County Votes Against New Ski Area
Will the decision to permit a new ski area on federal land now be based on a poll of whether or not nearby residents want it? Will a small local populace in future be able to vote to bar the use of the National Forest as a recreation resource for Americans?
It could be. In a case with potentially serious implications for future ski area development, the U.S. Forest Service supervisor in Routt County, Colo., recently polled 264 residents there and found that 52% were “definitely” or “probably” against building Lake Catamount, a proposed new ski resort as big as Steamboat, six miles to the south.
Supervisor Jerry Schmidt, who authorized the poll, says he’s not aware that one has ever been conducted before, nor are any officials whom I contacted, including Denver USFS headquarters which is less than enthusiastic about what happened in Routt. But here’s the zinger, and I quote from a report in the Steamboat Pilot: “(Even) if environmental concerns about the (Lake Catamount) project are adequately addressed, Schmidt said he could still deny a permit based on socio-cultural concerns.” Routt residents are concerned about the environment, population and transportation, as well as growth’s impact on their values and lifestyles. They also feel there’s limited demand for additional ski areas.
Lake Catamount’s developers are Mitchell Energy Corp. of Houston, and Denver investors led by Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp. chairman and president Martin Hart, who sold Steamboat to a Japanese firm last year. Only a few months ago, Catamount was regarded as almost certain to win USFS approval. After the poll, Colorado Wildlife Federation attorney Paul Zogg said: “I don’t see how the Forest Service can now go ahead and approve it.”
How Are Retailers Faring?
In skiwear, a policy of pricing parkas, pants and suits reasonably is paying off for two firms. Columbia, almost unknown three years ago, has vaulted to No. 1 share-of-market position in ski apparel, with its well-under-$200 jackets, many of which convert to other uses. And just a hair behind Head in market share, according to SportStyle, is No. 3 Sport Obermeyer which has also won over consumers with a powerful value-price strategy.
I just received the final (March, 1990) national figures from NPD/SMART on 1989-90 equipment sales of specialty ski shops and chain stores. In units, retail sales of skis were off 3%, boots only 1%, bindings 6%, and cross-country equipment off 4 to 10%. Because of price increases, dollar sales of skis rose 3% and boots 4%. Bindings and cross-country fell in dollars.
Better Than Their Suppliers
Ski equipment importers and manufacturers are taking it on the chin. Retailers have slashed their orders with suppliers by as much as 25% from two years ago, as they trim inventories and rely more on re-orders, as well as face lagging sales. Shops also rely more than ever on suppliers for cheap credit: Their overdue IOUs to suppliers at the end of May totaled $48.2 million, the highest in 10 years. The actual payments-due may be much higher, as suppliers ease pressure on customers by redating invoices. Nevertheless, May’s $48.2 million figure, in inflation-adjusted dollars and as a percentage of total sales, is well below the $51.2 million owed in 1981, the worst year in ski industry history.
Nearly half the overdue shops were among retailers who pledged to contribute to Ski It To Believe It! during the national marketing program’s first year, reports Ski Business Editor Glenn Heitsmith. Many found the money to give.
New Skier Business Exaggerated?
Despite optimistic reports over recent months that new-skier volume may have grown in 1989-90, two figures I’ve seen suggest the opposite. USIA Research Economist Dr. Marvin Kottke found that beginner lessons at U.S. ski areas fell about 9% from 1988-89. Another figure, from National Sporting Goods Association, indicates the season may have got underway with a lower number of new and returning skiers. According to NSGA, 1.4 million people skied in calendar 1989 who didn’t ski in 1988, down from 1.7 million a year earlier.
Cash Prizes For World Cup
Ski areas hosting World Cup alpine races this winter, such as Aspen, Lake Louise and Waterville Valley, can offer prizes valued up to $8,700 to the leading finishers, under a precedent-breaking FIS rule change. The new rule, vigorously promoted by the U.S. and Canada at the International Ski Federation’s May Congress in Switzerland, comes after 60 years of FIS and Olympic opposition to cash prizes in racing.
The prize money compares favorably with some U.S. pro races, and bigger amounts may be allowed in future, as well as cash awards in FIS-sanctioned competitions other than World Cup. At the same meeting, though, the North Americans failed to persuade the FIS to install a new executive to revitalize what they see as a faltering Alpine World Cup organization. European FIS officials insist Americans would be having no problems with the World Cup if U.S. racers were winning.
Meanwhile, the FIS continued its tradition of signing up a World Cup sponsor unknown to North Americans. Replacing Cafe Lavazza as overall international sponsor of skiing’s most prestigious award is Sergio Tacchini, a Milan-based sportswear firm. It beat out Nordica skiwear, paying 10 million Swiss francs to the FIS over three years for the rights. Sierra Nevada ski resort in Spain won the 1995 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships
Loss Of Leisure Time. . .
At the same time as Americans are taking shorter vacations and meshing them with long weekends (as reported in this column, May issue), new studies show that people — particularly demographic groups coinciding with skiers — are working longer hours and enjoying less leisure time. About 37% of male executives and professionals now work more than 49 hours a week, up at least five percentage points from 20 years ago. Meanwhile, factoring in the increase in two-wage-earner households, the average adult’s median number of leisure hours per week dropped even more sharply, from 26.2 in 1973 to 16.6 hours in 1987.
. . . And How To Fight It
Give them more Return on Vacation per Minute (RVM), says Breckenridge’s Dave Peri. He tells me the Colorado resort has seen dramatically shorter vacations by skiers in early December and in January and February. Only Xmas week and March have held up. “We must get skiers to the core vacation experience immediately,” says Peri, or we’ll lose them to Hawaii and the cruise lines. For example, a 7-minute call will result in a total cruise line or island vacation booking, versus several phone calls and 35 minutes to book a ski vacation.
Peri has ski travel wizard Mickey Smith heading up Victoria Vacations to create vertical integration and speed bookings. With lift tickets, rental gear, rooms and transportation set up in advance, Peri’s goal is to get the vacationer skiing as soon as he or she arrives.
Skier Days Down, Business Up
Because of poor early snow and lack of snowmaking, skier-days at Snowmass, Colo., fell 22.4% last winter, down to 550,140 visits from 708,879 in 1988-89. That’s bad for the Aspen Skiing Co., but not others. Businesses belonging to the Snowmass Resort Association saw their winter income go up 8%. Sales tax revenues at the resort rose 23%. Many lodges enjoyed higher occupancy. Why?
Conventions and meetings. Snowmass, which built a new conference center in 1985, last winter saw 60 meetings generate a record $3.65 million from 11,500 guests. “The good thing about the conference center,” SRA sales director Kevin Owen told the Aspen Times, “is that business tends not to fluctuate with weather or snow conditions. When you see 1,700 (cardiologists) here in the second week of January, when the rest of the ski industry is at 50% occupancy, it doesn’t take long to figure out the impact.”
