SKI LIMITED N.C. company acquires Valley business's name

Stock and supplies will be auctioned at 10 a.m. today.
BOARDMAN -- The remains of what was once the nation's largest mail-order water skiing equipment company are to be auctioned off today.
The company name and its Internet site appear to have been acquired by a North Carolina company intent on selling equipment and supplies related to water sports and outdoor recreation.
Beginning at 10 a.m., George Roman Auctioneers of Campbell is to sell off the remaining stock, display cases, clothing racks, office equipment and warehouse items of the store and warehouse of Ski Limited, 7825 South Ave.
But notably absent among the auction lots of boat seats, shelving, filing cabinets and waiting room chairs is the extensive selection of bright-colored, high-gloss water skis the 22-year-old company rode to the top of its mail-order category.
Name remains
The company's catalog grew to include other water sports and related items, from boating goods and wake-riding boards to navigation aids and recreational vehicle supplies, as the outdoor recreation market boomed through the increased popularity of boating, hiking, camping and other pursuits.
A woman at the auction firm would not comment about today's sale, referring questions to Vic Daprile, Ski Limited president, while the company called Boardman home. A call to Daprile's home was not returned.
While the store and mail-order business are gone, the Ski Limited name remains. Its Internet site, www.skilimited.com, now shows a Bethel, N.C., business address and phone number, although it retains the toll-free order line, (800) 477-4040.
A call to the store's listed number in Boardman elicited a phone company recording noting the number had been changed to the North Carolina number. A call seeking comment from company executives there was not returned.
Long online
The closing comes about 10 years after Ski Limited began selling on the Internet.
In a May 2001 story in The Vindicator, Daprile said he expected Internet sales to grow by nearly 50 percent for most of that year, with the growth rate tapering off late in the year or in 2002. At that time, the Internet sales trend for the company was increasing markedly as customers became more comfortable with online buying.
"They found this to be a convenient way to do business with us," Daprile said then, when the company had about 65 employees. About 80 percent of the online customers were regular Ski Limited customers, he said.