Local entrepreneurs make good on ski wear venture

The sticker on his straight-brimmed cap glinted in the lamplight as Jordan Harper shrugged disapprovingly at the notion of having to “tone down” an entirely purple skiing get-up. He stood tall over a round table completely covered with jackets, pants, scrapbooks and fabric samples, defending the bright and baggy styles splayed before him.
“One man’s crazy is another man’s delight,” said Harper, a senior media arts major at UM.

The sticker on his straight-brimmed cap glinted in the lamplight as Jordan Harper shrugged disapprovingly at the notion of having to “tone down” an entirely purple skiing get-up. He stood tall over a round table completely covered with jackets, pants, scrapbooks and fabric samples, defending the bright and baggy styles splayed before him.
“One man’s crazy is another man’s delight,” said Harper, a senior media arts major at UM.
Harper is a contributing designer of the suit in question and is one of four past and present University of Montana students involved in Saga Outerwear, a Missoula-based business entering its fourth year. The company, which was featured as an editor’s choice in this month’s edition of Freeskier Magazine, began as a project in an entrepreneurship course in the Gallagher School of Business Administration in 2004.
Andy Mallett, a student in business marketing at the time, founded the small business with classmate Austin Stevens, who now lives in Hood River, Ore. After formulating a business plan as part of a 300-level course, the two decided to follow through with its beginning steps and contracted a manufacturer in British Columbia to produce 30 ski-pant and jacket sets.
“It was just a group of friends originally,” said Mallett. “We weren’t trying to do anything crazy, but we ended up selling out of everything in like two weeks.”
Emboldened by their initial success, the two began searching for ways to increase production, eventually opting to work with a number of factories in China able to meet their particular material and construction specifications.
Along with bringing Harper on board, Mallett and Stevens conferred with Gallagher School of Business Internship Director Robert Van Driest to ease growing pains. “I was just basically helping them out as a friend,” said Van Driest. “They come by and we chat once in a while.”
Though he admitted the barriers an entrepreneur faces in constructing a successful small business can be steep, Van Driest said the progress he has seen Saga Outerwear make in the few years since its inception has been impressive. “They have made noticeable improvements in streamlining their business, and I think it’s going to pay off for them,” he said. “They have the drive to make this a success.”
Through Van Driest, Saga added a member to the company’s team this summer: intern Peter Nelson. A senior in business marketing as well as a competitive freestyle skier, Nelson jumped at the opportunity to involve himself with the company for internship credit. “It’s been awesome working with everyone,” he said.
After selling around 500 pants and jackets last season through their Web site, http://www.sagaouterware.com, Saga is looking to nearly double its production for this coming winter. With almost half of last season’s sales occurring overseas, the company hopes to build on its increasing popularity in Europe, which Mallett admits surprised him last winter.
“I didn’t think so many people would trust a Web site from that far away,” he said, “But it kind of saved our asses.”
Saga now sponsors a number of professional freestyle skiers, providing them with clothing, and in some cases cash in return for exposure and product testing. One such team member, Wiley Miller, will be featured in a new ski film playing in Missoula this Wednesday.
The film, “Turbo,” is sponsored by Saga and a host of other skiing companies.  It will play at the Crystal Theatre on Higgins Avenue.  Doors open at 8 p.m., and the movie should begin at 8:45 p.m., according to Harper, who appeared deep in thought before attempting to further describe the event.
“Let’s just say it’s going to be cooler than when your mom used to peel the crust off your sandwiches for you,” Harper said.
william.freihofer@umontana.edu