New Åsnes Combat NATO 62 BC

[mca80]

Planning on stopping by Norseman tomorrow when I go for a ride to Calgary (riding season is damn near over….gotta wait a bit for XCd season ). Curious to see if they’ve got any ski gear out.

They had numerous sizes of Combat NATO this spring, and many pairs of certain sizes but only a few of one size (I now forget which size that was).

[Manney]

Their web site is pretty sparse… hiking boots and sleeping bags only. The Google indexed links to skis by brand are expired.

https://www.norsemanoutdoorspecialist.com/brand/asnes

https://www.norsemanoutdoorspecialist.com/brand/fischer

https://www.norsemanoutdoorspecialist.c ... /rossignol

Downsizing? Web guy MIA? No stock? Hard to believe they didn’t receive shipments..

Some companies don’t “do web” very well. It’s a lot of work but the only way to get past the local market… only 168 ppl following this company on Instagram,

[Lhartley]

That's why I said call, their web page is useless. They have lots of stock

[Manney]

Interesting… Calgary must be quite the ski town. Ppl brimming with patience, spare time to visit the shop on a dare. Not comparison shoppers either, so lots of disposable income.

Online orders? Who needs that? LOL

It’s hard to judge books by their covers… and stores by their physical footprint. Some small shops “front” massive warehouses and global reach. Impossible to get there without a really well organized web presence. Relegates a company to the same status as “Bubba’s Sports Store” in BF Louisiana, regardless of how cool their lines may actually be.

[Lhartley]

In my Alberta xcd ski thread I kinda commented how weird the scene is. You don't see many xcd folks in the backcountry, it's all AT in alpine or classic and skate at the nordic areas. But I assure you Norsemans carries a ton of stuff and they're a busy little niche shop. They do update their ski stuff online but usually ridiculously late

[Manney]

Interesting… didn’t read that because it’s one country and half a continent away. Kind of similar to here though.

Sad about Norseman. Probably won’t land as many sales as they could have. People might say “why does that matter”? The response to this is simple… profit and sustainability.

Companies that have end of season sales could have made a lot more money selling their products at MSRP at the regional, national, or international level. Even shipping skis free of charge costs less than having to knock out stock at 30% off at the end of the season. Gotta be less stressful financially too… not fun sitting on any ski inventory in March wondering of -30% will be enough to clear old stock before hiking and camping gear arrives at the loading dock.

As for sustainability, shops like this get sold off cheaply when the founder retires or dies (founded in 1971 suggests that Norseman may not have too many years left in it under this paradigm).

When that happens, the local ski scene suffers. Nobody else moves in… they figure that the market is flat because the only ski shop serving the community for 50 years was smaller than a fast food drive thru. Seeing the books would only reinforce this view… enough money to cover wages, taxes only. Not enough for a RoI of a buy-out of inventory and property.

Ppl knock big box stores (Dick’s, REI, etc.) but they’re the ones actually keeping the sport going… along with a few other outfits like Varuste that really lean into their markets.

Gets me thinking about classic/skating, alpine. Is it more popular because the products are more accessible? Not talking VT, NH, UT, WA, ID where topographic influences drive alpine. Or KS, NE, SD, ND where local skiing is XC or nothing at all.

More like NY, MI, WI, MN, MT (maybe Alberta, less the Rockies) where the terrain isn’t so lop sided. Anyone in these states can choose XC, BC, or Alpine… but BC is often the least popular by a huge margin.

[Lhartley]

Honestly, and I hope they read this, I'm not a fan of Norsemans operations. I really like what they carry but they have all their ski section roped off so when you go in there you have to wait to see a salesman about checking out skis. And I get it. It's a small, busy shop with low staff and maybe it's a security thing?

[Manney]

Ha ha. That seals it then. Would never go there. Wouldn’t even order online knowing this is the case tbh.

This bs concierge model is amusing. It’s taken to extremes with “by appointment” arrangements. Impresses a certain demographic… those who believe skis are still crafted by elves in gingerbread workshops in the mountains of Norway. Most of this bs is just a sales hustle. False exclusivity.

If it’s a security thing, I really want to meet the illusionist-hypnotist who can sneak two 6’ lengths of timber past the attentive sales team without anyone noticing.

[Lhartley]

Lol. I don't mean them any disrespect. Maybe it's also a commission thing. But ya, pull down the red tape and update the website guys, customer service is one thing but peeps know what they want sometimes

[Manney]

Exactly.

Been in such stores (non concierge ones) many times. Wave off a commissioned sales guy until finding the right gear. Then go back to dude and ask if they are on commission. If they say yes, ask if they can help bring these to checkout. Throw in a wink… everyone wins.

The customer gets uninterrupted time to look down the edge of a ski like it’s a match grade rifle. Salesman gets commission. Store moves inventory. Planet saves red tape for other, less productive, things. Like government.