After 30 years of service as president and CEO of Sports Specialist Ltd. (SSL), Stephen Rogers will retire effective July 31, 2015.
 
SSL selected The Forest Group as the executive search company to assist the board of directors in the process of hiring a new company president.
 
“With much regret, the Board of Directors of SSL has accepted Rogers’ request to retire,” said Board Chairperson Marsha Mather. “Steve has done an exceptional job of guiding SSL and its retail members through the ever changing challenges of the industry. His commitment to the success of the specialty retailer has been the hallmark of his career from the very beginning as a part-time sales person at The Ski Loft in Pittsford, NY.”
 
Established in 1971, SSL has 55 stockholder members with more than 140 retail outlets in 26 states and DC. All members are specialists in snowsports retail with the average member tenure in SSL of 18 years. The company relocated to Golden, CO, in June, 2014.

SportsOneSource caught up with Rogers after the announcement.

SOS: What will you be looking forward to most when you retire at the end of July?
Steve Rogers: Having more time in my daily schedule to spend with my wife and our expanding family in Colorado and Massachusetts and to travel and explore parts of the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. Also having more time to complete my goals of skiing every month of the year (three to go) and to visit as many of the top 100 resorts in the world before I'm too old (long way to go on this).

SOS: What will you miss most?
SR: Simply put, the people. I have had the good fortune of working with some of the best in class ski retailers in the U.S. Along the way, I have made some “life friends” that I hope to share more fun experiences with now that I will have the time. I also had the privilege of working with many great staff members, buyers and supplier management people over the years…I will miss the daily dialog with many of these folks.

SOS: What does the next generation of leadership need to know about specialty snowsports retail?
SR: Any good leader regardless of their industry needs to recognize right away who your “true boss” is. In our industry, the true boss is the customer…a lesson taught to me years ago by a small shop owner on Cape Cod who is still in business some 40 years later. Taking time to really listen to the wants and needs of the customer, helping them solve their problems so they can get the most out of their experiences in our unique sport will yield many dividends down the road.

SOS: Will there potentially be an information gap?
SR: If an information gap occurs it will be a result of poor communication techniques fostered by the new generation of millennial leaders. The millennial generation has grown up during the digital communications revolution that has developed multiple new ways of communicating- email, texts, Facebook, Instagram, etc. What has been gained in the ease of communications has been greatly overshadowed by the lack of face-to-face and voice-to-voice communications…long the hallmark of the Baby Boomer Generation now starting to retire. Personally, I’m a body language reader kind of business exec and it has served me well over the years. I fear that the next generation will under emphasize the value of the old school communications and end of forgoing the opportunity to build trust relationships that are built on personal contact.

SOS: What are the biggest opportunities for SSL and their members in the next season and beyond?
SR: The great opportunities for our members lies in their willingness to adapt their businesses to meet the needs of their customers on how they want to receive goods and services from them. Technology will continue to drive changes in consumer purchasing habits for all businesses, including snow sports. Successful retailers will constantly be monitoring and adjusting their businesses to meet these needs. Those that choose not to will run the risk of losing their customers to the ones that do. Once again, listening to your customer is the key. The opportunity for SSL is to remain relevant by assisting members in achieving their goals by providing them with the resources to remain competitive in their market place. Thanks to the internet, the marketplace is now a whole lot bigger than it was before…time to get going.