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Snow Sports Retail Sales Set Record;
(Press Release, May 29, 1998)—Strong selling from snowsports specialty stores in February and March pulled the industry ahead of last season and established the second consecutive year of record sales of snowsports products at the retail level. Retail sales for the 1997/98 winter season (August 1997 through March 1998) were 2.2-billion dollars, 6.2 percent ahead of last year's 2.1-billion dollars. Chain stores showed a 12.4 percent increase over last year's 549.6-million dollars, while specialty stores posted a 4.2-percent increase to 1.7-billion dollars. Sales in February and March represented 26 percent of all sales for the year at specialty stores, well above the traditional twenty percent for the period. Chain stores saw eighteen percent of season sales in the same period, according to the fifth and final SnowSports Industries America (SIA) Top-Line Retail Audit for the 1997/98 winter season, which was released today. "We can attribute the great February and March sales to three things—El NiÑo, the Olympics, and lower prices at retail," said SIA President David Ingemie. El NiÑo dumped huge amounts of spring snow in the West, prompting skiers, snowboarders, and snowshoers to shop for gear and clothing. The Winter Olympic Games from Nagano, Japan in February increased interest in snow sports, which encouraged people to get out on the slopes. And retailers cut prices on much of the merchandise in their stores in March to accommodate spring clearance sales, said Ingemie. Fo r example, in 1995 snowboards in specialty stores sold for an average of 325 dollars and 273 dollars in chain stores. In 1998, boards averaged 260 dollars at specialty stores and 163 dollars at chains. The drop in average price can be attributed to a glut of snowboards on the market that started two years ago. The Alpine ski story is a bit more difficult to decipher. In 1996, the average retail price for a pair of adult skis at specialty stores was 319 dollars and in chain stores it was 231 dollars. In 1998, the average retail price in specialty stores was 358 dollars and in chains 256 dollars. These current prices, however, reflect a leveling out in the price of shaped skis, which were introduced in meaningful numbers for the 1996 season, but mostly as high-end models. The 1997/98 season saw shaped skis in almost every category of every line, which meant more shaped skis available to the consumer at more price points. Last year, the average price for shaped skis at specialty stores was 393 dollars. This season, the average price for shaped skis at specialty stores is 376 dollars. Since January 1998, 73 percent of all shaped skis sold this season came from specialty stores, almost all at reduced prices. "For sure, the market has switched over to shaped skis," said K2's Stu Rempel. "Our entire mix is shaped skis." Sig Fossum, owner of Sporthaus, Yakima, Washington, confirmed the shaped-ski popularity. "Shaped skis were the lead for us and that helped our binding sales," he said, predicting that sales of shaped skis will continue to grow. "Only fifteen percent to twenty percent of the people have shaped skis, so we'll be selling a lot of them next year." Another emerging trend is the growing sales from chain stores. This year, for instance, 25 percent of dollars spent on Alpine skis were at chain stores, compared to twenty percent last season. "The bigger [chain] stores, especially out West, did better this year," said Rempel. "They can advertise better and show aggressive prices." Chain stores are also making inroads in clothing categories. "Most definitely chain stores represent a larger share of our income and revenue," said M'Lissa Sampson-Story, marketing and public relations director for Bombshell, manufacturer of snowboard clothing for women. "In order for a small company like us to survive we have to go into certain chains." Without a doubt, snowboard products pushed chain-store sales figures this past year. Snowboard equipment units sold at chain stores were up 86 percent over last year and snowboard apparel units increased 151 percent. But breaking out snowboard-specific clothing has become somewhat fuzzy. "We see a blending of ski and snowboard apparel lines," said Sampson-Story. "We're not changing our lines, but we feel we're free to go after skiers with our marketing efforts. Skiers want the looser styles, but with functionality. There's a real blurring of what is snowboard and what is ski." The growing allure of wilderness and extreme experiences was evident from the Retail Audit. Backcountry ski sales were up dramatically-361 percent