With the arrival of Labor Day weekend and specks of autumn color beginning to dot the mountainside, local outdoor retailers are clearing out their summer stock.
Both Cole Sport and Jans Mountain Outfitters are holding annual sales to get ready for the winter season. The Cole Sport sale runs from Thursday through the end of September, or until the sale merchandise is gone, while the Jans Mountain Outfitters event begins Friday and ends Monday.
“We need to make room for the next winter,” said Scott Cahoon, operations manager for Cole Sport, adding that the sale is one of two annual blowout sales, the other being held in the spring. “That’s pretty much what it’s all about.”
Jans Mountain Outfitters’ event also is the second of two annual large sales.
“We take advantage that people are coming into town for Labor Day,” said Jack Walzer, general manager. “It’s a big enough deal for us that the word gets out.”
In addition to offering sales on summer merchandise, both stores are trying to clear out last year’s stock of winter items before it’s time to load up the shelves again this year. Walzer said he hoped to get the new winter merchandise on the sales floor by the beginning of October.
Cahoon said Cole Sport has had its fall sale every year since before he began working at the store 21 years ago. Customers have come to count on it around this time each year.
“We have customers who, since we’ve done it for so many years, plan on shopping our sales every year,” Cahoon said. “They come in looking for the deals they know they’re going to find.”