Would people like to make any suggestions for improvements or services from out local ski retailers they would like to see here. This is will be seen by some people who count in the industry and is a genuine opportunity for improvements.
Please try to keep them reasonable and realistic, to the point and avoid the standard slanging match....PLEASE.

Good, professional boot fitting.

In answer to the question, i think that between the producers, importers, wholesalers and retailers, something NEEDS to be done about price. Yes i know that we are a small market, yes i know about freight costs, but as we are reading about here, people are buying their gear from O/S sources regularly which is obviously no good to our local industry.

Staff at shops need to be more personable and helpful, for example i walked into a shop the other week, the salesman (who is also the owner) sat at his desk playing with his computer... I was the only person in the shop and he didn't even say hi...

My main beef with ski industry retailers/importers is getting clothes that fit.

I will give a big bouquet to Auski who were very helpful regarding a new jacket. But it shouldn't be so damn difficult.

BTW Rednut, your profile says Ballarat so I don't know where you shop for ski gear. But I have found a number of very friendly and helpful shops. In Melbourne I can certainly recommend Ajays. At Falls Creek, Gebis is very good, especially if you avoid peak times when every punter is trying to hire stuff. I agree though that local shops have to have a high level of helpfulness and friendliness to compete with cheaper OS sources.

As price seems to be a major factor with people who purchase via Internet, I would like the option to see a listed price for somebody who is happy to buy skis "off the shelf". Retailers need to cover cost of wages etc, so if I am happy to go and do my own research and simply walk into a ski shop and by the one I want, without advice, discussion eg:no service, and the price was competitive (internationally) due to lower costs, I would certainly purchase that way. Even if it was with agreement I'm entitled to no after sales service etc unless I pay a premium for it and the risk is all mine that I might be buying something that isn't what I think or appropriate.
Wouldn't be for everyone but would be for some??

Even if Oz retailers advertised Online with cheaper prices and stated "Online Price Only" or similar.

the shop i have mentioned was in melbourne... my local shop has limited stock, but the main salesman there i have skied with at hotham...

Cheers. Admittedly my boot fitting issues do come from a few years back, but I hadn't heard any glowing recommendations from friends over the last couple of year when it comes to Sydney, only sob stories - and I haven't read any here or on other ski-related forums either. Just at the forefront of my mind as I doubt my current boots will make it through another season!

Paul, are you saying that you know all the good boot fitters in each capital city and what stores they work at ? If you are, then by implication you are saying that anyone not on your list is not a good boot fitter. I know an excellent boot fitter than you do not consider to be so. Who's wrong, me or you ?

Your statement implies you are the authority on good boot fitters in Australia, I however do not believe that at all.

My Beef with retailers and importers is sizing Im of the bigger size but I still enjoy all forms of snow sports but finding a good water proof pant to fit me is impossible all I need is XXXL in a good quaility Pant.
Even in the states where people are a liitle on the large side there is nothing.
Not all skiiers and riders look like under wear models we are all different size's.
I also relize that it is'nt the fault of retailers as such.

How do you work that from Paul's statement Doonks?

Nah mate, he's saying he knows good boot fitters, not all the good boot fitters.

My major gripe with the Australian Ski Industry, is the cost and quality of the on-snow experience. As many have previously said, the comparitive costs of our household buying 2 Early bird season passes, an annual car pass, petrol, accomm (on the cheap), food (on the cheap) equates to 1 of us fully paying for a 2 week Overseas Ski Holiday in the Northern Hemisphere. If we then put a savings plan in place we can fairly easily pay for the other.

Hlaf the skiing for the same price as skiing locally yes, but the experience is more than twice as good by a long long way.

The industry has to realise that if it continues to make it harder for the day tripper, for the grass roots skier (as it so often is in Australia) for preference of the skier that can afford to buy that $850,000 snow property, then it has to accept that it will simply lose those skiers. Can it afford to do that ? In the long run I would say no.

Lets assume that because of the unseen forces of Maintenance, Public Liability insurance, Infrastructure, Gov't Taxes and Charges, the price of ski tickets etc in Australia can not be reduced, then what the resorts must do is to try and "Value Add" to the consuners experience. They need to make the exerience of skiing in Australia one that they value to the point that they will be happy to spend the money it takes to return week after week, year after year.

