http://www.skicenter.com/
It is with great sadness that we announce the permanent closing of Ski Center. We tried very hard to find a buyer who had the experience, resources and values necessary to continue the business. We talked with many other ski shops as well as a number of local entrepreneurs and former employees. Our negotiations were not successful and our lease has run out.
All small retailers are under tremendous pressure to survive. Our store was facing challenges on lots of fronts, many from forces beyond our control. The property was sold to a publicly traded company in October, 2014, and our property taxes have gone from $33,000 to $76,000 this year, and are projected to be $90,000 or more next year. This is on top of a $50,000 increase in our minimum rent 3 years ago. There will be a year of construction disruption as a new building is constructed on our parking lot, blocking visibility and making the parking situation less convenient. Our lease expired May 31, and we were not comfortable signing a new, long-term one. There would be too great of chance of us having to work just to pay the landlord, or ending the business in bankruptcy. Other locations are also very expensive, lack easy, ample parking, would require a large investment to build out, and could take several years to rebuild the business, if ever. Widespread adoption of newer generation smartphones makes it easy for customers to find clothing colors we don’t offer or price-match. Our suppliers are competing with us on the web and aggressively going after our customers. The business is labor intensive, management intensive, and capital intensive. The regulatory burden keeps increasing. So much work and so many moving parts. When we started, it was a great lifestyle business, but now that it has evolved into three businesses, ski, outdoor furniture, and online with SkiCenter.com, it has become a marathon business.
Our family has been extremely fortunate to attract and retain such an extraordinary group of committed employees, whose passion and knowledge were instrumental in building and maintaining the business. They helped give our business a sense of community and soul, which has become rare in business. Over the past five and a half decades, Ski Center became a Washington institution.
Ski Center also could never have succeeded without such an enthusiastic and loyal customer base. The friendship and support we have received over the last 50+ years from all of our customers has meant so much to everyone here. Thank you for giving us your business, and sharing with us your passion for the sport we all love. We truly couldn't have done it without you.
It has been a great run.
RIP Ski Center. Your demise and the earlier demise of the Wilber/Freed run Ski Chalet leaves the Washington area with only two quality ski shops: Alpine Ski, and ProFit Ski.
The Colonel
I was a loyal customer of Ski Center for over 30 years prior to moving to CA in 2014. It saddens me to see this. I had hoped that somehow they could keep it going. But now, seeing the daunting numbers, I am just - sad. Over the 30+ years of our association the SC staff were more than trusted advisors, they were friends and I continue to miss them.
it has indeed been a great run.
If anybody knows where the "Brians" land please post here. Boot fitters of their caliber would be hard to replace.
I have an update about the great bootfitters at Ski Center of Wash DC; Brian Eardley and Brian Beaumont. I have from a good source that the "two Brians" are going to be working at The Ski Shoppe LTD in Reisterstown, Md. They intend to deliver the same top notch service as always to their Washington customers who make the trip to Reisterstown. They were able to obtain every bit of fitting materials and tools they had access to over the years at the Ski Center. They'd be most appreciative for any and all support from the DC Ski community!
JimK wrote:
I have an update about the great bootfitters at Ski Center of Wash DC; Brian Eardley and Brian Beaumont. I have from a good source that the "two Brians" are going to be working at The Ski Shoppe LTD in Reisterstown, Md. They intend to deliver the same top notch service as always to their Washington customers who make the trip to Reisterstown. They were able to obtain every bit of fitting materials and tools they had access to over the years at the Ski Center. They'd be most appreciative for any and all support from the DC Ski community!
I'm confused. There was an article about the closing of the Ski Shoppe in Feb 2016. Did someone buy it?
http://www.abc2news.com/news/region/baltimore-county/historic-ski-shop-going-out-of-business-after-40-years
well, I guess its time to return to the dump known as su and ski... its been a good run.
IMO, Pro-Fit in Leesburg is worth the extra drive compared to SnS.
More on the "new" Ski Shoppe in Reisterstown, MD, grand reopening late Sep 2016:
JimK wrote:
More on the "new" Ski Shoppe in Reisterstown, MD, grand reopening late Sep 2016:
Good news! From the About webpage:
"The Ski Shoppe is now under new ownership. Brian Beaumont, of the late Ski Center in Washington, DC, has assembled a new team that will honor the neighborhood history and bring the entire DMV the latest technology, newest gear, current fashion and greatest value. Brian Beaumont has long been known as a highly regarded boot fitter and equipment expert. He is CPED certified which is the pinnacle certification in the boot fitting community.
Brian Eardley has also joined the Ski Shoppe team bringing more than 40 years of ski industry experience to the store. Brian Eardley, also CPED certified, and is known world wide as a respected authority in the ski industry. Brian is a regular equipment tester for Ski Magazine and has helped leading brands develop new products. Brian was the lead buyer for Ski Center and is on the cutting edge of technology and equipment development. Brian’s knowledge and skill is unsurpassed anywhere in the world."
Ski Center was fantastic and will be missed, especially their Swap, which I believe was run by Liberty Ski Patrol? Does anyone know what their plans are for this fall?
Good morning,
My name is Alan Davis and I am President of Princeton Sports in Baltimore and Columbia Md. We are a family owned ski and bicycle store started in 1936 by my grandparents. We were friends with the Ski Center Family and they will be missed.
Our Columbia store is 26 miles away from Ski Center, down Route 29. I am proud to announce we will be hosting the Liberty Ski Patrol Ski Swap on October 30.
Although no one can take the place of Ski Center, we are here to help you with all of your ski, snowboard and clothing needs. My family and I look forward to meeting you.
Alan Davis
RodneyBD wrote:
Ski Center was fantastic and will be missed, especially their Swap, which I believe was run by Liberty Ski Patrol? Does anyone know what their plans are for this fall?
Princeton Sports in Columbia will be hosting the Liberty Ski Patrol Swap on Sunday, October 30, 2016 in conjunction with a store sale. More information to be announced soon!
The Grand Reopening of the Ski Shoppe is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2016.
marzNC wrote:
The Grand Reopening of the Ski Shoppe is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2016.
It's been pushed back to mid-October as renovations at the Reisterstown location are taking longer than expected. But the Brians have done all of their ordering and should have good stock on hand when the store opens.
That said, it's a haul to Reisterstown from DC - a real drag for those of us who loved that a high performance oriented shop was so close to where we live. I'm hoping that The (new) Ski Shoppe finds a way to bridge the gap between Resiterstown (really more of a Baltimore locale) and DC. As it stands, I need to think long and hard before committing to such a long drive (1h45m) from my home to the new location, though I love the work that Brian Beaumont and Brian Eardley have done on my boots over the years. So... yeah, I'll bit the bullet, but the trip will have a laser focus when I go; it won't simply be a trip to browse or chat with the staff.
At least the Brians found a place to do boot fitting within the DC/Baltimore metro area. A friend of mine made an appointment for her first real boot fitting as soon as the shop is open.
While I have a small shop that has a bootfitter in central NC, for a real ski shop with broader inventory I'd have to drive 3 hours to the NC mountains or about the same to Charlottesville.
