STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

First Lite went where their customers told them they wanted to buy their hunting apparel. Club Ride has started using #TestedInIdaho as a tool to attract customers.

And SCOTTeVEST threw a Hail Mary after sales of its multi-pocket clothing went flat between 2011 to 2015—and sales burgeoned.

These are three Sun Valley-based companies that have found ways to stay relevant in a world that has become dominated by Amazon.

They and a few others were spotlighted during Sun Valley Economic Development’s second quarter member forum held this past week at the Limelight Hotel.

The subject of the meeting was E-commerce, with the focus on how local businesses can buy and sell products online to their advantage and how the digital market might change the face of Main Street retail.

Nearly every one of the 50-plus people in the room indicated they had ordered something online in the past week.

And that shows why the digital economy has enjoyed an astonishing growth rate—5. 6 percent from 2006 to 2016, versus 1.5 percent growth rate for brick-and-mortar businesses, said Harry Griffith, SVED’s  executive director.

Seattle-based Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is winning business from older, big box rivals by delivering virtually any product at a low cost and often faster than it takes to buy goods from a physical store. It acquired Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion last year to help it send groceries to shoppers' doorsteps.

Its net income rose to $1.6 billion, or $3.27 per share in the quarter ended March 31—way above the $1.26 per share analysts had expected.

The digital economy in Idaho has grown 850 percent since 1991, while ee-commerce in South-Central Idaho has grown 600 percent and Blaine County, 750 percent.

After six years of trying, the Idaho Legislature approved House Bill 578 this past session, requiring the collection of 6 percent sales tax from out of state sellers with more than $10,000 in sales beginning July 1.  A lot of the major internet sellers, including Amazon,  backcountry.com, Orbitz, Homeaway, AirBnB and Kayak,  already have been collecting and  remitting sales tax to cities, Griffith noted.

The new measure designed to level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers  could bring in $22 million to $37 million a year in currently uncollected sales taxes, estimated the bill’s author Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls.

Things are changing so fast in retail that they need to be measured in days, rather than years, said Scott Montgomery, who heads up the Sun Valley-based CrankTank, which provides consultation for businesses.

Quoting Nike’s CEO Mark Parker: “The consumer has decided digital isn’t just a part of the shopping experience. Digital is the foundation of it.”

The more technological the product, such as bicycles, the more consumers will turn to local businesses because of the need for assistance, Montgomery said. For shoes and other less technological products, they’re more likely to shop digitally, he added.

There will always be a niche for businesses like hardware stores that can provide a customer with what he needs to fix his leak immediately, rather than having to wait for Amazon to deliver. And stores can gain an edge by offering experiential service.

“They may come in because you know what trails are riding the best.And, along the way, they’ll buy your product,” said Scott Robinson, who co-founded First Lite.

Brick-and-mortar businesses have to put time into websites and social media to keep up, said Adrian Montgomery. The upshot is that this can provide good jobs for young people in the valley.

“If you’re not willing to learn on a quarterly basis, you can’t keep up,” added Scott Montgomery. “I spend 10 hours a week learning, and I can’t stop.”

#TestedInIdaho was born out of the belief that Idaho offers some of the nation’s most rigorous testing grounds for outdoor products.  It seems to be a way to shine light on Idaho-based recreation technology companies and tell their stories.

Among them, Club Ride, a Ketchum-based bicycle apparel company, and First Lite, which was founded by Robinson and a friend looking for the right hunting wardrobe.

A growing number of local businesses are using the internet to their advantage. Gail Severn Gallery, for instance, does more than half of its sales online selling to customers around the world. DECKED often offers would-be customers a chance to go online at a certain time to learn all about its latest products.

First Lite started with the traditional business model, going to trade shows where retailers would order products and then First Lite would make products to fill those orders as fast as possible. But company leaders prefer being able to deal with customers directly over the internet where they can have personal contact.

The company’s revenue has grown since they began hosting a platform on Amazon.

“We can talk about what we’re doing and build a community around our brand. And we can do it all here,” said Robinson. “We’ve grown to 15 employees—all with well-paying jobs and full benefits. “

SQN Sport experimented as it tried to find its niche, said founder Megan Murphy Lengyel. Eventually it downsized from four stores to two, maintaining one in Malibu and moving one from Ketchum to Sun Valley Village where Lengyel thought there’d be more traffic from out-of-town visitors.

SQN Sport also hosts 20 trunk shows across the country each year and offers customers the opportunity to become ambassadors for the brand, earning commissions for every sale they refer. The company is in the process of adding a moble app for independent sales reps to make it easy to place orders.

SCOTTeVEST worked hard to resist what Marshall Rule called “the evil empire.” But sales went up as soon as the company went on Amazon. The company now does a quarter of its business on Amazon and the rest via its own website. It also has done some TV marketing.

This platform enables the company to have a personal touch, asking customers, for instance, how they’re recent safari went. Brick-and-mortar stores could do the same thing, gathering information on their customers and using it to tag phones to get them into the store, he said.

Hailey City Planner Lisa Horowitz wanted to know more. The popular refrain “Buy Local” has become outdated, she noted.

“People are saying what’s going to be left? If King’s not there, am I going to buy a pair of underwear from Wildflower for $30 or am I going to go online?”

“What does a vibrant community look like now?” asked Hailey City Council member Kaz Thea. “Is it restaurants?”

Sun Valley Economic Development will continue to address this subject, said David Patrie, the organization’s outreach director. It has, for instance, scheduled an expert on downtown vitality to speak at its annual Economic Summit, which will be held Oct. 30.

DUAL-DENSITY HEARING

The Sun Valley Economic Development has initiated a dual-density initiative in hopes of providing more affordable housing near St. Luke’s Wood River. It will have its second hearing May 10.

Shortage of housing remains the No. 1 barrier to expansion and growth in the valley, said David Patrie, the organization’s outreach director.

“We need creative solutions for developing more housing,” he said.