Snow-packed early winter heats up sales in Duluth area

DULUTH

Early snow this year has greased the skids for holiday sales of winter outdoor gear.

At Duluth Lawn & Sport, snowmobile purchases this year are off to the fastest start sales manager Dave Chrysler says he's seen in quite a while.

"You'd almost have to go back to '97 or '98 to find anything comparable," he said.

Given the recent rocky economy, Chrysler said many customers who typically would have bought a new sled every year or every other year are now riding 6- to 10-year-old machines, meaning there's a lot of pent-up demand.

This year's weather has provided just the kind of incentive needed to make many pull the trigger on a new purchase.

"If people were on the fence at all, getting early snow really got people to take action," Chrysler said. "Any time you get snow early in our kind of business, it does wonders."

Duluth's Ski Hut and Continental Ski & Bike also report brisk early-season sales.

"The snow has definitely increased our traffic," said Mark Heimer, a sales associate at Ski Hut. "Thanksgiving was insane, and it was the snow that did it."

Bill Howard, co-owner of Continental, also is a strong believer in the power of a white landscape to stimulate sales.

"If people look out their kitchen windows and they don't see snow, a lot of them are not thinking about winter sports," he said. "The amount of snow we have on the ground has a dramatic effect on our business."

Howard purchased Continental in 2006, just in time for a winter that didn't deliver significant snow until February. Then, the recession hit.

After an admittedly difficult start, Howard said: "This year has been a breath of fresh air for us."

Louis Turner, 11, of Duluth was in Ski Hut on Sunday to pick up an early Christmas present, courtesy of his father, Hudson -- a new pair of downhill ski boots, complete with custom thermal-molded insoles.

"From what I hear, we've been moving inventory a lot faster than in recent years," said Peter Demshar, a sales associate who was helping the Turners.

Strong sales now may mean challenges ahead for winter sports enthusiasts, however.

Heimer noted that skittish distributors have been carrying less inventory in recent years for fear of being caught sitting on large quantities of unsold stock. He said this caution produced some shortages of equipment last year, including a dearth of cross-country ski poles. Judging from early demand, this year could bring even tighter supplies.

Howard agreed, saying: "Manufacturers have been wary for the last few years, and they've cut back because of the poor sales they've experienced."

Already, some boots and bindings are becoming difficult to order, and Howard said: "If I were going to give people any advice, I would advise them to shop early for a good selection."

Chrysler said snowmobile manufacturers have reduced their production, too, in light of the nation's soft economy.

Meanwhile, the inventory of unused last year's models has been almost completely consumed, meaning that pressure on popular new sled makes could be particularly intense, with shortages likely, Chrysler said.

"A lot of us live in the Northland to experience all four seasons, and it's really exciting for us to have a winter starting out like this one," he said.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.