They need to make it easier for the skier to come to the mountain, they ned to make it inviting, they need to make the customer feel valued by the resort.

The resorts want customer loyalty, believe me, the customers want RESORT loyalty. Please, help me make it asy to decide to ski at home, as opposed to the ever growing ease there is to ski overseas.

EDIT: I apologise, it has been pointed out to me that this post is actually not to the retailers, but to the resorts. SIA are the retailers and wholesalers. I have not deleted this as I don't want anyone to think I am trying to hide what I've said.

Red / Azz / Paul - I asked a question, I didn't make a statement.

Paul - I have no problem with you recommending people. But again, I know an excellent boot fitter that I know you do not consider to be an excellent boot fitter.

As stated above the SIA are NOT the resorts and as such can't control ticket prices and the like, only the gear.

It is simple, as always it comes down to price, people understand one will need to pay more for skis etc here due to a number of factors but the disparity between price asked here and what can be easily obtained elsewhere is just too much.

Having said that I believe the horse has already bolted as witnessed by the fast decreasing amount of ski hardware kept in most ski shops. Hardware will be increasingly sourced online and ski shops will be left to sell things that need to "tried on" ie boots and clothes.

Very well, he's saying he is a authority, rather than the authority. Semantics either way champ.

The biggest issue for price I see is structural.. That is retailers purchase from importers or distributors not direct from the manufacturer hence the middle man needs to make a profit etc..

I would be interested in the cost/benefit of retailers ordering their stock direct and handling their own shipping warranty direct from the manufacturers. - I assume the manufactures cost of paying a rep a decent wage to represent the brand in Oz would be factored in as well.

The range we get here for our conditions is possible over supplied IMHO. As for Boot fitting it is really prudent for consumers (I am one) to get educated and know when they get a good fitter and more importantly know how to give feed back to the fitter as a good boot fit once you get to the precision end of the market is worth its weight in gold.

As for the argument on who is on the list and who is left off, I don’t think that is appropriate for this thread.

My experience of customer service and quality of information has been very possitive although in my early days I would not have been able to tell the difference to be honest.

You are a retailer not me but, I see shops that seem to be trading OK with just the mix I described, they either pitch to the OS skiers in our off season or clear out all winter stock and sell summer/beach type products, can't see a problem with this approach myself.

Its a catch 22.. if only we sold more product we could afford to buy on volume discounts and pass on the some of the savings to the customer to drive more volume. I am not having a go,, I am just saying this is not an easy issue to solve

I am at a bit of a loss as to the term "victim" changing markets and the desire/abilty to adapt to them has been the crux of doing business since before Christ, this is nothing new.

The essence of the question of retail pricing as affected by the internet and overseas travel comes down to one thing, like or not, you will either be competitive, or you will be out of business.

The opportunity is equally open to all retailers to become e-retailers. That they did not / could not fund / chose a different route, is not the fault of a data communication medium.

Exactly as I have been saying and it is no more complex than that one line, it will come down to compete or be gone, nothing surer.

I would suggest that retailers also quiz their customer base as to what it might take to ensure their return business. Again, if pricing is somewhat rigid, then the retailer has to Value Add to the customer, make it worth their while in other ways. Go the extra mile, throw in something inexpensive as a thank you, offer back up service to ensure their satisfaction. Put them on a mailing list, hold special closed shop shopping nights.

I am a member of Motorcyle Forum where a local bike shop twice a year holds buy nights exclusively for members of that forum. They close the shop at the normal time, then re-open at 7:00pm only for forum members and offer an across the shop 10% discount on everything except sale items. They also put on tea & coffee, cheese & bikkies etc. They always always always have a large turn up of about 30 - 40 people and have always reported excellent sales. Customers appreciate being made to feel special, made to fell appreciated more than just walking through door any old day of the week.

It has always perplexed me why a business thinks it can trade, in essence, only about 4 months of the year ?
This in itself plays no small part in the high prices asked for ski gear here I would think.

