Catching Up With: BC Surf & Sport’s Snow Buyer Dave Smith

mike lewis

• October 23 2009
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Colorado’s season is off to a great start. With Loveland and A-Basin heading into their third weekend of the year, fresh snow blanketing the front range, and other mountains openings not far behind, retailers are definitely seeing signs for optimism.  Dave Smith is one of BC Surf & Sport’s two snow buyers,  has been with the company for more than 20 years, and is a great person to talk to get a solid read on which way the retail winds are blowing. TransWorld Business talked with Smith at the Park Meadows, Colorado location to find out how the early snow season has been affecting sales and what he expects for the shop this season.

Things are getting off to a great start with Keystone and Loveland opening early. What has that meant for sales there?

It’s kind of early to get a real solid read on it. But the early openings, coupled with the unseasonably cool weather [that weekend] made it fun. It was definitely busy.

It’s tough to get hard a read on whether it was one or the other or a combination of the two. It was nice to have resorts open and cold weather. It gets kids fired up. The first time people have to scrape their windshields, it gets them fired up.

Are things ramping up earlier this year as far as sales?

We have our big pre-season event before labor day because we feel like we need to beat the big guys to the punch with pre-season sales. We try and get as much new product in the store for that as possible. We start seeing decent snow sales earlier than most shops because we take delivery earlier.

How did the early season sale go this year?

It was fair. It definitely wasn’t the worse sale we’ve ever had in terms of sales and turn out, but it certainly didn’t rival what it was at its peak.  More than anything I think it got people thinking about snow again. We were trying to keep it positive but get the message out that while we’re all strapped for cash it’s going to snow and we’re all going to go snowboarding again.

Have you seen more interest in carry over product or did having the in-season stuff on hand translate into sales?

It was a pretty good mix this year. Like everybody, we have some excess inventory left and there are deals to be had this year from everyone. But the new product we did have, the kids that are in the know are looking for it and paying retail for it.

What was hot?

It’s tough because we weren’t shipped complete from anyone, but rockered snowboards, reverse camber, in particular the Never Summer and Lib Tech stuff. That whole trend is still very hot.

BC Surf and Sport, Park Meadows

What are your predictions for this winter?

I hope we sell what we pre-booked (laughing).

Was that a lot smaller this year?

Definitely. What we committed to is very conservative. The biggest difference for us is we really focused on the bread and butter pieces. Instead of bringing in a big selection of more niche, fringe stuff, we really focused on the core stuff.

Did you drop any brands?

Yeah, there aren’t as many brands in here as there used to be.

And then chasing orders as needed?

Exactly. We’re always more than happy to try and accommodate everybody. Even if it’s a product we don’t have or a brand we don’t carry. If somebody’s looking for it, we’ll do our best to source it for them. We take pride in that.

As far as the winter goes, I know it’s super cliché, but I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic. I feel a lot better than I felt a month ago and that was a lot better than I felt three months ago.

What would you attribute that to?

Comps. If you’re looking at this year compared to last,  this is when things got pretty bad last year. We’ve definitely seen a bit of restored consumer confidence as well. Also, a lot of people live here because they ski and snowboard and people are going to find a way to get that  get away. When you can hop in your car and drive an hour and a half, that’s a pretty nice escape we have here.