over 1997 in specialty stores—giving credence to the wave of freeriding that is sweeping the snow-sports industry. As more people were attracted to the wilderness on snowboards and skis, sales of specialty equipment soared. For the year, backcountry skis recorded 9.8-million dollars in sales at specialty stores, approaching traditional cross country skis that had sales of fifteen-million dollars. Contributing to the rush of backcountry activity, snowshoe sales were up 236 percent (8.2-million dollars) at specialty stores and 149 percent (five-million dollars) at the chains. "One of the trends we see is a decrease in price at retail for snowshoes," said Yuba Shoes Sports Shoes' Melissa McKenzie. "Lower prices make the sport more accessible to more people. Lower-priced shoes are attractive to families. But we saw a real diversity this season. Our highly technical backcountry shoe sold well as did our entry level model." McKenzie said that retailers are more savvy about snowshoes and make customers comfortable with the concept of trying a new sport. She also said more resorts are offering snowshoeing as a diversion for vacationers, which increases the sports' profile and popularity. In other product categories, snowboard step-in bindings and snowboard apparel sales continued strong at both specialty and chain stores. Step-ins were up 79 percent in sales (7.7-million dollars) at specialty stores and up 132 percent (1.4-million dollars) at chain stores. Snowboard apparel rose 55 percent (74.4-million dollars) at specialty stores and 110 percent (22-million dollars) at the chains. Shaped skis continue to dominate the Alpine ski category, representing 60 percent of all alpine skis sold in 1997/98. Total dollars spent on shaped skis industry-wide was 222.8-million dollars, while the total amount spent on all Alpine skis was 292-million dollars. The SIA Top-Line Retail Audit tracks retail sales of snow-sports equipment and clothing during the selling season and provides a current snapshot of the industry. Data from a nationwide, representative sample of stores is used to prepare the retail audits. The SIA Top-Line Retail Audits are prepared for SIA by Leisure Trends Group/Recreation Research of Boulder, Colorado. Here are some representative figures from the Audit, listed by product category:
Equipment Alpine skis slipped 1.3 percent to 227.7-million dollars in sales at specialty shops. Of that, shaped skis showed a 36-percent gain to 176.2-million dollars over last year. All ski sales rebounded at chain stores nineteen percent to 64.3-million dollars, with shaped ski sales up 94 percent to 46.6-million dollars. Alpine boots dropped in specialty stores nine percent from last year to 192.6-million dollars. Chain store sales of alpine boots moved up 32 percent, to 70.8-million dollars. Nordic equipment (cross country skis, boots, bindings, poles) gained 34 percent at specialty stores to 48.3-million dollars, and dropped two percent to 41.3-million dollars at the chains. Equipment accessories (eyewear, auto racks, snowshoes) at specialty stores were up 32 percent to 216.2-million dollars, while at chain stores, equipment accessories were down ten percent to 35.1-million dollars.
Clothing Apparel accessories (hats, gloves, underwear) showed a nineteen-percent drop at specialty stores to 188.9-million dollars, and a sixteen-percent decrease to 70.5-million dollars at chain stores. All Alpine outerwear tops at specialty stores increased four percent from last year to 285.6-million dollars. Chain store Alpine tops increased ten percent to 115.9-million dollars. The one-two-three layering concept made for strong sales of fleece items, with bottoms surging 59 percent in units at specialty stores and 226 percent at chains, while fleece tops increased 39 percent in units at specialty stores and 23 percent in chains. Total sales for fleece tops and bottoms reached 81.3- million dollars for the season. Bolstered by the recent retro-looking ski sweater trend, sales of sweaters were up nine percent in specialty stores and 30 percent in chain stores, representing 35.5-million dollars in sales for the season. SnowSports Industries America (SIA) is the national, nonprofit, member-owned trade association of competing snow sports product manufacturers, suppliers and distributors working together to promote and develop the snow sports industry. SIA produces over a dozen industry studies such as the Facts & Figures on the On-Snow Industry and Snowtrack. For more information, check out the SIA Web site, SnowLink, at: www.snowlink.com or the SIA Fax-On-Demand service: 1-800- 730-3636.
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