According to the Manufacturers Sales by Category Report issued by SGMA, wholesale sales growth of sporting goods, sports apparel, athletic footwear, licensed merchandise, and recreational transportation products outpaced overall growth seen on the retail side as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
While the Census Bureau reports that Total Retail and Food Service sales in 2006 grew 5.9% over 2005, the SGMA saw wholesale sporting goods sales increase 7.6% over the same time period. Sports Equipment and Apparel both drove the gains, but were partially offset by slower growth in Footwear, Exercise Equipment and Licensed merchandise.
Generating significant gains in Equipment sales were Fishing, which was up 34.9% to $1.5 billion; Archery, which was up 10.3% to $350 million; Soccer, which was up 7.1% to $300 million; Baseball/Softball, which was up 6.0% to $527 million; and Firearms/Hunting, which was up 5.0% to $2.2 billion.
In apparel, Team Uniforms saw strong growth, while Branded Athletic and Active Apparel also saw gains.
| SGMA: Wholesale Sales by Category | |||
| Full Year 2006 | |||
| (in $ millions) | 2006* | 2005* | Change |
| Total Sports and Rec Transport | $114,485 | $106,438 | +7.6% |
| Total Recreational Transport | $39,792 | $36,746 | +8.3% |
| Total Sports | $74,693 | $69,691 | +7.2% |
| Total Licensed Merchandise | $8,258 | $7,940 | +4.0% |
| Total Sports Apparel | $28,822 | $26,648 | +8.2% |
| Total Athletic Footwear | $12,327 | $11,957 | +3.1% |
| Total Exercise | $4,662 | $4,428 | +5.3% |
| Total Sports Equipment | $20,624 | $18,718 | +10.2% |
| Total Golf | $2,972 | $2,913 | +2.0% |
| Total Camping | $1,659 | $1,644 | +0.9% |
| Total Baseball/Softball | $527 | $497 | +6.0% |
| Total Ski | $506 | $507 | -0.2% |
| *in thousands | |||
