Palmer Moves U.S. Location to Minnesota and Increases Sales Force for Better Customer Service.
2/12/99

Palmer USA, Ltd. introduces its 2000 line of snowboards with new U.S. headquarters, a larger sales force, and beefed-up customer service.

The company moved its warehouse and distribution base from Verdi, Nev. to Brooklyn Park, Minn., near Minneapolis. Palmer USA is sharing a warehouse, staff, customer service and resources there with United Sports Group, the new owner of Hart Ski Company. The two companies are open to participating together in cross promotional marketing.

"Palmer USA is one of the few snowboard companies that's had substantial growth in the past few years, and it outgrew its Verdi location," said Tony Hessburg, the company's new general manager overseeing operations in Minnesota. "Too many companies grow so fast they can't keep up with customer service and I want every dealer to say Palmer is the best snowboard brand to work with. United Sports Group has the experienced staff, the warehouse with room for growth, and the operations already in place. Working with them is the most efficient way for us to expand."

New Sales Managers and Expanded Sales Force

Palmer USA also created two sales manager positions with Bob Klein and Marty Carrigan, who work closely with a full-time staff of sales/service reps in each territory. Klein oversees the West Coast and Midwest territories, while Carrigan oversees the territories of the Rocky Mountains, Intermountains, the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England. Klein formerly handled Palmer USA's sales, distribution and shipping alone, and both he and Carrigan said the increase in staff and resources will translate to better and faster customer service.

Palmer-X Parks

Palmer's sales reps are working with a unique new tool. The American Skiing Company has installed Swatch Palmer-X parks at all nine of its resorts this season, and Buck Hill in Minnesota, Alpine Valley in Michigan, and Mountain High in Southern California recently agreed to install Palmer-X Parks at its mountains. The parks will introduce snowboarders to boardercross, the ultimate test of one's freeriding skills, and be the site of local events.

"The ski resorts are really excited about building the Swatch Palmer-X and Palmer-X Parks," Klein said. "It gives the shops the opportunity to get involved in this new trend. We offer them a display unit with similar branding to what riders see in the boardercross parks. This draws consumers into the shops. If the consumer registers in the shop, they can get discounts on lift tickets."

Boardercross Defines the New Riding Style

Both Klein and Carrigan see the explosive popularity of boardercross, a strong contender for the 2002 Olympics, boding well for Palmer's sales as Shaun Palmer and Team Palmer continue to dominate the sport.

"I was just at a USASA boardercross race in Breckenridge and 260 kids showed up to compete. They had to turn kids away. It was mind blowing. They came out of the woodwork. Some were as young as 8," Carrigan said. "Palmer has lots of equity in this newest trend."

But the sales managers are quick to add that Palmer boards are more than boardercross boards. "Boardercross is the pinnacle of freeriding because it involves every riding style," Carrigan said. "People used to ride in packs, look for hits, and sit every 20 feet in groups and chat. Not anymore. The level of rider has progressed. Now the same group rides together but they chase each other down the mountain over hits and riding fast. That's the new trend in riding and boardercross is just the testing ground for that. Palmer builds boards for the ultimate freeriding experience."

Hessburg agrees that Palmer is poised to catapult in growth based on this new trend, and on Shaun Palmer's brilliant athleticism and ever-growing popularity.

"Palmer USA already has the best snowboards and the best athletes, as recently proven by Shaun Palmer himself. Palmer has their own state of the art factory in Austria which is highly dedicated to research and development," Hessburg said. "Now we're making appropriate efforts to become the best in customer service.

Movers and Shakers

Tony Hessburg has been an instructor, sales rep, and buyer in the snowboard industry. Prior to Palmer, he worked for SportsKraft Int., the largest manufacturer of waterski bindings, and for the previous two years he worked for Hart Ski Co., as the Director of Product and Market Development. Hessburg graduated first in his class at the University of Minnesota, the largest university in the U.S., leaving him an open door to attend any grad school of his choice. But he decided to put off grad school and team up with United Sports Group, to take Hart, a 50 year old company from it's freestyle niche and expand it into the freeskiing market. "I am thrilled to be a new addition to Palmer's management team," Hessburg said. "I have been very impressed by the exceptional level of expertise and knowledge that the Palmer staff has demonstrated. From our engineers to the sales force, I am working with some of the best people in the industry."

Bob Klein started snowboarding in 1978 at Lake Tahoe and is considered one of the sport's pioneers. By 1984 he was competing professionally, and he opened Sessions Snowboard Shop later in Colorado. He served as the technical director for the World Cup in 1989, and worked in sales for several snowboard companies before co-founding Palmer USA in 1995. He also negotiates contracts for Shaun Palmer and Brad Holmes.

Marty Carrigan is based in Steamboat Springs, Col. at his company Sales Guys, a full service sales and consulting company. In addition to working for Palmer, he's also a sales rep for Hart Ski Co. and Fire and Ice ski and snowboard apparel. He worked in the ski industry for 10 years was the vice president of global sales and marketing for Morrow Snowboards for three years. Carrigan said he divides his time between skiing and snowboarding 50/50. For further USA information, please contact:

Tony Hessburg, General Manager
Palmer USA, Ltd.
2845 Brookdale Drive
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota 55444
(612) 561-5221 tel, (612) 561-6366 fax
[email protected]
http://www.PalmerUSA.com

Shaun Palmer - CEO
[email protected]

Bob Klein, Sales Manager (West Coast and Mid West), Team Manager USA [email protected]

Marty Carrigan, Sales Manager (Rocky Mountains and East Coast) [email protected]

Matt Murphy, sales representative (New England and Up-State New York) [email protected] Matt Mitchell, sales representative (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic) [email protected]

Lee J Hinge, sales representative (Northern California) [email protected]

Matt Gotthainer, sales representative (Rocky Mtns. including Montana, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Eastern Idaho) [email protected]

Dana Saraceno, sales representative (Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona) [email protected]

Mike Williams, sales representative (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio) [email protected]

Paul Jenson, sales representative (Minnesota, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota) [email protected]

Mike Henderson, sales representative (Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Western Idaho) [email protected]

For those of you that have requested the 1998-99 Palmer catalog, Palmer is currently out of stock and you will be added to the mailing list for the 1999-2000 New Trends and Innovations book this summer.

Thanks for your interest in our great product!

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