Skimo Co & SkiUphill Partnership

Partnerships in business can be win-win if you’re willing to work with what you think is your competition. The end goal should be to increase the sport of ski touring and helping to ensure the customers win with strategic partnerships. We have been fortunate to partner with skimo.co for knowledge and advice for boot fitting, mounting and equipment.

Partnerships

Jason Borro from Skimo Co hiking to the Plains of Six Glaciers

In business the traditional view is that if another store opens up that is passionate about the same stuff that you have, they are your competition. And competition at times can be fierce. It can keep you on your toes, it can make you question a lot things about why you’re in business in the first place and the products that you carry. It doesn’t always have to be this way. This article from entrepreneur.com “Why a Dog Eat Dog Mentality Doesn’t Work” says,    "All companies are part of the greater economy, which includes your competitors, customers, suppliers and prospects. And many businesses look at the ecosystem as a zero-sum game where growth in their company will result in a decline in their competitors and vice versa. In reality that is rarely the case. As the old saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats” and this rings true in the world of business.”

We are very excited to have a partnership with Skimo Co in Salt Lake City, one of the biggest contributors to the growth of skiing uphill in the USA. They’re fantastic in providing us with all the knowledge and extra bits and pieces we could ask for, even sending their best to host a boot fitting and tech mounting workshop in our store.



Early on we saw the need to not only “sell” skis, boots, bindings, touring and trail running equipment but also to be a knowledge base and a community hub for these activities. There are lots of shops in town that sell stuff, there are lots of shops that service equipment and so far we’ve had a number of people come in for advice. We think it’s important to offer the right advice, some things that we’ve learned from our own time on the skin track and on the slopes. Our partnership has allowed us a big leap in our knowledge by learning from the best practices at Skimo Co rather than from trial and error and making mistakes. Things like boot fitting, punching and precise tech binding mounting need to be done certain ways, and we have those ways dialled in. We are very excited in how our partnership can help advance backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering in Western Canada.

There is also a thought that business is about making a buck and “caveat emptor” (“buyer beware”) and I guess we want to remove the veil on backcountry skis, boots, bindings and gear. It’s not ‘buyer beware’ but ‘buyer be informed’ with us, and we need you to be confident that your skis will take you on whatever adventure you have planned.

 

Eric from Skimo Co watching over as we mount bindings

We are fortunate to have a partner in Jason, Eric and Skimo Co for knowledge, these guys really know the ins and outs of every piece of gear they sell and we can pass this on to you. Collaborating with your competitors can be beneficial. If we all have the customer in mind, give them the right advice, the right ski and have more at stake than just making a sale, collaboration makes sense. There are lots of ski stores out there, but check us out for knowledgeable advice and ask a ton of questions.

It’s been such a great month and a bit so far as a business. We’re excited to help you out in store and online.

Additional resources:
Harvard Business Review writes an article, “Collaborate with Your Competitors - and Win” (https://hbr.org/1989/01/collaborate-with-your-competitors-and-win).

Skin Track, “Interview Skimo Co Founder Jason Borro” (http://www.skintrack.com/people/interview-skimo-co-founder-jason-borro/)