In the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, Ellis Brigham’s Aviemore store has been at the centre of Scotland’s outdoor and snowsports scene since the early 1980s. From sponsoring the local ski team in its early days to supporting homegrown riders in the production of Scottish ski movies, Ellis Brigham continues to connect with the local snowsport community.
With one of the UK’s largest ranges of skis available, specialist boot fitting, and backcountry kit hire, Ellis Brigham is a go-to destination for anyone chasing snow in the Highlands. And with endless options for adventure right on the doorstep, from ski touring and splitboarding to hiking, biking, and wild swimming, the Aviemore team are on hand with expert advice and a shared passion for the outdoors. We caught up with store manager, Andi, to find out more.
What’s so great about your store’s location?
No matter what outdoor activity you are into, everything is on your doorstep here. Whether that’d be skiing, climbing, biking, hiking, swimming or just simply birdwatching, the options are endless. The store first opened here in the early 1980’s and actually sponsored the local ski team in Aviemore for a few years.
What outdoor activities does your team specialise in?
Our team pretty much covers all outdoor pursuits from skiing, boarding, running, biking, hiking, swimming, all the way to hanging in a hammock and reading your book by the side of a loch.
Whatever outdoor activity you are interested in, or need advice on, there will definitely be someone in store to help you.
What’s your approach to helping customers find what they need?
For us it’s all about helping our customers have the best time in our local mountains. Whatever the objective or end goal, we will use our many years of expertise, and personal experience to guide individual towards what will best suit their activity and needs.
What advice would you give to somebody looking to buy their first ski or snowboard setup?
Book an appointment and come chat to us! You can kill hours on end trying to gather info online - which can be helpful but can equally be overwhelming. If you come in to see us, we will be able to customise your first setup according to your needs.
Coming into an independent store where there is no obligation to buy is such a great first step.
People often get intimidated in specialist shops or feel that that talking to a store assistant will lead to a ‘hard sell’, but our aim is to put them at ease and help them weigh up what’s right for them. We love talking about our sports, so would encourage anyone to come in and ask all the questions they want, as it is one of the best ways to learn about equipment.
Just because something has a cool graphic, expensive price tag, or is being ridden by your favourite Pro, doesn’t mean it will give you the best experience out there. Also, the correct fit on boots is something that cannot be understated, always try them on in store and we’d also recommend getting them properly fitted.
Do you specialise in any particular products or services?
We sell a broad range of outdoor equipment and clothing, but when it comes to snow sports, Ellis Brigham have one of (if not) the largest range of skis on offer in the UK, covering everything from on piste performance to backcountry setups. We also offer snowsport equipment servicing, ski boot fitting, as well as ski hire – our backcountry kit here in the Aviemore store gets a lot of use throughout the season.
What’s a typical day like at your store during the winter?
A typical day would start with getting all rental kit ready for collection, assigning bookings to the relevant departments, and engaging with customers to help them with whatever their next adventure will be.
How do you or your team choose the products that you stock?
We have buyers for each department who take special care to select our range for each season. Our ski and snowboard buyers, and a selection of shop staff, test the products in the Alps at the annual SIGB Snow Test and Snowboard Spring Break, before making their decision on what to stock. From the shop side, we get to spend time with the product on an annual Ellis Brigham ski test in Tignes, which helps the store team compare and contrast on real snow so that we know the product inside out when it comes to suggesting the right products for customers.
What new gear are you most excited about this winter?
In the ski department we’re looking forward to seeing how the all-new Dual Boa ski boots get on, and the new updated Carve 2.0 digital ski coaching. In snowboard, the FASE Binding technology is going to be the BIG new addition to the market this year. I see this being a major shift for the market making fast entry bindings as performance driven as traditional two strap bindings.
Do you have a personal favourite that you’ll be testing out?
I am quite excited to test the new Atomic Maven 88 CTI skis and also The Jones Howler snowboard, and the Jones Mercury Fase binding. Both are absolute game changers in their own right, and where FASE has potential to change binding design in the future, the Howler is definitely the board of the season for me.
Are you running any events for customers this season?
We love to get involved in local events as well as creating our own, so this season we plan to host movie nights. We’ve sponsored a new Scottish ski film which one of the shop team appear in called ‘On A Good Day’, so that will be one of the main features. Up on the hill, we’ll be supporting events like the UpBattle annual splitboarding derby, and the Wild Ski Weekend ski touring adventures with our friends at Glenmore Lodge.