This thread seems to me to be suggesting ways for the retailers to effectively compete with the overseas online and Ebay retailers. They WONT, CANT on PRICE. Fullstop NEVER unless intermediates take a lower cut. So therefore, that leaves customer service, range and added EXTRAS.

As in a lot of retail in OZ that leaves me cold on most days. If you are browsing they do not want to know. Its almost like "SHOW ME THE MONEY" first. I like to try jackets on B4 I Buy and if that means 5-6 so be it and If i do not like anything so be it "dont take it like a personal slur" - offer an alternative I should not be made to feel awkward. Because I NEVER GO BACK to that store No MATTER WHAT!

So do something along the lines of " Joe down the road has a good range of another brand of snowboard jackets". This customer benefit focus helps win other sales and long term committed buyers - to YOUR store.

The snow industry wants to compete with overseas imports and ebay and the like. Offer something NEW. Like deals with buying boots, boards etc for accomodation discounts or lift passes or some other like benefit. Get deals with the resorts to buy in bulk lift passes, accomodation etc as an industry, SIA are you listening. You would have HUUGE commercial buying POWER. Use it.

Offer extended , above manufacturers, warranty. Even if you have to do it like Harvey Norman where the customer "PAYS EXTRA" for extended warranties. Something I personally always do with electronic items above a certain price.

What Im saying is this. YOU have the greatest advantage over online sales. You have both the Goods onsite and the buyer onsite. Sure there are price shoppers. But you have the essential retail elements to success. And its usually completely wasted by rude inept and inattentive staff.

A classic example of this was last year. I was in a store in Sydneys northern suburbs. I went in to look at some gear to buy, namely board boots bindings. I was the only one in the store, there were 3 staff. Not one came to me in the 15 minutes i was in the store, browsing. Why. Simple. I did not fit THERE profile of a snowboarder. Guess being over 40 can do that to you. I bought online as i did not want to go through that again. Moral of story

" CUSTOMER SERVICE " d---n how Do you make this appear bigger. TRAIN YOUR STAFF and YOURSELVES the owners. You are not out there to LOOK COOL but sell gear.

Finally a word to the IMPORTER. CUT your margin. As using the old whatever is US$ retail and then double to arrive at A$ retail should NOT apply anymore. It just does NOT cost double to land it in OZ its just price gouging by all down the line to make a buck out of a short season. But with the internet that competitive advantage is GONE.
Selling for example a Burton Custom for A$929 (last years RRP price) when they retail for US$459 is not ON. You can buy it online in US and have it shipped here for slightly under A$600 for that price differential people will take the PUNT on NO WARRANTY.

Snow people are internet savvy and do a lot of price comparing. They look at the $A/$US comparisons like everyone else and do the sums. Just look at the post on MOOSH with regards to yen/A$ rates.

SO OFFER SOMETHNG ELSE or LOSE SALES

I have recently had the privledge of buying over $1,000 worth of racing ski equipment at both a small town Canadian sports store and also about $600 (possibly another $1500) at a large Sydney ski shop Paul mentioned above.

Essentially both were exactly the same. Service was great. Knowledge and expert advice was freely given and appreciated. Both knew and used my name at the end of the transaction.

The price issue is one of market differences between here North America/Europe/Japan. As a vendor of equipment, Australian ski shop retailers have the right to adjust their prices to maximise their position given the disparity in demand as compared internationally elsewhere.

The demand overseas for ski equipment is worth so much more money that unless this premium is added, it would not be profitable to retail such equipment in Austrlia.

Finally, as a purchaser I didnt mind paying the extra premium in Australia for the simple reason that I didnt have a choice. I needed personal advice and didnt want to buy online.

Just my thoughts.

Our local shop is busy everytime I go in, summer or winter. They were shocked themselves (and caught short staffed) at how busy they were this summer.

I'm curious to know....how many here have bought something off the internet or overseas after having looked/handled/asked for information about it in a bricks-and-mortar shop in Oz?

Not disputing the general idea, but 2 questions:
- what store will ship Burton boards to Aus? as far as I know it is forbidden by Burton. Unless you are talking about ebay.
- last time I checked (which was a couple of years ago) Burton had international warranty on their boards so that is not an issue.