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Kenny Friedman has been in the ski business for 19 years. He
started by working for someone else and advanced into
management. Seven years ago he purchased the business where he
started working 19 years ago, and changed the name to Kenny's
Double Diamond Ski Shop. Snow Country Business has ranked
Kenny's Double Diamond Ski Shop as the number one retail ski
shop in the United States for the last three years.
We asked Kenny, owner and President of
Kenny's Double Diamond Ski Shop, about his store.
Kenny: We sell ski apparel and
accessories. We do rental and repairs and sales of all
retail ski equipment (skis, boot, bindings, and poles). This
is our merchandise in the winter season. In the summer
season we sell bicycles, in-line skates, hiking boots,
outdoor equipment, etc. Our store is 3,560 square feet with
approximately 25,000 + SKUs. We are located in a pedestrian
driven community of Vail, Colorado. You can't drive down any
of the streets and you have to park in a central parking
structure. My typical customer can be six years old or as
old as eighty-six. But the average customers are men &
women, 40 to 45 years old, upper income and college
educated. During the winter we have 49 employees working and
during the summer we have 12.
How long have you been using Retail
Pro?
Kenny: We started with Retail Pro in the beginning of the
92/93 ski season. It was August of 1992.
What did you use before Retail Pro?
Kenny: I didn't use
anything. I had a cash register and it was a paper driven
business.
How do you think Retail Pro has
affected your POS and inventory functions?
Kenny: Retail Pro has
pointed out to me how difficult it is to maintain inventory
and keep your numbers right without Retail Pro. Inventory is
one of the most critical assets that you own as a retailer
and it is difficult to maintain it correctly. The reports we
get from Retail Pro, whether they are closing reports in the
evening, units being sold by department , year-to-date sales
report, these are the things that are nice about the system.
We looked at several systems before we bought Retail Pro. I
felt this system worked easier than the other systems and
Retail Pro is pretty quick.
What do you find are the most useful
aspects of Retail Pro?
Kenny: I really like looking at a department
and seeing the margins and  looking
at markdowns. I can see the trends, what's popular and
what's not. We use it a lot to maintain our inventory. If
someone asked me, "Do you have a "x" model in a "x" product
in stock," I can answer their question by looking it up in
Retail Pro.
How do your employees like working
with Retail Pro?
Kenny: I think they are
very comfortable with it now. We have reached a point where
it is pretty easy to train with. I use the Customer History
feature a lot. This is a wonderful feature. My employees are
able to track what the customer bought last and their size.
What made you buy Retail Pro?
Kenny: I knew that with
the expansion of my business, I needed better control. We
were planning to increase the size, SKUs, and the things
that went with it. I looked at a total of five systems and
felt that Retail Pro was the most superior.
What future plans do you have for your
store?
Kenny: We have grown dramatically in a short time period.
At this point I'm taking a step back from a business
viewpoint. We have expanded and we are successful and we
want to continue that trend. I know that we are headed in
the right direction and now it is important for me to
continue to give the service and quality that goes with it
to stay ahead of the game.
How have you financially benefited
from Retail Pro?
Kenny: I think Retail Pro has been pretty cost effective.
We do over 3 million dollars in sales, so I need to keep a
hold of what's going on. We have gotten the value out of our
Retail Pro.
Thank You. |
