There might be no crying in baseball. But it’s A-OK at the first retail location for Reno-Tahoe’s upstart ski and snowboard company Coalition Snow.
Heck, it’s even encouraged.
Five years after Coalition Snow was founded as a women-owned and operated business, the company will be opening its first-ever retail store on Nov. 14. Located in Truckee, California, the store will have some of the same bells and whistles that other retailers offer, including the company’s lineup of high-performance women’s skis and snowboards. However, it definitely won’t be your father’s ski and snowboard shop — or any traditional ski and snowboard shop for that matter. After all, how many ski shops sell housewares, women’s jewelry and feminist lifestyle items such as cry pillows?
Seriously.
In fact, Coalition Snow plans to regularly host cathartic cry pillow parties at the new location, complete with wine, snacks and hugs. And yes, guys are welcome to come in and cry it out, too, if they want.
In a world dominated by online retailers such as Amazon, Coalition Snow believes it’s important to offer customers experiential options such as cry pillow parties, yoga sessions and other events in order to succeed. CEO Jen Gurecki laughed when asked about the idea behind the cry pillow parties.
“We have to be more than a shop that just sells (stuff),” Gurecki said.
“Only putting things on racks and expecting people to buy them doesn’t really create any loyalty or affinity,” Gurecki added. “When you look at the future of retail, it lies in creating experiences.”
'Their ski wall is full'
While Coalition Snow’s high-performance skis and snowboards have been available online as well as outdoor retailers such as REI, Backcountry and Evo, its presence in its own home turf could admittedly be better.
One problem is that the company does not have a local showroom, which means it essentially has been turning down people who want to meet up and check out their offerings for the last five years. For Gurecki, it’s a big missed opportunity.
Coalition Snow also has a hard time securing wall space against bigger, more established brands at local retailers.
“We haven’t been able to really gain exposure or penetrate the market in our own community,” Gurecki said. “Sometimes, it really hurts because as a local business, we want to be embraced by the local community and while there are plenty of people here who have supported us, to not be able to make any inroads with the local shops has been really hard.”
At the same time, Gurecki says she understands the challenges faced by local retailers. For shops operating in a tough market, going with more recognized brands is the safer bet.
“Their ski wall is full and their budgets seem to be constantly shrinking,” Gurecki said.
With Coalition Snow opening a brick-and-mortar location, Gurecki hopes the company will now be able to better showcase its high-performance skis and snowboards locally. In addition to selling its gear at the store, Coalition Snow will allow customers to demo and rent their skis and snowboards.
On the plus side, the high brand awareness and customer loyalty that the company has developed over the years mean that the retail store will at least not be starting from scratch, according to Gurecki.
“I feel that since we’ve established the brand and the business, now is the right time for a retail store,” Gurecki said. “We’ll see if running our own ship is hard … but everything we’ve done has always been difficult.”
Going against 'shrink it and pink it'
With just two weeks left before the retail store’s grand opening, Gurecki says she can’t wait to see people’s reactions to it.
Gurecki is especially looking forward to customer feedback on the nontraditional items that the store will carry.
“It’s actually been really fun to curate the selections we’re going to have in the store,” Gurecki said. “I’m confident that when people come in here, they’ll say ‘You’re right, I’ve never seen this before.’”
One thing that has made opening the retail store possible is a deal with Bike Truckee. As part of the agreement, Coalition Snow will be subletting the space during the winter season when Bikes Truckee doesn’t have as much business. This makes the retail location essentially a seasonal store for Coalition Snow — the retail location will only be open for six months each year in line with the ski and snowboard season.
“That’s what makes it viable for us as a seasonal snow sports business,” Gurecki said. “It’s an example of two local businesses working together.”
In addition to hosting its own events, Coalition Snow will make its space available to others who want to host their own events. There will also be a big red couch in the middle of the shop for folks to use.
One big focus for the store is to help connect the company better to the community. It’s the reason why the store is trying out different things like cry pillow parties and events that might be offbeat for a typical ski shop.
Getting people through the door is definitely important to help raise awareness and drive business for the company. But it’s not the entire equation, Gurecki said.
Gurecki especially encourages women to check the store out. Coalition Snow was created, after all, in response to the industry’s tendency to create female gear with a “shrink-it-and-pink-it” approach, which the company feels shortchanges women. Gurecki wants the store to be a place where women feel they belong.
“We want to create a space where people feel welcome and it’s not just 100% about buying things,” Gurecki said.
“Opening a store for us is not about creating more competition in a market that seems stretched really thin. We want to create a completely different experience, and for women in particular.”
IF YOU GO
Coalition Snow will hold a grand opening of its first retail store from 6 to 8 p.m., Nov. 14 at 10015 Palisades Drive in Truckee, California.
Jason Hidalgo covers business and technology for the Reno Gazette Journal, and also reviews video games as part of his Technobubble features. Follow him on Twitter @jasonhidalgo. Like this content? Support local journalism with an RGJ digital subscription.
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