We get customers from REI all the time. Denver's new REI enjoyed a booming holiday season, said Daniel Peterson, specialty shop manager at the store. I'm sure that most of the larger stores share that attitude, too. We think we are adding to the market. Where the larger stores are planting the active-lifestyle seed, the specialty shops feel like they are harvesting the benefits.
Chain stores tend to offer a broader range of outdoor gear at more affordable prices.
Specialty shops offer merchandise geared more toward performance than price. The niche shops also boast salespeople who are knowledgeable of what they are selling. You don't really need that for Wilson basketballs or tennis balls. Specialty shops, in order to remain competitive, have to differentiate themselves from their towering colleagues. That differentiation is usually found in the service, says Jason Rioux, from Alpenglow Sports in Golden, which is blossoming under the shadow of a new Christy Sports at the Denver West complex along Interstate 70.