Tapping the lucrative womens market, effective use of childrens programs, low cost PR tips and merchandising for profitability are just four of the seminar topics that will be presented at the first Snow Industry Summit presented by SnowSports Industries America, TransWorld Media and Mountain Sports Media, April 1-4 at Copper Mountain Resort.
The Summit immediately follows the close of the Rocky Mountain Active Market organized by the Western Winter Sports Reps Association. Tom Campion, co-founder and Chairman of the board of Zumiez, AnneMarie Luthra, director of research for Envirosell and Steven Wilhite, vice president of marketing for Nissan are set to deliver keynote addresses on topics that affect the marketing, sales and business aspects of the Summit.
Campion will offer insights on how he was able to successfully grow Zumiez from 20 stores to its current 115 locations throughout the country. Luthras remarks will focus around the best-selling book Why We Buy. Her specialty is examining consumer shopping behavior using a combination of in-store video recording, observation and customer intercept interviews. Wilhite will touch on Nissans approach toward brand development, communications and sales.
SKI magazines Krista Crabtree heads up a timely seminar that will examine the new wave of women-specific products and look at what motivates women to buy. Kim Walker, owner of Boulders Outdoor Divas, and Jeannie Thoren, cited as one of the 100 most influential skiers of the century, will share their experiences and successes with this market. A Youth Initiatives Panel will outline a number of programs that are having a marketing impact with younger audiences including Winter Kids, Atlas Snowshoes SnowSchool, Snow Monsters, the Passport programs and SIAs Project Kids.
CiCi Gordon, vice president of Cone, Inc., will moderate a panel on how public relations can maximize promotional exposure with minimum dollars. Cone recently represented Atomic and has worked with a number of clients in the snow sports industry. Other panelists include Brad Farmer, public and industry relations director of Big Bear Mountain Resorts, and Kim Peterson, group communications director for Billabong, Element and VonZipper.
A special merchandising program for retailers has been developed for the Summit by the Sports Management Department of George Washington University. Merchandising for Profitability and Best Practices in Retail Merchandising will offer custom-designed material specifically for the snow sports retail community.
Utilizing Available Research will round out offerings on Day One with thought-provoking presentations by Kathleen Gasperini, vice president of Label Networks, Jim Spring, president of Leisure Trends, Laura Minozzi, researcher for NSAA s Model for Growth and Jason Levinthal, owner and president of Line Skis.
Seminars and Keynoters will be presented in morning and evening sessions allowing Summit participants plenty of time to enjoy spring skiing and riding at Copper Mountain. Colorado Ski Country will kick off the Summit with a Welcome Party the evening of April 1. Several additional speakers and sessions will be announced shortly.
