Outdoor Retailer - May 2021 - 19

TREADS 'N' THREADS

nered with a local downtown restaurant to
have craft cocktails and snacks available for
private shoppers in groups of two at a time. For
$30 you received a cocktail, 30% off storewide,
and a one hour private shopping appointment
with two staff. Our long time local supporters
loved the chance to come out of their homes
and have Mountain Sports all to themselves.
They shopped for friends, family, and upcoming holidays. It was lovely to have our favorites
back in the store giving us purpose in the darkest days of our COVID-19 closure.

GUNNISON, COLORADO
CHRIS OSNESS, OWNER

How did you adapt and thrive over the
past year?
March 16 was a very scary day. We were first
told that we had to shut down all commerce,
which quickly changed to curbside only. I was
forced to let all of my staff go including my
wife. We immediately started cutting inventory and not accepting goods. We discounted product severely just to get some money
through the register. Once we were able to
reopen with limited customers in May, we did
everything we could to create a safe environment. We stayed open longer hours just to
maybe capture another dollar. I was able to
hire all my employees back since we received
a PPP loan. We also received the EIDL loan
which allowed us to pay our vendors on time
even though we were only selling at 30% of
normal. But what helped us thrive, was our
community; our customers rallied around our
store. We ended the year only down 1.7%.

Courtesy Treads 'N' Threads (top), courtesy Mountain Sports Flagstaff (bottom)

What surprised you over the past year?
The most surprising thing for me was how
much our customers love our store and everyone who works here. We had many people
from other states call and purchase gift certificates for the next time they were able to travel.
The thing that struck me the most was the
confidence all these people had in us making
it. They sometimes may have had more confidence than I did. Many days I cried because of
the generosity of others.
What was your biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge is fighting off the
anxiety of being closed down again. My heart
broke for restaurants in Denver that were
closed, opened, and closed again. I am still
waiting for the next shutdown even though
there is nothing in our community that is indicating that it is a possibility.
How are you changing your business
moving forward?
We are watching how much we buy so much
closer than we did in the past. We have hired
a consultant who has helped us to reduce our
inventory by almost $500,000 over the last
year. We are also surveying our customers to
see what they want.

Treads 'N'
Threads felt the
community vibe.

MOUNTAIN SPORTS
FLAGSTAFF
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA

LISA LAMBERSON, OWNER

How did you adapt and thrive over the
past year?
Mountain Sports Flagstaff faced this pandemic 24 hours at a time. I feel like planning
beyond that was futile, as we had to make new
decisions each and every day to survive an
eight-week closure and then reemerge into
a completely new retail world. The project
we had the most fun with was our Private
Shopping Events last April and May. We part-

What surprised you over the past year?
The COVID-19 closure caused us to put each
and every thing under the microscope to have a
functioning business to open back up safely. An
eight-week closure was never a part of any one's
business plan, yet we did it and are stronger for it.
What was your biggest challenge?
Laying off 13 staff in one day. It hit really hard
to tell your work family that they didn't have
a job and we were uncertain if/when they
would again.
How are you changing your business moving forward?
We are now paying for goods on an ASAP
basis and not taking advantage of dating. We
are ordering 30-45 days worth of supply instead of four to six months of supply. We are
thriving with many of our typical Q4 gifts and
accessories yearround and we're remaining
open to constant change. O.R.
Mountain Sports
Flagstaff kept
the shop clean
and safe for
customers.

https://treadsnthreads.com/?v=7516fd43adaa https://www.mountainsportsflagstaff.com/

Outdoor Retailer - May 2021

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