The Gart name is synonymous with excellence in sports retailing. After the sale of the original Gart Bros. Sporting Goods business, the Gart family started Specialty Sports Venture in 1994, a unique concept in the ski and outdoor business. A dominant specialty retailer in a narrow niche, SSV is one of the largest ski and snowboard retailers, rental operators and specialty bike shop chains in the United States. In partnership with Vail Resorts and the principals of The Gart Companies, Specialty Sports Venture owns more than 160 shops generating over $180 million in annual sales with stores in every major ski resort in Colorado and stores in Heavenly, South Lake Tahoe, CA, Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and the San Francisco Bay Area.

SSV combines nationally recognized large metropolitan area stores such as Colorado Ski and Golf, Any Mountain, and Bicycle Village, with premier resort locations. Each shop employs staff that love and actively participate in the sports they sell and who deliver a high level of service. All transparent systems are centralized and buying is handled within each market to cater to local preferences. The shop consortium is managed by The Gart Companies.

See www.ssv.net for more information.