All in the Family: Siblings Thrive with Ski Barns

For more than 30 years, the owners of Ski Barn in Paramus have stayed close to the ideals of the business' founder and treated customers like family. While many merchants may aspire to do so, it comes naturally for the brother-and-sister team who own the winter sports outlet.

Ray Fallon and Debbie Talias, both of Wyckoff, operate the business first started by their father in 1971. A Paramus outlet was founded in 1978, and Fallon has been working there since its inception. Today, the siblings own four Ski Barns in New Jersey, and their children can be found working in the Paramus store, on Route 17 North.

"We have third generation employees and third generation customers," Talias said.

The owners say they have thrived over the years by hiring knowledgeable staff and treating customers with respect. 

"My father always wanted to treat people the right way," said Fallon, who is a volunteer Wyckoff firefighter with Company 3.

"We are peoples' ski shop... they feel like they're part of the family. That's really our biggest strength, giving people the service and selling people the right equipment," Fallon said.

That approach has served them well as they weather a downturn in the economy. Although skiing can be a pricey proposition, the siblings say they've continued to do well, as avid skiers are not willing to tear themselves away from the slopes.

"There's something about it, skiers are just passionate about it," Talias said. Fallon agrees: "It's a passion that people weren't willing to give up."

However, economic uncertainty did cause many customers to adjust their spending, altering Ski Barn's business in the process.

"We were quite worried with the economy taking a nose dive but people didn't take skiing away from their families. They still rented used equipment... and went locally skiing. They might not have gotten on a plane and spent the big bucks... but they still took their kids skiing," Fallon said.

Increasingly, those customers are reluctant to purchase equipment and apparel but find that they can rent what they need from Ski Barn for a fraction of the cost.

"Seasonal rentals have grown and grown for us," Fallon said. "The rental program is a great value," Talias said. Both say that the growth of the rental aspect of the business has kept the stores' earnings consistent with prior years.

Skiers or snowboarders can rent their equipment for 12 months, and the program starts at $109 for kids' sizes. Although rates vary by the size of equipment someone needs, an adult can pay as little as $169 for the entire season without having to buy personal skis or boards. Fallon and Talias also partner with resorts in the region to offer the "Resort Passport," which provides more than $800 in coupons and giveaways at many of the top area mountains, including Hidden Valley, Mountain Creek and Campgaw in New Jersey, and Hunter and Windham in New York. Fifteen resorts in New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont are included in the offer.

Plus, Fallon and Talias don't offer off-brands. "It's not clunker-type of equipment," Fallon said. The store stocks and rents all of the leading brands, including Atomic and Rossignol skis and K2 and Ride snowboards.

The siblings are avid skiers themselves and can be found on the floor of the store, helping customers. They maintain the outlets' reputation in part by featuring representatives who are knowledgeable about winter sports and can assess a customer's needs, whether they're beginners or experts. Additionally, the stores offer a 100 percent guaranteed fit on all equipment.

"Everyone that works here is passionate about it," Fallon said. "Everyone walks the walk."

The focus on quality has allowed Ski Barn to thrive despite the presence of big box stores that can undercut an independent merchant's prices. 

"They've never really been competition for us," Fallon said. "The true avid skier doesn't want to shop there."

Instead, they come to Ski Barn, which also can be found in Lawrenceville, Eatontown and Wayne.

"We're just friendly skiers doing the right thing for them," Fallon said.