter (Burton Snowboards), Carolyn Crowley Stimpson (Wachusett Mountain Ski Area), Raelene Davis (Ski Utah), Kyre Malkemes (Mervin Mfg), Heather Schultz (Freelance Writer/Owner of Holy Toledo) and Kim Walker (Outdoor DIVAS).

Advice from the group included introducing young girls to snow sports early in their lives, making it easier for moms to get kids to the mountain and providing a supportive retail environment where women feel comfortable asking questions, demo new products and feel part of a community.

“When you start addressing the needs of women you become a better company. We need to make snow sports accessible but also really try to understand a woman’s life and what can we do to get them back,” said Donna Carpenter of Burton.

“It’s crucial to educate sales people to up-sell consumers. My advice for retailers is adopt the ‘Nordstrom Experience’ - engage women, ask a lot of questions and make appropriate suggestions without being asked.  Go find the coordinating hat, pants or jacket in your store to complete the outfit,” commented Raelene Davis of Ski Utah.

More than 100 people gathered to hear Stylesight Senior Active Editor, Jeanine Pesce present F/W 13 Color + Mega Trends seminar which covered marketing, lifestyle, product launches and what’s coming up on the fashion front. Pesce presented major trends driving the snow sports sector including color combinations, key silhouettes, design details, prints/graphics, innovative materials focusing on performance, surface textures and developments in technology. 

Just two of the many trends presented included the JUST and MARVEL trends. The JUST trend applies a new approach to luxury channels, with a color palette that includes cool denim blues with terra cotta, sand and green tea tones. The MARVEL trend was described as fantasy meets superhero. “The color palette for this trend would be intentionally exaggerated with shocking powder pastels and synthetic shades of teal, golden yellow and magenta,” commented Pesce.

At the end of the day, a long list of industry leaders were honored including SIA’s 2011 U.S. Retailers and Reps and Canadian Reps who were acknowledged for successfully cultivating and furthering relationships to further sales of snow sports products. During the SIA Award ceremony, Ted Hamilton was also honored with the SIA Industry Achievement Award, marking his numerous contributions to the snow sports industry.  Ned Hamilton opened his first ski shop, Peter Glen, in 1958 in Montpelier, Vermont, named after his one-year-old son. Ned currently has shops located in Florida, Georgia and Virginia.

The industry will have their pick of parties, concerts and events in and around Denver this evening.  One of the most in-demand tickets was the sold-out Icelantic’s Winter on the Rocks Concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Winter on The Rocks will mark the first-ever winter concert held at Red Rocks featuring Atmosphere along with Common, Grieves + Budo and Get Cryphy.

Another hot ticket was the 13th Annual TransWorld SNOWboarding Riders’ Poll Awards featuring Blackalicious at the Fillmore Auditorium. The event will be swarming with a slew of pro snowboarders including Travis Rice, Marie France-Roy, Iikka Backstrom and Devon Walsh. Award winners were determined by polling over 100 professional snowboarders worldwide, while the readers choice is decided by TransWorld SNOWboarding Magazine readers. Co-hosts include the infamous Greg ‘GT’ Tomlinson- co-founder of Von Zipper, and snowboarding legend/Signal Snowboards founder, Dave Lee.

For more news and highlights from the Show, read the official 2012 SIA Snow Show Dailies. And, for 24/7 updates, be sure to visit the SIA Social Dashboard and stay connected through the SIA Facebook page, SIA’s Latest and on Twitter - we’ll be sending highlights before and during the Show to keep you in the know.  When tweeting about the Show, please add #SIA12 to join in on our Twitter feed.