S N O W B OA R D B O O T S 2022/23
retail buyer’s guide
RETAIL BUYER’S GUIDE
FLUX
In 2021, people learned how to stay local and make the most out of their own surroundings. The pan European shutdown of ski resorts forced more people to get involved with local outdoor sports. This will continue in 2022 and maybe 2023. The huge increase in demand for the gear that comes with that will potentially show its face again this winter. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to next winter’s Snowboard Boots 2022/23 Retail Buyer’s Guide.
Despite the side effects of Covid-19, ordering/production issues, transport delays and delivery timelines, the first analysis shows little carry-over. Like Ride, K2, Vans and Rome, only black colourways on some best seller models or kids boots have seen a smart handling process to help retailers recover from last winter. Everybody has their own strategy to counter the pandemic effect and it is safe to say that brands have been creative to overcome problems, find solutions and anticipate future issues with long term flexible plans. For instance, Nidecker hired Mauricio Molina, a shoe-maker and boot guru, as product line manager to revamp their entire boot collection. For their 30th anniversary collection, Flux will not change anything as their factory anticipated early material supply to keep the production stable and in time. All in all, everyone wants to meet their customers’ preferences. Flo Heim at Deeluxe states, “our goal is to bring a fresh and interesting new line every year and provide our customers with the best products possible. We want to do our best to keep people excited and supply them with gear that makes them stoked to go snowboarding”. Words to live by. GREEN ME UP! These days, eco-consciousness is a strong topic. Some brands are leading by example while others are asking out the help of external agencies to follow the right path. Yet they unanimously agree that greenwashing is not the way to go for our industry. For example, ThirtyTwo is part of all of Sole Technology’s eco initiatives that reduce the company’s carbon footprint and focus on environmentally responsible business decisions. But as Tommy Delago at Nitro states
“If you seriously want to reduce your emissions, you need to look at the whole process from raw materials all the way to product disposal.” Tommy Delago, Nitro “If you seriously want to reduce your emissions, you need to look at the whole process from raw materials all the way to product disposal.” Besides plastic-free packaging and avoiding airfreight, brands are starting to source and develop new eco materials to build their boots. As far as it could go, Salomon managed to build “the all0-new ECHO boot with 20% of recycled material out of the total weight of the boot. This new boot also features the FuzeSurge midsole – a 30% biosourced EVA component” claims Baptiste Chaussignand. For Elias Elhardt’s new signature model, Deeluxe is using Bloom Rise foam made out of algae. It replaces 90% of the EVA used in a regular snowboard boot. And DC are on the same tip with their algae bloom Impact Insole ™. With the future looking greener, it will be exciting to see how boots continue to evolve. Change has to start somewhere and the snowboard industry is taking a great step forward. TECH TREND Most of the brands offer specialized products and all terrain workhorses. The ultimate goal for brands is creating a product range 19
