Sd_day3

hat is core? The deeply committed who will
do anything to ski or ride. Why do they mat-
ter? They set the trends.

Certainly, they spend a lot of time on the hill. And
when they’re not on the mountain, they’re talking about
being there, watching videos of being there and wishing
they were there. It’s a tribe with an unwritten code that
speaks volumes.

And they create their own alternative lifestyle. They’ll
work a crappy night job to have their days free. They’ll
flip burgers on the mountain to get a season’s pass. And
they’ll spend their last dime in your store, but only if it’s
the right store.

They understand what graphic goes on the hoodie,
what cut to buy in the denim pant, and if soft shell mat-
ters. They wear Volcom and ride Rome. Their insider
radar knows digi-camo but not camo prints, and puff-
daddy jackets but without black shoulder patches.

“Our most important customer is the person for whom
snowboarding is their life,” said Noah Brandon, manager
of Salt Lake City’s Milo Snow & Skate shop.
“Snowboarding is their top priority, and they’re willing to
make space to do it.”

“If you take the two juxtaposed design philosophies of
basic function and cool fashion, and apply them across
the two different kinds of users, Recreationist and
Enthusiast, you end up with the four different technical
groups we always see in modern skiwear collections.
They are the Basic-Basic (cheap), Basic-Tech (plain look,
trusted, branded materials), Cool-Basic (good looking,
bad fabric), and Cool-Tech (good looking, good fabric),”
said Gray.

Snowboard manufacturers concur: “Our target cus-
tomer is the dedicated snowboarder who lives the lifestyle,”
said Ride Snowboard’s marketing manager, Tara Miller.

So, too, with ski: “This new customer is younger, has
less disposable income and is deeply immersed in the
culture of the sport,” said Descente/DNA marketing man-
ager, Stacy Tomasic. “They are skeptical and perhaps
even a bit hostile toward ‘old-school’ companies.”

The core crowd falls into the Cool-Tech group, driven
by athletes wearing it.

So what, exactly defines ‘the lifestyle?’

Pro riders and freeskiers are constantly defining the
be-all, end-all of what is core, but increasingly, retail
shops must be the Ministers of Culture. Milo Skate &
Snow, for example, holds annual premiers of new snow-
board videos, spanning three nights, and drawing 1,000
to 2,000 salivating snowboarders each night.

“There is a yin and yang to all sporting consumers: the
Recreationist and the Enthusiast,” offered apparel design-
er Kurt Gray. “The second group is where all the buzz usu-
ally is. Enthusiasts are emotionally based in their sporting
experience. They like how they feel when they play.
They're looking to get into that certain emotional state,
their zone, and then perform. Their clothing is considered
equipment, and treated as such. Garment selection is pre-
cise: they know what they want in fit, features and fabric,
they know what logos and labels they trust and will wear.
They often are looking for a specific pocket, drawcord or
tribal allegiance. They know what’s cool — it’s them. This
group pays attention to the story they want to hear: ‘My
garment was designed and used by famous stud skier X.’
They love the story. The clothing they wear is essential to
the experience they enthusiastically seek.”

“We don’t make a lot of money, but it’s a great pro-
motion,” Brandon said. Milo also prints a lot of stickers,
carries the right brands and sponsors an impressive
team of top riders including JP Walker, Jeremy Jones,
Travis Parker and Mikey LeBlanc. And it casually capital-
izes on the crossover skateboarding segment. Equally
important, Milo employs sales associates who are part of
the tribe and live the lifestyle. As Ken Kesey famously
said, “You’re either on the bus or you’re off the bus.”

The upshot for retailers? Know which bus you’re get-
ting on. And know where it’s going.