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SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Jan. 28, 2015—There's stoke, and then there is the opposite of stoke. When Bill Jensen, former CEO of Intrawest, told a crowd of nearly 400 ski industry executives that from his view, 150 ski areas were in “the sunset of their existence” and an additional 150 ski areas could also be out of business within the decade, it became an immediate water-cooler topic.

Jensen was speaking as part of The Assembly 2015, a one-day forum that took place on the first day of the SIA Snow Show held at the Colorado Convention Center. SAM Magazine—Denver, Colo., Jan. 28, 2015—There's stoke, and then there is the opposite of stoke. When Bill Jensen, former CEO of Intrawest, told a crowd of nearly 400 ski industry executives that from his view, 150 ski areas were in “the sunset of their existence” and an additional 150 ski areas could also be out of business within the decade, it became an immediate water-cooler topic.

Jensen was speaking as part of The Assembly 2015, a one-day forum that took place on the first day of the SIA Snow Show held at the Colorado Convention Center.

In his presentation, Jensen laid out a hierarchical pyramid of U.S. ski areas (left nameless), with the most viable ski areas at the top, that he labeled, “Ubers” and “Alphas”. He estimates that there are 45 ski areas in those categories, while 125 resorts are “status quo” and 150 more were breaking even. The remaining 150 he called “Sunsets”, and predicted they would eventually fade out of the business.

Jeff Harbaugh of Jeff Harbaugh & Associates, a consultant to the action sports, outdoor and youth culture attended the above presentation and noted that much of the discussion focused on the critical Millennial group but wondered "why there were no Millennials on the panel."

Harbaugh went on to say there was acknowledgement on the panel that “family incomes of $100,000 is sort of the floor below which we can't hope to attract people.” But, he observed, that acknowledgement comes with a further acknowledgement that “we're increasingly dependent on the Millennials who don't have anywhere near that income, and may not in the foreseeable future.”

All this, while upstairs hundreds of exhibitors were scrambling to assemble millions of dollars of the latest ski and snowboard hard goods for the SIA Snow Show. Earlier in the day, Emily O'Hara, market research associate for SIA, shared the latest retail sales data.

Snow Sports Market Up in Dollars and Units Sold Through November 2014

The snow sports market reached $1.46 billion in total sales through November 30, representing an 8 percent increase in dollars sold and a 7 percent increase in units sold.

Outerwear sales were up 15 percent to $622 million, all equipment and equipment accessories sales were down 3 percent to $391 million, and selected apparel accessories sales including total headwear, handwear and base layer sales increased 19 percent to $155 million through November 30.

Equipment sales were up in specialty and chain stores, but much lower through online channels where a lack of inventory contributed to decreased sales volume. Equipment sales online decreased more than 20 percent to $84 million through November 30. Snowboard equipment sales were particularly strong in chain stores with a 10 percent increase in dollars sold to $9 million through November and sales of women-specific products are up 12 percent in dollars sold to $461 million, 32 percent of total sales through November this season.

Ingemie to Retire in 2016

While exhibitors were setting up in the trade hall and industry executives and researchers discussed the state of the mountain travel and tourism industry as part of The Assembly 2015, David Ingemie announced his retirement after a 34-year run as president of SIA.

“The industry has been incredibly lucky to have David Ingemie as the driving force behind SIA for 39 years. David has been instrumental in working with the Board on defining what SIA is today and next steps to guarantee its future success and a smooth transition.” Bob Gundram, Chair of SIA's Board of Directors and CEO of C3, said in a press release.

Ingemie's successor will begin in a transitional role in June of this year and assume the role of president following the 2016 SIA Snow Show. He joined SIA in 1976 as marketing director and became president of the non-profit organization in 1981.

“I feel so fortunate to have been a part of an industry that represents one of my life's greatest passions - snow sports. It has been a great run, working under twenty-one different Board chairmen/women and seeing so many changes within the industry; equipment, resorts, retailers, reps, and even ways to get down the hill,” Ingemie said.