NIMBY

A new study by some UNH scholars has confirmed a ski industry "urban" legend that it is not the snow in the mountains that effects skiers heading to the mountain, but snow in the urban environment.

In a report titled, "Ski areas, weather, and climate: time series models for New England case studies," the researchers found that a 1-centimeter increase in snow depth at Cannon increased attendance by 11 skiers or snowboarders. However, a centimeter of new snow in Boston bumped attendance by 18 customers, "even though Boston snow might have no bearing on Cannon-area conditions."

via Boston Globe below the story on the tab the US Ski Team is passing on to some of its athletes.

Happy Holidays!!

I found it on ebay!

You just never know where you are going to find a brand evangelist or members of your brand's tribe.

It's always good thing to see where your brand or the competitions' are showing up. And if you don't have a TJ Maxx or Marshalls nearby it's pretty easy to check out ebay. Below is a little score card of current listings by a number of skiwear brands. Obviously arguments can be made either way for a brand's health based on the number of listings (longevity in the market, distribution, market penetration, etc). However, we have a very focused distribution model and like to see little to no KJUS listings on ebay- 5 is actually the most we've seen over the past few month.

But there is more to it than just the numbers. If you read the descriptions for the listings you can often get an idea if your marketing messages are making any penetration. For instance, this was the description for one of the KJUS listings:

My friend, Evan, only wears black. Thinks he’s Clint Eastwood of the ski hill. So, when his wife bought him this incredible outfit as a gift, he didn’t want it because it wasn’t black. So, his wife asked I’d sell it since I own all kinds of Kjus apparel. Unfortunately, she clipped and threw away the tags. I would keep this outfit myself, except I already own 3 Kjus jackets and two pants.

This is your opportunity to own the finest ski wear ever created… at a fraction of the retail price. Please don’t ask to purchase either item separately. This auction is for the ENTIRE OUTFIT. It is brand new without the tags. IT HAS NEVER BEEN WORN. NEVER EVEN BEEN OUTSIDE!!!

O.K., -- You want to talk Function or Fashion? If you’ve skied any of the high-end resorts throughout Europe or North America, there’s really only one brand of ski apparel that really stands out – for its technical design, incredible look and world-class craftsmanship. The line was developed by one of the world’s foremost World Cup Racers, Norwegian National Champion, Lasse Kjus. Who better to design world-class ski apparel than an elite ski racer who spends hours upon hours on some of the most challenging mountains in all kinds of weather conditions.

My tailor, Jerry, is also a skier. Before I bought my first Kjus Jacket he examined it closely. He couldn’t believe the quality of the stitching. And the fabric – it stretches. He declared it the “ultimate” in fashion and function.

Then, there’s the fit. It’s somewhat slim fitting and truly compliments those who are in good shape. Whether you’re in the lodge or the lift line, you’ll note that people just tend to stare at you as if you’re someone special (like a celebrity!). They look because you simply standout when wearing Kjus apparel. The lines and the way this apparel drapes on your body is just so much more "sophisticated" than the bundled-up frumpy look of most ski apparel.

I encourage you to go to a retail store and try on the KJUS Men’s Large Jacket and Pants to see if it fits… but more importantly to fully understand why this line of apparel is truly state-of-the-art in ski apparel.

You’ll note how the pants are like wearing silk. You’ll especially feel it up on your quads when you slip them on. Then, move around and feel how the fabric stretches. If you’re an athletic skier or racer, the mobility will astound you. Finally, just look in the mirror. You’ll instantly see what I mean about the more “sophisticated” look and fit.

This obviously was not just a regurgitation of a of a manufacturer product listing. Yes, he's looking to move product, but nonetheless the description is persuasive and hits upon many of the key words we associate with the KJUS brand- he is an evangelist.

The eBay ski apparel score card-

1. The North Face- 1211
2. Bogner- 88
3. Prada- 60
4. Phenix- 48
5. Nils- 31
6. Descente- 29
7. Post Card- 16
8. KJUS- 5

Things Bode Well for the Weekend

In today's downhill training in Val Gardena Bode tied for third. Tomorrow is the Super G and Saturday the downhill. If Bode wins both he'll have tied Phil Mahre with the most amount of World Cup wins by an America- Go Team America!

Also this weekend, the Jeep King of the Mountain Series kicks off in Telluride. Our man Casey Puckett is one to watch (we're not the only one's who think so- see their official press release). This will be Casey's first skier cross event since his knee surgery. He has had some great training including forerunning the women's downhill in Aspen.

