This September, the Ski and Snowboard Mechanics Workshop will begin its 25th season under faculty management. The schedule below covers one, two and three-day programs at 14 ski areas across the country.

Discounted registration fees for the workshops are available to all current NSSRA members. NSSRA members will save $10 per person off the registration fee on the day of sign-up. For more details, please contact: Workshops 2014, P.O. Box 85  Underhill Ctr., Vermont 05490; Phone (802) 899-2633; Fax (802) 899-3677; e-mail: vsr@together.net website: www.vermontskisafety.com.

On Day 1 the full-day course options are: Binding Mechanics Basic, Binding Mechanics Advanced, and Rental Mechanics Update. The binding and rental courses are accredited by the major alpine binding suppliers.

On Day 2 the workshops provide full-day training in ski and snowboard tuning and repair.

On Day 3, a management training seminar is offered for retail and rental managers, covering the organization and operation of rental and service facilities of all sizes. Includes preseason, in-season and post-accident inspection, maintenance, record keeping, boot sizing, ski maintenance, equipment storage and dispatch, evaluating shop efficiency, and in reorganizing layout and procedures to maximize efficiency. Also, how to develop, organize and deliver in-shop employee training programs. Prior attendance at a Day 1 course is recommended. Offered at Locations 2, 3, 4, 7, and 14, below.

Registration: 8:00-8:45 a.m.

Workshops/Seminars: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Sept. 22-23       McIntyre Ski Area, NH

Sept. 25-27       Shawnee Mtn, PA

Sept. 30-Oct. 2  Grand Geneva, WI

Oct. 7- 9            Eldora Ski Area, CO

Oct. 13              Discovery Ski Area, MT

Oct. 16-17         Western Washington

Oct. 22-24         Mt. Rose, NV

Oct. 27-28         Bear Mtn, CA

Oct. 30-31         SLC Utah       

Nov. 6-7            Snow Trails, OH

Nov. 10-11         Massanutten, VA

Nov. 13-14         Holiday, Valley, NY

Nov. 17-18         Hunter Mtn, NY

Nov. 20-22         Bolton Valley, VT

Bring A Friend Marketing Tools Can Help Grow Your Business

By Mary Jo Tarallo

Since its inception in 2009, the Learn to Ski and Snowboard (Month)/Bring a Friend (LSS and BAF) initiatives have introduced more than 500,000 newcomers to skiing and snowboarding through beginner lesson programs. The majority of newcomers have learned during January -- designated Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month by resort association partners.

BAF was added two years ago when industry research showed that most newcomers are introduced to skiing and snowboarding through a friend or family member, most of whom are current participants. Bring A Friend provides a hook for retailers like you to gain new customers by motivating current customers to help newcomers who want to learn how to ski or ride.

Initiative goals are simple. We want to help newcomers learn by introducing them to lessons from trained instructors for their first-time experience. We also want newcomers to know the value of specialty snowsports retailers as they mature into more proficient skiers and riders. YOU decide how that happens.

Bring A Friend enables you to leverage your current customer base -- typically seasoned skiers and snowboarders -- by suggesting that they serve as role models who can help lead newcomers through the steps involved in becoming dedicated enthusiasts (just don't try to teach them). This includes an introduction to your shop where newcomers can gain invaluable information by starting off on the right path to becoming YOUR customers.

Since the 2012-13 season, NSSRA has co-sponsored LSS and BAF. After considering the options available to grow snowsports participation, NSSRA's Board of Directors determined that a unified effort supporting Bring A Friend was the best way to utilize the Association's resources and strategically located network of retailers to increase the number of snowsports participants.

In the next several newsletters, NSSRA will share ideas contained in the BAF online partner toolkit that you can use to grow your own business and contribute to the Association's goal of increasing participation. Here is a link to the toolkit. It includes ideas to generate excitement about skiing and snowboarding.  http://skiandsnowboardmonth.org/member/index.php/retailers

As a member of NSSRA, you have full use of the partners' toolkit for LSS/BAF. Partners develop their own programs, utilizing consistent messaging and graphics provided through the initiative -- all of which are included in the toolkit. Login and password will be provided to current NSSRA members in good standing. This is another exclusive benefit of NSSRA membership.

