Denver’s Gart family is stepping up its effort to reclaim Labor Day weekend when it comes to the dueling ski sales that annually compete for Colorado shoppers.
Since brothers John, Ken and Tom Gart left the business founded by their grandfather, they’ve watched their former Sniagrab sale capture headlines and customers while their newer Ski Rex sale garners less recognition.
Sniagrab now is run by The Sports Authority, a publicly held company based in Englewood.
The brothers, who own Specialty Sports Venture, have been holding Ski Rex sales at their Colorado Ski & Golf and Boulder Ski Deals stores for six years.
In addition to four Colorado Ski & Golf stores and Boulder Ski Deals, Specialty Sports Venture owns more than 120 ski and outdoor-equipment stores under different names nationwide.
To gain prominence for the Ski Rex sale, Specialty Sports Venture this year is adding a charity event Thursday to benefit Craig Hospital and a VIP day Friday when customers can shop early.
The company is also offering demo equipment from its mountain stores at up to 80 percent off and devoting more selling space to clothing and snowboard equipment.
The company is pitching deals starting at 40 percent off on last year’s equipment.
“From a consumer standpoint, it’s phenomenal to have two big, strong retailers competing like that,” company president Ken Gart said this month.
Specialty Sports executives typically spend the weekend poring over the Sports Authority’s advertised prices and adjusting their own, he said.
Both sales have developed avid followings among metro- area skiers and snowboarders; many line up early to snag the best deals.
“In one weekend, out of two retailers, there are more sheer units of product sold than at any other time in the Denver marketplace, possibly anywhere,” said John Damiano, Colorado and New Mexico territory manager for Burton Snowboards.
The Garts declined to provide sales numbers for the annual sales weekend but said the event is one of the two biggest sales periods of the year – along with Christmas.
The five stores will likely host as many 50,000 shoppers over the course of the weekend, Tom Gart said.
The Sports Authority also declined to provide sales figures but said more than 30,000 people will shop at the downtown Gart Sportscastle this weekend. Some 1,000 will pass through the front doors in the first 15 minutes, the company said.
Sniagrab – “bargains” spelled backward – will mark its 51st year this weekend. The company is advertising sales of 30 percent to 70 percent off.
The Sports Authority will host the sale at 35 stores. Since acquiring Gart Sports locally, the company has expanded Sniagrab into California, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington, said Keith Reichelderfer, senior vice president of merchandising for the Sports Authority.
In Denver, Sniagrab’s home base will remain the Gart Sportscastle downtown. The company this year is devoting a floor of selling space to children’s ski and snowboard gear and clothing.
Colorado Sports Authority stores continue to operate under the Gart name, but company officials have said they intend to convert all stores to the Sports Authority name by next spring.
Reichelderfer declined to comment on any potential name changes.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