The Jeep King of the Mountain Series looks to be great time, so if you are in area or looking for a good road trip, pack up the Thule box, head to Telluride, cheer on Casey and take in some amazing musical acts.

Best of luck to Casey and hopefully he'll pick up where he left off last year- on top!

KJUS Kicks Off 08/09 Collection

Last week in Lucerne, Switzerland, KJUS had its international sales meeting and introduced its 08/09 line. The line is what you expect from KJUS- innovative, clean, inspiring, and technologically advance. Each season KJUS raises the bar and next season is no different. But, yes it is different- new fabrics, exciting colors, and twists on conventional ski wear.

Our first view of the line was a fashion show-

Didi Serena, KJUS CEO, welcomed everyone and then made special presentations to Mario Reiter, Daniel Mahrer, and Fredrik Luytkis.

Then Didi and Lasse shared some funny stories about Lasse's great hunting expedition, where he shot a friends decoy by mistake, thinking it was an actual bird.

Bode wished us best of luck.

And then the fashion show began:

Barely a sneak peek!

Nico Serena, KJUS international sales manager, closed the evening.

It was a fantastic show and all the sales representatives, distributors, agents, and KJUS representatives left the building surprised and excited by what they had seen. Just wait until you get to see it!

Bode Gives an Inside Look to Team America

Bode's 6 step program:

1. Watch
   
2. Laugh
   
3. Head to www.skispace.com
   
4. Sign up
5. Add me as a friend
   
6. Enjoy

Women are from Nordstrom's, men are from Sears

In this week's Wharton Knowledge newsletter there was a article on the shopping habits of men and women entitled Men Buy, Women Shop: The Sexes Have Different Priorities When Walking Down the Isle.

Based on research from a study titled, "Men Buy, Women Shop," the article shines light on not only the different shopping philosophies of men and women, but also the some of the challenges they face when "shopping".

One of the keys to successful shopping experience according to the study is the sales associate. However, men and women want different things from associates. One of the studies' authors notes:

"At the end of the day, a sales associate has to be multifaceted," she says. "They have to be an engager, an expediter and an educator. They must be authentic, but what this study tells us is those buttons have to be turned on and off -- or turned on more or less -- depending on whether you are dealing with a man or a woman."

Nothing here that we haven't heard before. But it is always good to hear it again, especially with the research behind it to back up.

The Wharton Knowledge newsletter always has some great articles- plus it's free. Sign up here.

KJUS Women's Excel Accolades

In the December issue of Ski Magazine, on page 152, the Women's Excel was feature in the Women's Gear of the Year section.

Additionally, the Excel was written up in this week's issue of Boulder Weekly.

No Need to Wait for an Invite to Join the Party!

Ah, college, the good old days. But remember those Friday nights when some house was having a party and you didn't have an invite to get in.

Well, there is a huge party going on on the web these days. It's social networking and some of us are certainly getting to the party later than others, but the key is to at least show up, and for no other reason than to see what it's all about.

Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace are just a few of these networks and they aren't just "for the kids". LinkedIn is a professional relationship network and is certainly the more grown up of the three. Facebook and MySpace are definitely skewed to younger crowd, however many brands, retailers, and businesses are using them to connect with their customers/ fans and grow their business.

There is soon to be a new snowsports focused social network hitting monitors later this week. Bode Miller is launching a social networking site for skiers, called SkiSpace.

We recently created a group on Facebook. Within a week of creating it we had a query from a potential KJUS customer interested in knowing what the highlight color on a jacket was so that she got the correct color pant to match.

How much would you pay to connect with your customers or better yet your competitors' customers? Well, you'll be happy to hear that these are all free. Yes, time is money, but is it worth a half an hour of your time to give your customers another point of contact?

We bet that our newest Facebook friend is now a KJUS Fan and will likely tell her friends about KJUS. And there you go, that's social networking and viral marketing rolled up together.

You've been invited-

It's All in the Name

KJUS, like many other outdoor and ski related brands, has a name that is hard for people to pronounce. Well maybe not pronounce, but to extrapolate the correct pronunciation. The correct pronunciation is "shoos"- rhymes with juice. Here are some other companies in the industry that many of it's customers also find hard to pronounce correctly-

• KJUS- "shoos"
• Thule- "too-lee"
• Dale- "dahl-la"
• Volkl- "voel-cull"
• Reucsh- "roysh"

Some of the easier brand names out there no pronunciation key needed:

• Head
• Bell
• K2
• Smith

We are sure there are others in each category.