Also, your shop will be included in the store locator on the consumer web site that is dedicated to attracting newcomers and turning them into loyal skiers and riders.

Collaboration is the key to success. Brad suggested in last month's letter that you start by contacting your local area that has beginner lesson programs in place. Find out about those plans for this winter and look for ways to collaborate.

Mary Jo Tarallo is Executive Director of the Learn To Ski and Snowboard and Bring A Friend initiatives.

Negotiating a Retail Lease Soon? 

Here Are Some Tenant-Friendly Strategies

By James P. Moorhead

Even though the national leasing market has improved in the last few years, proactive thinking remains the winning strategy in lease negotations. Listed below are basic descriptions of a handful of tenant-favorable lease provisions that may be useful when negotiating a lease this year:                   

• Alternate Term Length: A tenant concerned about a long-term commitment for a new business or in a new market may desire a shorter initial term with more renewal terms. The tenant that once agreed to a 10-year initial term and two five-year renewals now may want an initial three-year term and five three-year renewals. With a structure like this, you can get out of the lease if the business does not support the space, but also has reserved rights if the business does well.

• Termination, Contraction, and Expansion Rights: If business is slow, reducing the space or exercising an early termination right (both often with a landlord fee) might be a cost-effective way to reduce the lease obligation. Alternately, if business is better than expected, a right to expand into adjacent vacant space may be useful for a tenant who initially leased a smaller space due to economic uncertainty.

• Permitted Uses, Assignment, and Subleasing: Having sublease or assignment provisions with minimal landlord conditions is ideal in case you want to unload an underperforming site quickly. The permitted use clause also should be as broad as possible because it will maximize the audience of prospective subtenants and assignees that may be able to take the space.

• Delayed Delivery of Space: It normally is critical for a tenant to have new premises delivered by a landlord on time so that the tenant can open for business as scheduled and begin to generate revenue as budgeted. To this end, consider providing in the leasethat, in the event the premises are delivered late, then tenant receives a rent credit for each day of delay (this credit is in addition to pushing back the rent commencement date), and a right to terminate if the delay is beyond 90 days.

• Retail Co-Tenancy: For retail tenants, a co-tenancy provision allows a tenant to pay reduced rent when certain conditions are not met. Usually, the condition is that certain other stores, such as anchors, or a certain percentage of stores in the center, have to be open for business. The reasoning is that a tenant is spending a lot of money for a particular site and center, and if that center is not operating as it should due to the economy or other reasons, then tenant should receive a remedy.

• Preempting Landlord Problems - Self-Help and Rent Abatement:  Tenant protections from landlord financial difficulties are useful. Self-help provides a tenant with the right to fulfill landlord's lease obligations if the landlord does not do them and then deduct the cost from rent. A rent abatement provision provides for rent abatement if landlord fails to fulfill its lease obligations after a certain waiting period.

These are just basic descriptions, and much will depend on the nature of your particular transaction.  However, lease provisions like these may provide flexibility and peace of mind and will help keep your focus on the most important goal: the success of your business. 

For more information, please contact James P. Moorhead, Esq., Moorhead Law Group, LLC, 321 North Clark Street, Fifth Floor, Chicago, IL 60654. jmoorhead@moorhead-law.com.

Final Reminder: It's Time To Renew Your NSSRA Membership

We thank those members who renewed their NSSRA memberships, especially those who responded during our membership drive at the 2014 SIA Show. Since NSSRA changed its membership to a calendar year basis, we have extended the time to renew your membership.

This grace period is about to expire, which means those who choose not to renew their memberships will not receive exclusive NSSRA member benefits, programs and services. This includes the 2014-15 Combined Indemnified Bindings List, the first-ever NSSRA Retailer Compensation and Benefits Report, the shipping and credit card processing programs, and much more.

