SSI Venture, the retail arm of Broomfield-based Vail Resorts, reported to the State of Colorado that it plans to close 19 equipment rental and retail locations in Aspen, Telluride and Snowmass Village. The move will permanently eliminate 69 jobs.
The closures, which will occur once the ski season ends, are tied to the company’s decision not to renew store leases for another season, SSI Venture informed the Colorado Department of Labor in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter dated February 27.
‘
“As our leases in the Aspen area came up for renewal at the end of the 2022/23 winter season, we needed to make a long-term decision regarding the future strategy of our retail operations in the Aspen market. At that time, we decided to close down our retail operations in this market in order to focus company resources on (serving) our core retail markets,” said Glenn Stahlman, vice president and chief operating officer at Vail Resorts.
Stahlman said the closures are permanent, employees were informed in November, and Vail Resorts was “proactively working with each employee to support them through the transition.” Similarly, letters were filed for the Telluride and Snowmass Village locations.
Specialty Sports Venture, which became SSI Venture, was launched in 1994 when the Gart family acquired Telluride Sports, Colorado Ski & Golf and Grand West Outfitters. In 1998, SSV merged with the retail and rental operations of Vail Resorts, which had owned 70 percent of SSI, and purchased the remaining 30 percent in 2010 for $31 million.
According to the letters, the company is closing six Telluride Sports, seven Aspen Sports, one Neve Sports, one Burton, two Patagonia and two The North Face stores.
According to Vail Resorts’ annual report for its fiscal year ended July 31, SSI Venture has approximately 260 rental and retail stores, of which approximately 110 stores are held under a lease for recreational products and seven leased warehouses.
