Unfamiliar Shop, Stuttgart, Germany, Snowboard
Stuttgat, Germany, Snowboard
Age of Shop (years trading): 5
Brands Stocked:
Academy Snowboards, Airblaster, Automaton Snowboards, Banshee Bungee, Celtek, Dinosaurs Will Die Snowboards, Flux Bindings, Gnarly, Holden, Laxavala, No Way! Snowboards, Smokin Snowboards, Steezie Beanies, Union Bindings, Ashbury, Capita
What makes your store different and in what ways does your store excel beyond your competition?
Five years ago all the other shops around us were just selling almost the same stuff and the big brands. It looked like no one wanted to risk something. But we wanted to. We started our shop carrying exclusive brands like Dinosaurs will Die and Academy Snowboards. If there was no distributor for a brand we just imported it ourselves and brands like Automaton, No Way! or Smokin Snowboards got available in Germany. Today we carry a few more brands but we still try to find and push new companies.
What trends do you see upcoming in snow?
Rider driven companies are finally winning the struggle against the big, tennis skirt and sneaker selling brands.
What kind of advice can you give other independent retailers who are trying to compete against the big box megastores?
Go your own way and stay authentic. Make events, go ride, stay in touch with other snowboarders and they will realize that you stand behind your ideas.
What items are you most stoked on in upcoming lines and why?
We are still proud to carry Smokin Snowboards. That’s why we even started the distribution for the upcoming season.
Which up and coming brand and products do you hope to stock in the future?
At the moment we are in touch with the guys from GBP and GremlinZ to get a few DVDs, T-shirts and especially the snowboards to Germany.
How confident are you for the coming winter?
We already got the first snow in the alps and therefore we have noticed the people are already hot for the next winter season!