The NSSRA Board of Directors approved changes in the 2014 dues structure to $99 for managements with a single shop and less than $250,000 in annual sales, $299 for managements with 1-4 shops, and $499 for managements with five or more shops. 

A downloadable membership renewal form is available at www.nssra.com. 

For more information, please contact NSSRA president Larry Weindruch, lweindruch@nssra.com, or call (888) 257-1168.

FedEx Announces New Pricing Policy Starting in 2015

FedEx recently announced that dimensional weight pricing will apply to all FedEx Ground shipments, effective January 1, 2015.

This is a significant change from the rating structure in place today. Currently only FedEx Ground packages measuring at least three cubic feet (5184 cubic inches) are subject to dimensional weight pricing. 

UPS is likely to make the same changes, as FedEx and UPS have a history of matching one another's pricing strategies. Both of their general rate increases (GRI) have matched over the years, including similar accessorial fees and special handling charges.

Even though this change is still several months away, it's important to determine what this will mean for you and your business for future planning. So what can you do?

Educate yourself

Dimensional weight pricing is a common industry practice that sets the transportation price based on package volume, in relation to its actual weight. Carriers use dimensional weight in order to account for the space packages take up on their trucks and planes. This allows for a more precise way to charge for their services.

According to the 2014 FedEx Service Guide, FedEx Express calculates dimensional weight for shipments within the U.S. by multiplying the package length by width by height (in inches) and dividing the total by a DIM Factor of 166 (the DIM Factor represents the volume of a package allowed per unit of weight). Dimensions that measure one-half inch or greater are rounded up to the next whole number, dimensions less than one-half inch are rounded down, and the final number is rounded up to the next whole pound. If the dimensional weight exceeds the actual weight, the former becomes the billable weight. It is likely that the new FedEx Ground dimensional weight pricing will follow the same guidelines.

Determine the impact

Start by looking at the FedEx Ground packages you typically ship and their box sizes. For example, if you tend to ship 24 x 12 x 12 boxes, the dimensional weight is 21 lbs. Here is how that is calculated:

length x width x height = volume
24 in x 12 in x 12 in = 3,456 cubic inches

volume/dimensional divider = dimensional weight
3,456/166 = 21 lbs.

You then compare the dimensional weight to the actual weight, and the higher of the two becomes the billable weight. In this example, if your actual package weight is 15 lbs., you will instead be billed at the dimensional weight (21 lbs.).

The change in dimensional weight pricing for small package ground shipments is only part of the impact you'll see on your budget for 2015, but it will be an important one. Keep an eye out around the New Year for the PartnerShip Small Package Rate Increase white paper that will come out after all of the general rate increases are announced by the carriers.

Find ways to offset the rate increase

Be mindful when you select the packaging for your small package ground shipments. Make sure you're not using unnecessarily large boxes for lighter shipments. If you don't currently have one, investing in a scale can be helpful when determining how to ship out your small packages and selecting box size, so you know exactly what you're working with and how much you can expect to pay.

Securing discounts for your small package shipments is one of the best ways to offset this rate increase. PartnerShip offers NSSRA members discounts on select FedEx services. If you're not sure if you qualify for one of our small package shipping programs Contact PartnerShip to find the solution that's right for you. Also, PartnerShip can provide you with a free, no-obligation shipping analysis to determine how much they can help you save on your small package shipping. 

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Aegis Insurance Markets

Boa Technology, Inc.

Comfort Zone Apparel, LLC

Horizon Agency, Inc.

Leisure Trends Group

Shopatron

Snowsports Industries America (SIA)

Alpina Sports

Amer Sports

Dalbello Sports

Descente North America, Inc.

Dryguy, LLC

Dynacraft BSC, Inc.

Fischer Skis US

Head USA

Hotronic USA, Inc.

K2 Sports

Leatherman Tool Group, Inc.

Marker-Volkl USA

National Ski Areas Association (NSAA)

Newberry Knitting

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Sports Accessories/America (SAA)

Tecnica Group USA

Turtle Fur Group