"That's So KJUS"

Last week I had the pleasure of traveling around the Rocky Mountain territory with our International Sales Manager Nico Serena and Rocky Mountain Sales Representative Bruce Mackenzie. We had a great trip visiting many of our dealers in Park City, Aspen, and Vail, including Cole Sport, Gorsuch, Aspen Sports, Hamilton Sports, Beaver Creek Sports, and Performance Sports to name a few.

While in Aspen we had an evening out with Casey Puckett, who joined the KJUS team this year and will be looking to add to his trophy case in skier cross. Casey is a force in the sport and is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. You can keep tabs on his progress on WCSN where he has a blog. In his most recent post, he discusses his most favorite new saying...

My agent, Lowell Taub, had such a good experience working with the company he replaced the phrase “that’s so awesome, great, wonderful, fantastic, etc.” with “that’s so Kjus,” and now I’ve adopted the phrase. So anytime you think something is awesome, you can just say “that’s so Kjus!” People may or may not know what in the world you’re talking about, but they will.

Puckett, you're so KJUS-

Commwear Profiled on RSN Outdoors

Vermont's Finest, Doug Lewis and Drew Simmons, dishout some the coolest new gear for the season. They save the best for last and profile the KJUS Commwear jacket. With the limited time they can spend on a piece there is apt to be a couple of small details missed. One being that there were only 250 of these jackets produced, each individually numbered on the cuff, and it comes with a KJUS proprietary communications system that features MP3 and Bluetooth.

KJUS Movie 07/08 Premiere

The 2007/08 KJUS Movie premiered on www.kjus.com today. It documents an epic ski trip by Lasse Kjus and friends to the remote island of Lofoten, off the coast of Norway. Few permits have been given to ski the island, but Lasse being Lasse... The scenery is breathtaking and provides an almost surreal backdrop to some amazing skiing.

So with ski season fast approaching and already here in other locations, have a look, get inspired for the season and follow your passion.

Tech Tuesday: Dermizax- EV

At KJUS we often say that the best part about our garments are invisible, and one of the more difficult to understand is the waterproof, breathable technology we use- Entrant Dermizax- EV from Toray. At recent clinics we had lots of questions about Dermizax and it was apparent that it's a somewhat mis-understood technology.

Dermizax-EV is a hydrophilic non-porous membrane- or in terms that are understandable it's a water loving film with no holes in it. The reason that technologies like Dermizax are hard to understand is that it "operates" at a molecular level and not physical.

Kenny at Toray USA put it like this "It breathes by moving water molecules through molecular openings in the membrane.

Basically it breathes by "absorbing" vapor molecules on one side and releasing it on the other side. The benefit of this structure is that in very high activity it is able to reduce condensation and feel more comfortable because of the hydrophilic membrane ability to effectively deal with the high level of humidity inside the garment."

The question we get most often is how is it different from Gore-Tex and why don't you use a Gore product? As stated above, Dermizax is a non-porous film, while Gore-Tex is a porous technology- has holes. The holes are large enough for water vapor to pass, but too small for water in a liquid state to pass through.

As for the second half of the question, in our tests Dermizax EV had better results and it is highly elastic and so it pairs very well with the stretch fabrics that we use, as well as being very lightweight, waterproof, and breathable.

You can learn more about Dermizax EV and Gore-Tex at their respective websites. For more detailed information on all waterproof technologies here is a great resource: https://www2.hcmut.edu.vn/~ptquan/congnghegiacongsoihh/handbookoftechnicaltextile/25F3A0ABA9AC8264FED602081E1ECA3.pdf

Best in the World...

Bode finished last season with a globe for his performance in Super G. He started out this season with a top five at Soelden. After a mediocre first run he charged from 17th place to finish fifth. As one ski writer put it, most exciting of all: he finished both runs. It looks like he's well on his way to prove that he is best in the world.

Which brings us to the point of the post- being best in the world. The US Ski Team used it as their motto a few year back and it's what athletes and businesses both strive for. But you don't just get to being the best in the world, there are bench marks and key learnings that need to be reached before achieving such a goal.

Businesses and athletes often look at best practices by competitors and others for inspiration to reach their goals. SIA has some great insight in its Model for Success on best practices from retailers in other markets. Although, the report is over two years old, if you haven't read it take 10 minutes to do so and you'll likely glean at least 2 take aways for your shop and website that will help you be best in town, best in your state, best in the country, or best in world- whatever your goal may be.

Bode's Back!

Word just in that Bode will be in the start house this weekend.

PS- this might be the first public photo of him wearing KJUS- via WCSN and Reuters.

Bode's Back.

