Copper Mountain, CO (Wednesday, April 6, 2005) - The second annual Snow Industry Summit came to a close this past Friday morning following after a robust schedule of activities rounding out Day Two of the event. The Summit concluded with closing remarks from SIA President, David Ingemie and TransWorld Media Group Publisher, Brad McDonald, followed by a commemorative slide show.

Thursday’s schedule of activities kicked off with a presentation on “Calculating the Impact of China” which focused on the role China is playing in the international trade market. The presentation was geared more towards softgoods with large emphasis on the recent announcement that quotas on textiles and apparel from World Trade Organization countries ended January 1, 2005.

Next on the docket were sessions that addressed two core target audiences for suppliers and retailers – women and youth. Michael Wood, vice president of Teen Research, provided valuable insight into the minds and practices of youth today. He segregated kids ages 12-19 into four different types categorized by their personality traits, decision making practices, risk factors and socialization. He stated that for most youth their most prized personal trait is smart; smart is the new cool. Woods also provided some enlightening information in that kids are not loyal to TV networks but extremely loyal to radio stations and are veracious readers.

Three panelists were on hand to speak to attendees about the “Many Faces of Eve” and how does the industry continue to reach the women’s market. James Chung, president of Reach Advisers, provided information from several qualitative case studies as to what motivates women to buy. Cherri Prince of Leo Burnett complemented Chung’s research, citing three key concepts to remember about women: men and women are different; not all women are the same; and there is need to define business in human terms not just functional terms. Amy Buckalter of Watermark provided statistics that both suppliers and retailers must take note as snowsports firms continue to market to women: they are the majority of decision makers; women now earn half or more of the household income; and by 2010, 70% of new entrants into the workforce will be women and people of color. She noted several companies that have been successful in catering to the women’s market; but companies need to continue connecting with the female customer, build a relationship and secure her loyalty.

Roy Turner and Mike Duncan of Board Retailers Association were on hand for two afternoon sessions providing tips for successful advertising and ingredients for a market-savvy website. In terms of advertising, Turner advised to remember Rule #1 – if you don’t give customers a reason to buy from you, they won’t. There is always someone out there telling your customer to buy from them. He provided ten steps to set up a successful marketing campaign which can be found on his website www.boardretailers.org.

Duncan recommended several key concepts for building a website: keep it simple; make sure it is easy to navigate and follow the three click rule – must get to the product in three clicks. In addition, make sure your brand comes up on the three top search engines: Google, Yahoo and MSN as there is a direct correlation between increased traffic and increase in sales.

Denise Fort, financial adviser for American Express, provided attendees with valuable tips for planning for the future financially. She pointed out that a firm's most valuable asset is its ability to work and that asset must be protected. She urged planning ahead and anticipating the unexpected. She also recommended that allocating funds across all types of investments to protect them for the future.

Three panelists wrapped up the afternoon session with information on how to leverage new business segments; i.e. Free Heel, snowshoes and snow toys. Ken Moscaret of Ski Skoot spoke to his company’s successful cause marketing campaign. His callout to other companies – you have to prepare to give something before you get something back. Kathy Murphy of Tubbs Snowshoes echoed the sentiment and spoke to how cause marketing has proved successful for brand recognition for Tubbs. Josh Murphy of Unparalleled Production shifted gears a little and focused on pitching the “new telemark” – free heel skiing. He described both the evolution of the sport and the attitude stating that free heel is perceived to be like the sports utility vehicle of winter – it is powerful and fast.

The final evening of the Summit wrapped up with a keynote presentation by Miles Walsh. He addressed several problems all companies face and solutions for fixing those problems. He closed his presentation with a call out to the industry that change is inevitable but if firms work together they are twice as powerful and can meet the challenges head on. He also encouraged every person in the room to improve something small every day which would prove beneficial for their company as well.

Larry Balma of TransWorld Media concluded the evening with announcement of the Tranny Award winners. Both Tom Heish, founder of the first snowboarding magazine (International Snowboarding Magazine) and Damian Sanders, the first real snowboarding “Rock Star) were bestowed this annual honor.