We urge you to read our staff analysis, starting on page 55 and then get a little historical perspective by reading “10 Years Ago in SAM” on page 29 and Issues on page 13. Then get closeups of a couple of the major players, Les Otten and George Gillett, respectively pages 58 and 57. (If you still have a copy, go back and read about Intrawest’s Hugh Smythe in the November 1995 issue.) And, very important, read Linda Goodspeed’s survey, starting on page 37, of how you and others in the industry are reacting to all these amazing happenings.
While our business may never again be quite the same, we feel the new directions are mostly good. We think there is tremendous opportunity in the sheer promotional energy of it all, just one example of which is the traveling road show described on page 68. The big players know very well they cannot succeed through market-share wars alone—though obviously there will be some of that—but must make the whole pot grow. The valiant, idealistic, but ultimately doomed, Ski-It-To-Believe-It program we attempted to launch as an industry a few years back is being replaced by high-energy promotional strategies that are attracting major new sponsor participation.
Some of this intense commercialization may grate on some nerves, including our own, but it’s hard to argue with the longterm consequences of the no-growth road we have long been on. For this reason, the new alternatives that are arriving seem to us to be full of hope, full of opportunity.
Enough! Another ski season is here and that’s reason enough alone to feel good about the future.
