Burton Snowboards Announces Flagship Retail Store in Chicago

[bustamove]

BURLINGTON, VT (March 26, 2007)—Burton Snowboards stakes its claim today in the Midwest with the announcement that it will open a flagship Burton retail store in the Gold Coast shopping district of Chicago in late fall, 2007.

“Snowboarding traces its roots back to a product called the ‘Snurfer’, which was invented and manufactured in the Midwest in the ‘60s,” says Jake Burton, Founder and Chairman of Burton Snowboards. “In fact, the first snowboarding contest I ever competed in on a Burton Snowboard was held in Michigan, and one of Burton’s very first distributors (AWH Sales) was in Evanston, IL. To now open a flagship store in Chicago completes a circle that has been 30 years in the making. I’m stoked to see this happen and I know that current, Midwestern pro-riders like Molly and Mason Aguirre and Danny Davis are equally proud and happy.”

The Burton store, which will be located at 56 E. Walton Street in downtown Chicago, will feature all the latest gear from the Burton family of brands, including Burton snowboards, boots, bindings, outerwear, lifestyle apparel and luggage; ANON sunglasses and goggles; R.E.D. protective gear; Analog clothing and Gravis shoes and accessories.

Visitors to the store can also look forward to ongoing special events, including athlete autograph sessions, parties, charity events, art and action sports photograph exhibitions, women’s specific events and Burton Learn To Ride clinics at local resorts. In addition, Burton will hire store employees based on their product knowledge and passion for snowboarding, which is one of the reasons that Burton is well known for its outstanding levels of customer service.

At over 8,000 square feet, the Burton store will showcase a wide selection of products in a multi-floor, townhouse-style building including an entire floor dedicated to women. The primary partners on this project include Tres Birds Workshop Architects of Boulder, Colorado and Chicago’s own Turner Construction Special Projects.

“There are definitely a lot of opportunities to grow the sport in this part of the country, and the new Chicago store is one of the ways that we can show more people what snowboarding is all about,” says Laurent Potdevin, Burton’s Chief Executive Officer. “The spacious, multi-floor design of the Chicago store will tell the story of snowboarding in a way that draws in new and lifelong riders alike.”

The Chicago store joins a growing number of Burton stores worldwide, including its flagship store at the company’s Burlington, Vermont headquarters; a store at the Burton European Headquarters in Innsbruck, Austria; its first urban location in New York City’s SoHo district; and the most recent addition in
Tokyo, Japan. Burton-owned Gravis Footwear also has a freestanding store in Tokyo.

About Burton Snowboards
In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn. Since then, Burton has fueled the growth of snowboarding worldwide through its groundbreaking product lines, its team of top snowboarders and its grassroots efforts to get the sport accepted at resorts. In 1996, Burton began growing its family of brands to include board sports equipment and apparel brands. Privately held and owned by Jake, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with international offices in Austria and Japan. For more information, visit www.burton.com.

Source:
Dawn De La Fuente
Burton Snowboards