Retailer Profile: Slidewayz Soldeu, Andorra

SLIDEWAYZ

RETAILER PROFILE

SLIDEWAYZ, SOLDEU ANDORRA

Representing Andorra, the now legendary Slidewayz store in Soldeu ski resort fills this issue’s retailer profile spot. We speak with shop owner Merlin about his business. He tells us which brands are doing it right, how online sales count for 2% of their turnover and we also talk about brands delivering late, yet having stock on their own Ecomm first.

Tell us the history of Slideways. What have been the hardest lessons learnt through covid?

Slidewayz is a core snowboard shop located in Soldeu ski resort, part of GranVvalira in Andorra. We only open for the winter seasons, but just six months before covid we took an important step and invested in opening a big 450m2 Slidewayz store in the city. As you can imagine that was a drama, and we have to decide to close it after a year of battling with restrictions. Since then the decision has been made not to expand but stay small and strong.

How has the kick off to the 22/23 season been?

We are having a good start to the season. Early snow has helped and I guess some customers didn’t manage to get their gear last season. The delays on deliveries are causing much more work than usual and make it very hard to keep up. This isn’t fun at all because it takes time away from snowboarding.

Were many brands late in delivering?

Deliveries are better than last year. Bigger brands seem to be having more trouble. Snowboards and Gore-Tex have been hit the worst. It’s very upsetting when our prebooks haven’t showed up but the brand has their products on their website.

How will your 23/24 pre-book look?

Our prebooks for 23/24 are looking a little more conservative than the current season’s, but our orders were record breaking this year due to last year’s lack of stock and big demand.

What marketing activations do you have lined up for this season?

We have four events that we organize. On January 15th, World Snowboard Day board test, Riglet Park and other fun in the resort. February 11th we have our 686-supported stair set & jib contest with BBQ. And on April 2nd we’ll celebrate the end of season with a pool party at Sunset Park Peretol. We sponsor other local events too and our team always represents.

What makes Slidewayz Slidewayz?

I think that what differentiates us is our own limited edition clothing line and collabs. We have everything from goggles to boards and this year we have collabs with Brethren apparel, Rad gloves, Easy snowboards, Stinky Socks, Overdose Skateboards also our premium selection of brands and models and the expert advice we give. We love snowboarding and it’s not all about the money.

Which brands are doing it right for you? Marketing, sales incentives, good ecomm presence without stealing your sales etc.

Unfortunately not many brands are supporting core shops in the right way. It seems to me that most are pushing for direct sales or big online dealers. I want to give a shout out to 686, Korua Shapes and Vans who are doing things right in my opinion.

Which products are selling best so far this season?

Our best sellers are always hardwear. We have a big demand for boots since many customers are realising that it’s a bad idea to buy them online. Vans and 32 are our best sellers. Union bindings are killing it as usual and Jones, Capita and Bataleon are in the lead for now for boards.

Have you noticed the effects of energy price rises on customer spending?

The high cost of living is having an impact on quantity of smaller sales but compensated by a few bigger sales, the rich are richer and the middle class are poorer.

Are you doing anything special with social media to promote your sales?

Yes we work on our Instagram but organic reach seems to be very inconsistent lately. Not too sure if it’s still worth it?

Do you sell products on your website? What percentage of annual revenue does this make?

Online sales are about 2% of our business. We’ve been trying to push things there since covid but it hasn’t really taken off. The big online shop are way too aggressive and customers only look for the cheapest price. Yep.. that’s right, I’m saying that the few online shops that do well do not respect retail prices. Luckily there will always be people who appreciate good advice, good service and a place to share and learn about snowboarding.