July 6, 2000

Stores see frequent influx of Mt. Hood campers looking to spend.

It�s the middle of June, but there�s a line seven-shoppers long waiting to buy armloads of snowboard product. At least twenty other snowboarders are browsing, grabbing product, and getting ready to wait in line, as well. There isn�t even a sale going on.

Japanese campers line up to spend.

Sound too good to be true for the drowsy days of summer? For Exit Real World�s new downtown Portland, Oregon shop, occasional traffic like this is just a side benefit of being near North America�s epicenter of summer snowboarding.

Missy Samiee, owner of the three Exit Real World shops, knows first-hand the importance of location in business: �Our Government Camp store goes crazy in the summer. There�s a full session in the camp right now, so it�s pretty packed.� Even the Portland store, located an hour�s drive away from Hood, feels the heat. �We get lucky,� says Samiee. �The van drivers at the camps bring the campers down to go into town, and they come to our shop.�

Exit Real World in Portland, Oregon.

Although both stock snowboard products, the Salem and Portland stores deal primarily in skateboards during the summertime. Last month Exit built a vert ramp and had nine pro skaters come to the Portland store for a demo, which will become a yearly event. Samiee reveals the secret to attracting the pros: �We�re right by the airport, so we get pros coming through.�

Samiee, who opened the Northwest Portland shop early last summer, says she took a custom approach to the store, and its style mirrors the other Exit shops. �The (Portland) store is pretty much the same as our other locations, but it�s nice to be able to start from the beginning and make it just the way we wanted.�

�Ted Reckas