Retail at Jackson Ski Touring and Financial Risk

In this, the tenth year since Jackson Ski Touring ceased to be the tenant of a retailer and became the landlord instead, they may finally have realized that providing retail services for their operation is not a privilege.

At the start of nine long years beginning in 2000, they compared the contract position they offered to retail concessions at downhill areas. Citing the high percentages downhill areas demand in fees from retail concessionaires, they rated their own rake-off from retail operations as quite reasonable. It certainly was lower than the gouge suffered by retail providers at downhill areas. And ultimately the Jackson tithe is a tiny component of the full financial exposure a retailer will face there.

A season like the one we're enduring now highlights the uncertainty of any investment related to cross-country skiing. A bad winter in 2005-'06 caused long-term damage to the retailer at Jackson Ski Touring because they couldn't cut back hours or personnel even when there was no business. The shop had also purchased inventory for multiple locations. Because the crisis struck the whole industry, creditors were lenient as much as they could be, but most suppliers are part of larger corporations. The Nordic part of their cash flow is small enough to make it look like a mere nuisance to the bean counters in upper management.

The current retailer at Jackson Ski Touring related similar frustrations at another contract position they had held, where they were expected to stock and staff an under-performing location.

It must have taken thousands of dollars in fancy lawyering to allow Jackson Ski Touring, a 501(c)3 non-profit, to operate their retail store under the banner of an outside provider. One can only hope that they are also shouldering the bulk of the financial risk for this provider. Once the season ends, Jackson Ski Touring shrinks back like a little slimy creature burying itself in the drying mud at the bottom of a watering hole, awaiting the next monsoon, but the retail concessionaire has to stay above ground, foraging and fending for itself. Bicycling and cross-country skiing are tough businesses. They require a bewildering diversity of product to suit as many potential customers as possible. If operating at Jackson Ski Touring increases the risk without sufficiently enhancing income to cover more than just the expense of being there, it's a loser.

It's especially harsh for the new provider to face this kind of slap in the face in their first year there. One can only hope, as I said, that Jackson Ski Touring realizes that they owe their retail provider a lot more than their retail provider owes them. And I hope the retail provider realizes it, too.