STAYING UNIFORM
Consolidation has led to a few major manufacturers dominating the uniform market, but wholesale suppliers and smaller outwear brands still hold their own.
BY HELEN OLSSON
line appears: “Trusted by Professionals,” followed by the Helly Hansen logo. “We put professionals at the heart of our storytelling,” says Oliver Flaser, Helly Hansen category managing direc- tor, professional services. “It helps make our brand relevant.” In the early 2000s, Helly Hansen launched its resort uniform program with the Resorts of the Canadian Rock- ies. Today the brand outfits more than 150 resorts, ski schools, and ski patrols around the world, including Vail Resorts and the Canadian Ski Patrol, which rep- resents some 4,000 volunteer patrol members across 230 resorts. “Our biggest strength is the combi- nation of thoughtful design, continuous product evolution through listening to feedback from resort professionals, and the service provided by our customer operations team,” Flaser says. Building Relationships Based on Avalanche Cred At Mammut, based in Williston, Vt., ava- lanche safety products like the Barryvox transceiver were the genesis of Mam-
mut’s uniform program. Once employees used the beacons, building trust in the brand, they began requesting uniforms. “If I look at the resorts we partner with on uniforms, it all started with a patrol order for the Barryvox, shovels, probes, and airbags years back,” says Keith Len- nig, Mammut director of partnership sales North America. “We view the uni- form as PPE for snow workers.” Mammut designed its first uniforms for Zermatters and Crans Montana in Switzerland and partnered with Powdr and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in 2019. It’s been growing the business ever since, outfitting 40,000 employees at 15 resorts across North America. “We basi- Avalanche has provided uniforms for ski resorts and clubs across North America and Europe since 1986.
Keeping ski area staffers comfortable while working outdoors in winter is big business. According to the Na- tional Ski Areas Association, ski area payrolls top 200,000. The Profes- sional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) has 33,000 members. The National Ski Patrol counts 30,000 in its membership. That’s a lot of parkas and pants. It’s also a lot of logos. While wholesale suppliers have been a fixture in the resort uniform business, a few major consumer-facing brands are now dominating the space, namely Helly Hansen, Mammut, and The North Face. Other outerwear brands and accessory companies are keeping a hold in the mar- ket, though, often by pivoting, adapting, and partnering with independent resorts. Consolidation in the uniform mar- ket has mirrored the consolidation and acquisitions in ski resorts. As multi-re- sort conglomerates such as Alter- ra Mountain Company, Vail Resorts, Boyne Resorts, Powdr, and Pacific Group Resorts, Inc. (PGRI), expand their portfo- lios, those big companies are leveraging the uniform buy.
Photo Credit: Cam McLeod
CONSUMER-FACING BRANDS
Sales Through Storytelling For consumer brands, uniforms are often a marketing tool. Occasionally, this makes employees into media stars. Big Sky, Mont., ski patroller Rachael Efta stars in a six-minute film that shows the resort’s patrollers donning Helly Hansen uniforms while battling winter’s harsh- est elements (and shredding pow) on the job. As the action fades to black, the tag-
Helly Hansen outfits more than 150 resorts, ski schools, and ski patrols, including the Vail Mountain ski patrol (pictured).
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