Trailheads

Driving into Intervale, NH, we sense the seasons changing. It’s blustery, but on the horizon, snow has retreated to the tops of the White Mountains, signaling spring is near. “We call this mud season,” says Cort Hanson, vice president of Ragged 

Mountain Equipment in Intervale, NH. “This is the quiet time of the year.” It’s mid-April, and the Trailheads crew is visiting Ragged Mountain as part of our New England Switchback Road Show. While this is the quiet time of the year, change is in the air at Ragged Mountain Equipment.

New Ownership

Founded in 1978, Ragged Mountain is one of the older stores in the outdoor industry, and Hanson has worked there since the 1980s. He tells us that he’ll soon turn over the reins to a new store owner, Jack Smith, a Southern California native who has worked as a proficiency expert in many industries.

“I got into business resilience,” Smith tells us as we gather in an upstairs office. While working for Booz Allen Hamilton, Smith created programs to strengthen companies and groups by focusing on the people, culture, and communications. He even developed a program to ensure the U.S. House of Representatives would continue functioning after an evacuation.

Smith later owned a small soda manufacturing company in Rhode Island. When he sold that company, he searched for a new business opportunity and discovered Ragged Mountain Equipment.

“Having Jack here gives us a fresh perspective,” says Hanson, noting that a store that has operated for decades will benefit from someone with new viewpoints and skills.

Smith’s expertise in operations should prove especially helpful for Ragged Mountain, because the complex business includes retail and manufacturing.

Apparel and Softgoods Manufacturing

Since the 1980s, Ragged Mountain Equipment has produced apparel and accessories in its Intervale facility. The company dedicates 3,000 square feet of its 8,000-square-foot building to making base layers, synthetic fleece apparel, wool garments and blankets, gloves, mittens, hats, and other softgoods, such as travel bags. Ragged Mountain creates house-brand products for its retail store and manufactures pieces for different companies.

Before Rob Nadler founded Ragged Mountain, he made climbing chalk bags and sold them out of his trunk, so the company’s roots are actually in manufacturing. In the mid-80s, the business had a close relationship with Malden Mills and pioneered popular fabrics such as Windbloc and Powerstretch.

During our visit, we walk through Ragged Mountain’s first floor—a bright, orderly retail showroom—and ascend stairs into a completely different world.

Hanson and Smith lead us through a labyrinth of rooms packed with fabric samples, cutting tables, sewing machines, and knitting equipment. They take us up old wooden stairs to ascend a rustic tower that houses endless bolts of fabric.

About six or seven people work in manufacturing, many of whom have been with the company for 10 to 30 years. Rather than working on a standard production line, the workers use their advanced skills to sew garments from start to finish. According to Hanson, this not only makes the work more interesting but also prevents injuries from repetitive motions.

As Smith prepares to take over the operation, he’s pretty pleased with things and doesn’t foresee making radical changes. “I’d say things are working, but any business can have some tweaks,” he says, noting that he’ll look at an array of operations and perhaps improve the website. “It’s really just focusing on making things easier and less inhibiting,” he says.

Experience and Expertise

In some cases, new owners must rehab the business they’re inheriting. But Smith says he’s entering a company with a solid foundation and good reputation.

“One thing that really appealed to me with this company and this brand is that so many customer comments and reviews said the staff are experts,” says Smith. “They know their stuff, and to be respected as an expert…it says a lot.”

Key to Ragged Mountain’s success are its employees who have worked for the company for years and have expanded their skills and knowledge. That’s the case with retail as well as manufacturing.

“We have a pretty strong ski department,” says Hanson, explaining that longtime employees have decades of experience fitting skis and ski boots, and many customers will go to Ragged Mountain and nowhere else for these things. “They won’t go to the ski shops in their own neighborhood because they feel they don’t have the expertise,” says Hanson.

The store is also known as an information source on local hikes, and a sign outside the store advertises “White Mountains Trail Info.”

“I try to find staff who live in the area or are actively hiking so that they can share their knowledge if somebody asks them a question,” says Hanson. “We also keep maps handy on the counter, so we can point things out if a customer has a question.”

In addition, the store offers a brochure with suggested hikes and a list of the 10 essentials for hiking, and distributes the brochures to local accommodations and the Chamber of Commerce.

Challenges Ahead

While good employees have fueled Ragged Mountain’s success, finding them could become more difficult due to changes in the local economy.

“In the last five or six years, there’s been a huge change in the real estate market here,” says Hanson, explaining that many affordable rental properties have become expensive Airbnbs. As a result, there are fewer places for prospective store employees to live. “We’ve had employees who have driven an hour to get here.”

Hanson says the lack of affordable housing is reflected in the local restaurant industry. “Ten years ago, most of the restaurants in the valley here were open seven days a week. And now many are closed two or three days a week.”

Like the changing seasons, New Hampshire’s mountain towns are undergoing their own transformations. But Smith is optimistic that Ragged Mountain will stand the test of time, as it always has.

“I’m a culture guy,” he says. “So, I pay attention to the culture of the community and this company. When the Cort told me employees have been here 30 years…where do you find that? It’s a testament to this business.”

Visit Trailheads in the coming weeks to read more store profiles from our New England Switchback Roadshow.