Eastern Mountain Sports sets new record for North Conway store opening

EMS CEO optimistic about business outlook for recreation industry

The grand opening June 27 through 29 of the new Eastern Mountain Store at Settlers' Crossing in North Conway shattered all previous records for a store opening for the Peterborough-based outdoor retailer, according to company chief executive officer and president Will Manzer.We are very proud of all of you up there in North Conway the grand opening for our new North Conway store broke every grand opening record in the company's history, said Manzer in a phone interview from his Peterborough office Tuesday, July 1.Manzer said 1 percent of the weekends proceeds will be donated to the Tin Mountain Conservation Center, a provider of environmental education programs and camps for children and adults.The new Settlers' Crossing retail complex that houses the new North Conway store is located at the gateway to the Route 16 North Conway strip. Eastern Mountain Sports was previously housed at the Eastern Slope Inn in North Conway Village. Prior to that, it was located at the site of today's International Mountain Equipment across Main Street on Route 16. North Conway is very special to us, We've been there for 40 years, so we treat it as the soul of the company, said Manzer, who along with associates, bought the company in 2004.Tripling in size, the new 18,000-square-foot store showcases a wider selection of gear and apparel and serves as the headquarters for the Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School, the oldest climbing school on the East Coast. The climbing school quadruples in size from 750 square feet to 3,000 square feet with a new modernized look and feel at the front of the store (the former climbing school site was located in back of the old store and the inn).Settlers' Crossing, being developed by Settlers' Green Management, will also include Walgreens and at least three other retailers. Starbucks opened in the complex in late May.Eastern Mountain Sports was founded in 1967 by two New England rock climbers. In addition to the North Conway retail location, other New Hampshire stores are located in Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Salem and West Lebanon. The company is headquartered in Peterborough.The North Conway store is the second new Eastern Mountain Sports store to open in New Hampshire during the past year, with the Portsmouth store opening last August. Manzer said the new store is larger than EMS' new format of stores, which average 12,000 to 15,000 square feet.We have four types of stores destination/resort stores, such as North Conway's new store and our stores in Lake Placid and Plymouth [N.H.]; gateway stores like Portsmouth's, residential stores such as Warrington, Penn., and urban stores such as we have in Harvard Square in Cambridge, said Manzer. Manzer said the company currently has 66 stores in the Northeast. It had 87 stores when his group acquired the company, but Manzer said they opted to close stores in the West following an analysis of the company's strengths and market. He said Eastern Mountain Sports plans to have a total of 94 at the end of 2012.We have much greater visibility with the new store at the entrance to North Conway than we did within the inn. It was quaint in the old location, being in the hotel, but there was not enough space. We estimate that we lost 50 to 60 percent of the potential traffic of people coming into North Conway at the old store because people didn't know where we were, said Manzer. Now, we have that great new location, and we also will have billboards directing them to us, so the visibility has dramatically changed.He said he is cautiously bullish about the outdoor recreation outlook.I have to qualify what I say, as I spent this morning with the analysts group we use (I am on the board of the Outdoor Industry Association and the chair of strategic planning). We believe this is a relative perfect storm in terms of a recession and inflation and that consumer confidence is at its lowest point in 28 years. Having said that, said Manzer, we do enjoy some immunity from that as we do offer alternative recreation. Janice Crawford [of the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce] told me that everyone up there is expecting a robust summer [due to the proximity of the valley to the major metropolitan areas of New England, within a tankful of gas], as well as the closeness of the Canadian market, where there is a favorable exchange rate compared to the American dollar. We are seeing some slowdown, but it's anybody's guess, said Manzer.He said people will be seeking to camp and buy outdoor equipment. We expect to see a tradeoff in the outdoor recreation business we expect those in the Northeast to stay closer to home versus going to Mexico or Canada. I think we have already seen that trend. We have taken some steps to address that. We have seen a bump in terms of sales of camping equipment, but we do see a slowdown in clothing. We are healthier than your typical department store, because apparel will suffer. Anything that is seen as discretionary spending will be down, but not vacations, Manzer said.He said his company's Manhattan store has seen a steady increase in international business largely due to the favorable exchange rate for Europeans and Canadians. We are seeing that in our border stores. We saw many Canadians at our North Conway store opening and we are seeing that trend throughout our chain near those markets, said Manzer.He said the new North Conway store's location near a new L.L. Bean store due to open in September will be complementary, not competitive.L.L. Bean and Eastern Mountain Sports are very different. We sell to the outdoor athlete while their market is largely apparel and to an older audience, said Manzer. Our staff is made up mostly of climbers and kayaking experts, so there is that authenticity.Meanwhile, Joe Berry of the Eastern Slope Inn said future use of the old store site is being contemplated.We are speaking with several potential retailers who are interested in the old EMS location, but nothing definitive can be released at this point, said Berry last month.He confirmed that the inn has also looked at a plan to possibly add more guest rooms to its total at the old store location, which once served as the dining room for the 1926-built inn. The inn was purchased by Berry in 1980, after which it was renovated as a timeshare hotel. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.The North Conway store has been an important part of our heritage, said Manzer. We have been fortunate to be right in the heart of one of the most passionate climbing communities in the U.S., which speaks to our roots. Our new location enables us to provide greater resources to a very loyal consumer base, while introducing the outdoor experience to visitors who return every summer and winter.Manzer added that EMS' Plymouth store is also partnering with Tenney Mountain's White Mountain Exploration (www.whitemountainexploration.com). Activities for the summer season, which goes through Oct. 31, include: the new Canyoneering-Zip Line Adventure program, featuring over 5,000 feet of zip line; kayaking tours on Squam Lake, made famous by the motion picture, On Golden Pond; mountain biking tours, exclusively using state-of-the-art Iron Horse Mountain Bikes; rock climbing adventures with private or group lessons; and geocaching. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world.For additional information, interested athletes can visit the White Mountain Exploration Web site: www.whitemountainexploration.com.Founded in 1967 by two New England rock climbers and based in Peterborough, Eastern Mountain Sports is one of the nations leading outfitters of outdoor gear, clothing, footwear and accessories with 66 retail stores in 12 states. Eastern Mountain Sports designs and sells products for outdoor adventurers who participate in a variety of sports, such as mountaineering, backpacking, camping, hiking, adventure racing, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and snow sports. Eastern Mountain Sports product and technology is tested by its product development and quality assurance teams in conjunction with the Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing, Kayaking and Ski Schools. More information is available at www.ems.com.More information is available at www.ems.com. or by calling 356-5433.