Pioneering Movement in Ogden

From Next magazine issue 4/2009. Text by Shane Osguthorpe

A few years ago, a new bumper sticker began appearing on the backs and racks of SUVs around the Intermountain West. It simply read, “New York. London. Paris. Milan. Moab.” The tongue-in-cheek tie between the fashion centers of the world and the tiny desert town brought smiles to the maniacal mountain bikers and Colorado River rats that kicked around the area. As jokes go, it was pretty funny.

A couple of years ago, outdoor industry insiders would have likely had the same smiling response had they seen Amer Sports Winter and Outdoor Americas’ final list of possible sites for relocation: “Seattle. Portland. Salt Lake City. Park City. Ogden”.

When it came to iconic locations associated with outdoor sporting goods mega-brands, it was clear that one of these things was not like the others. However, this was no joke to Amer Sports Winter and Outdoor Americas’ President and General Manager, Mike Dowse. He had a tough decision to make as he worked to determine the best place to consolidate and house the day-to-day functions and North American efforts of Salomon, Atomic, Suunto and Bonfire. When Dowse announced the final decision to move to Ogden, Utah, he cited what he termed the three M’s, that is, the mountain, the mayor, and the money.

The mountain

“With the single exception of Park City, no other location offered us such proximity to the mountains we rely on for product development, testing, demonstration, and lifestyle,” said Dowse. “We’re now only 20 minutes from the site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games’ downhill and GS
courses.”

A glance out of Dowse’s third-floor office window confirms how the first M factored in. Ben Lomond Peak (the inspiration for the Paramount Studios logo, as legend has it), Mount Ogden, and Strawberry Peak all tower a stone’s throw away. And while the world-renowned powder that falls on those mountains is an obvious draw for snowsports brands like Salomon, Atomic and Bonfire, what may be less apparent is the vast number of trekking trails that lie between his office door and those summits. “What we discovered was a true year-round mountain community,” said Dowse.

The mayor

Dowse’s second M, the mayor, actually encompassed much more than just Ogden mayor Matthew Godfrey. Dowse uses the word “mayor” to cover an entire community that has been wildly supportive of Amer’s relocation and subsequent business operations. And he’s not simply referring to the cheerleading from local admirers of Amer Sports brands.

“Of the 90 or so employees we have working here since the relocation, 65 of them are local hires. We had 25 people relocate to Ogden, which gave us an invaluable level of stability, tradition and knowledge, and we were able to infuse each brand with amazing new energy and ideas from local mountain athletes who came to work for us,” said Dowse.

One such athlete is Atomic Marketing Manager Jordan Judd. Prior to joining Atomic, Judd was a part owner in a local Ogden ski shop and a virtual legend among local free skiers and all-mountain fanatics. His understanding of the unique approach to North American skiing has fueled excitement in the growth potential of the Atomic brand in a key market.

Among the individuals who relocated to Ogden, Dowse cites Salomon Marketing Director, Jean-Yves Couput and other Europeans who have brought a valuable understanding of Amer Sports brands as well as a perspective on the cultural differences and similarities found in markets on both sides of the Atlantic.

The money

Dowse’s final M came in the form of approximately $2 million in grants and $5 million in state and local tax credits, for a total of $7 million over 10 years.

“While we weren’t planning on the current economic situation at the time, the windfall that we received in incentives has enabled us to weather the storm pretty well,” said Dowse. “Add in the 30-plus percent reductions in operational expense that resulted from the move and I’m more confident than ever that the decision to come to Ogden has been the right one.”

A movement

Throughout the relocation process, Dowse insisted that Amer Sports be pioneers, not settlers. That vision has played itself out in both subtle and dramatic ways in Ogden.

Amer Sports’s role in its new community has been anything but passive. The company funded the installation of dozens of branded bike racks around town to encourage green transportation and supplies a fleet of bicycles for employees to use for errands and exercise. The iconic new high-adventure facility in downtown Ogden that houses indoor climbing walls, standing surf waves and skydiving wind tunnels was dubbed the Salomon Center. The poles marking the boundaries in left and right field at the city’s minor league baseball stadium are a giant Atomic and Salomon ski respectively. Suunto is the official timing sponsor of the scenic Ogden Marathon, which fills up nearly every year.

In addition to the financial support the organization has provided in the community, employees have taken on active and impactful roles as board members and volunteers in key non-profit organizations whose efforts range from helping at-risk youth to attracting high-profile global events to the area such as the XTERRA USA Championships and the upcoming Winter Dew Tour.

The unique corporate culture that Dowse has fostered in the new Ogden location has been adopted by other companies in town, who have begun offering corporate-funded season passes to local ski areas and company-encouraged powder days any time snowfall hits a determined amount in a 24-hour period. It is clear that what began as a move by Amer Sports to Ogden has become a movement in Ogden.