Alpin House pop-up store opens in Hamilton Square
GUILDERLAND — Alpin Haus has opened a seasonal pop-up shop in Guilderland’s Hamilton Square. The store opened Dec. 1 and will close in late February.
The store offers apparel and accessories, said Alpin Haus ski manager James Georgelos. This includes ski jackets, everyday casual jackets, helmets, goggles, boots including UGG and Hunter brands, gloves, ski socks, and high-end coolers and insulated cups.
The store also takes in skis and snowboards for maintenance services such as waxing and stonegrinding.
The Guilderland store is too limited in size to be able to sell or rent skis or snowboards, as it does in its Clifton Park and Amsterdam stores, said Georgelos.
Alpin Haus is a family business based out of Amsterdam that opened its first store more than 50 years ago, in 1964, said Georgelos. In the summertime, the company switches over to installing swimming pools, Georgelos said.
In addition to the two ski shops, Georgelos said, Alpin Haus also sells recreational vehicles, at locations in Amsterdam, Saratoga, and Port Jervis.
The pool division has brought the company a lot of customers in the Guilderland area, Georgelos said, and Alpin Haus wanted to test the market in town with the pop-up store. So far, he said, it has been a good concept, and the customers coming in seem excited to have an Alpin Haus in town.
The company saw a lot of potential in the area, because it is “super busy” and close to Crossgates Mall, Georgelos said.
If the pop-up store continues to do well, it is “not outside the realm of possibility” that the company could open a year-round store in Guilderland eventually, Georgelos said.