The World Cup Season opener is in Soelden this weekend. As we announced earlier this fall, KJUS is the official uniform supplier for Bode and his team, which yesterday he announced would be called Team America. He has a great group supporting him and we are excited to see him break Phil Mahre's record for most World Cup wins by an American- Bode is only 2 wins away from tying Mahre.

It looks like we may have to wait a another few weeks for Team America's debut as Bode has injured his back and as of the latest reports seeing him in the start house this weekend is doubtful. It's too bad if he doesn't start because all eyes are on him to see how he fairs as an independent. However, it is early in the season and there are lots more racing to be had this winter. It is not the time for Curt Schilling-esque heroics. Let's hope that Bode give's himself the time he needs so that he's healthy and strong for the rest of the season and that his season ends in much same manner that it likes like the Red Sox will- World Champions!

Go Sox and Go Bode!

KJUS World Magazine

This week we received the first copies of KJUS World, a brand magazine. KJUS World is impressive on a number of levels. The first striking aspect is its sheer size- the magazine measure some 16" tall by 13" wide. This size truly brings the images to life, which brings me to the second aspect- the imagery. Page after page the magazine features amazing images that capture the essence of KJUS. And finally, it is packed with information about what makes KJUS so impressive.

The Ribbon of Death Breaths Life

A-Basin got the chairs turning on Wednesday. October 10th, was its earliest opening on in its 61 year history. Though only a fraction of the mountain was open, which one of our reps referred to as the "ribbon of death", and the majority of skiers getting in early season turns can only be classified as certified die hard, crazies, it does get the rest of the skiing population thinking about the upcoming season. And this can only help getting people into shop doors to select their gear for this winter. Hopefully on the heals of this early opening there a lot more early snow, because people really start thinking about getting on the hill when the white stuff is in their backyard.

The Invisble Visitor

The web is a fantastic way to tell your story. You can control what you say, how it is presented, and do so dynamically. In a print ad, you can also control the message and how it is presented, however it is difficult to know if your ad was seen by all readers or if it translated in to sales. Not impossible, but difficult to track. With the web, you have much more space to tell your story and easily update and edit your story and image as it develops and changes.

But, do you know who is reading your story, viewing your goods, and how long they are spending at your online store front. If you have an e-commerce component to your site, you probably do, and you at very least know who is buying your product.

There are some very easy and FREE online tools that can help you make those once invisible shoppers visible. With Google's Analytics you can track your site traffic, the location of the viewers, and how long they are spending at your site. Just sign up for a Google account, plug in your web site's URL and copy the code provided into the bottom of the pages of your website- and voilà, what was once invisible is now valuable.

It's kind of like getting the licence plate data from the shopper who pops in your store, but leaves without buying anything. But you also get to know which town in Utah they live in.

Some Ski Press Love for Commwear

In the latest issue of the Ski Press, the men's Commwear Jacket was featured in the Team Style story.

Being Different and Uncompromising

KJUS is uncompromising, which sets us apart from our competitors. What sets you apart from yours. On resent travels in New England I visited a number of our dealers and some of their competitors. One of the major points at the SIA workshop I attended the other week, they showed a number of examples of shops and asked was if you brought someone blindfolded into your shop could they tell where they were or see something different and memorable?

One of the more memorable shop presentations on my trip was not in the shop, but outside- a huge pile of old ski boots. At The Startingate in Bondville, VT just outside of Stratton, they pride themselves on their boot fitting and they don't make compromises with this service. If a customer comes in with a boot they want fitted and that won't provide the best performance for that customer, out the second story window it goes into the boot pile. As a result they have developed a reputation for exceptional boot fitting service... and being a little crazy and different.

What do you do that is different?

SIA Workshops

Yesterday, I attended the SIA Fall Education Workshop in Springfield, MA. It was a very interesting and informative progam with a great line up of speakers. Tom Shay took up half of the morning and half of the afternoon with very compelling and entertaining presentation. He had number of great suggestions for merchandising and have a number of free calculators on his website Profits Plus. He also has a free newsletter that you can subscribe to for free.

In other SIA Workshop news, at each workshop they presented Rep of Year awards for each region. Congratulations to KJUS Southern California Rep Steve Brock, who was named rep of the year for his territory.

Bode Joins the Team

Some exciting news here at KJUS. Bode Miller will be wearing KJUS through the 2010 games. He's a guy who doesn't make any compromises and as such left the US Ski Team so he can travel in his now famous RV around the World Cup circuit. We'll be following his season closely, as he looks to eclipse Phil Mahre's record for most World Cup wins by an American.