Arlberg Sports gets nod from outdoor fans
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by admin in News
by Yvette Davis
WENATCHEE — Arlberg Sports has been in business for 51 years, steadily providing at least two generations of outdoor enthusiasts with skis, bicycles, water sports equipment and camping and hiking gear.
Now the store is on its second generation of ownership. Scott and Nalini Paton purchased the business in 2008 from his parents Ken and Kay Paton.
Paton said the secret to their long success is two-fold. One, it’s a fun place to work, and two, most of the 18 to 22 employees are active in outdoor sports themselves, so they don’t just sell equipment, they also provide knowledge gleaned from their own experiences with what they sell.
That, Scott Paton said, is what customers can’t buy online and keeps them coming back to the store for more.
“Everybody on my staff does avidly at least one to two sports, and most of my sales staff does everything,” he said. “If I don’t do it myself I have a hard time buying the best gear and bringing it into the store. Everything we have in the store is something for a sport that I do, and I’m comfortable I’ve got the right products. Some people are comfortable relying on the industry to tell them what are the best products to carry but I’m not.”
That’s because, in some cases, buying bad equipment can even be dangerous, he said. For example, he doesn’t want a customer to have a snowshoe binding break when they are off-trail and far from help. He would rather know the reliability of the merchandise before he sends them out the door.
Right now, snowshoeing is big. It costs about $100 for a good pair of snowshoes, and they last almost forever, Paton said.
Another winter sport gaining popularity is cross county skiing. A good cross country starter package is around $250-$300, he said. As soon as the snow melts, the store switches gears to bikes and then water sports when the river warms up. Then it’s back to the winter sports, in a never ending cycle that Paton is well used to, he said.
He has been managing the store for 15 years. His parents still work part-time for him in the winter, and he still seeks their advice, but he said he hasn’t made any major changes since taking over two years ago.
And over the years of listening to customers one thing has become clear to him — outdoor sports are a major draw for this area.
“Being outdoors is a huge part of all of our lives around here, but a lot of us take it for granted. We just don’t realize how good we have it.”
Paton said he gets a glimpse of how good we have it when customers who have moved here from out of town come in and look around in awe just like a kid in a candy store.
“We are in a great spot here,” he said. Outdoor activities are only going to keep growing.”
Arlberg Spots won the Best Business Catering to Outdoor Enthusiasts in this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards. Other stores nominated for this new category were Hooked on Toys and Go Bent Bikes.
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