Winter arrived in earnest early for many parts of the U.S. in November, but it was, for the most part, too late to impact the four-week fiscal month ended November 30. The potential positives from colder weather across much of the country and early mountain snowfall were offset by the shift in the holiday calendar that saw Thanksgiving move to the last week of November this year versus the third week of November last year. The result was only one week of holiday selling in fiscal November versus two weeks in the year-ago month.

The shift in the calendar had a profound effect on the sales trend for the last week of the month (and a corresponding negative impact on the third week), with all categories of business posting positive trends. Helping the situation was a late storm that hit just in time to fuel outerwear and boots sales at the end the month. The resulting overall Outdoor Products business was in negative territory, down 3.4 percent to $1.15 billion for the four-week fiscal November period.

When comparing the 2013 Thanksgiving Week ended November 30 against the 2012 Thanksgiving Week ended November 24 last year, Outdoor Product sales were up more than 35 percent, driven by very strong gains in Outdoor Apparel and double-digit increases in Outdoor Hardgoods. The Outdoor Footwear business was down in the low-single-digits for the comparable week, but Independent Outdoor Specialty and Specialty Internet both posted strong double-digit gains for the period.

Outdoor Apparel Sees Shifting Strengths in November
Outdoor Apparel sales rose just 3.0 percent to $577.5 million as a weak start to the month, the Thanksgiving holiday calendar shift, and shifting category strengths all combined to limit growth for the four-week period ended November 30. As discussed earlier, the loss of the shopping week following Thanksgiving in the November numbers had a significant impact on the business.

Big winners in November included Outdoor Outerwear (excluding Fleece Tops), Baselayers and Outdoor Sportswear. The Outdoor Sportswear category got a lift from increased private label business, particularly in the Long-Sleeve Woven Tops category for fall. Conversations in the market reveal a reluctance by a number of large retailers to invest as heavily in the private label outerwear business due to concerns over inventory ownership should winter fail to materialize. It appears the big guys see the less-weather-dependent sportswear categories as a safer bet. As a comparison, the private label Outerwear business was up for the four-week fiscal month, but market share was flat to down slightly.

Fleece Tops have been isolated from the Outdoor Outerwear category this month to reveal an interesting trend in what has been a very fashion-driven business the last few years.

Outdoor Footwear Posts First Weekly Sales Gain Since April
Outdoor Footwear brought a sea of red to the outdoor market with a few bright spots, as sales fell 16.4 percent to $217.7 million in the four-week fiscal month ended November 30. Sales turned positive the last week of the month, up nearly 12 percent due to the shift in the holiday week. It was the first positive week for Outdoor Footwear since the second week of April when a late winter was anniversarying against summer-like conditions in the year prior. The loss of the Cyber Monday week following Black Friday weekend put a dent in the month as well.

Winter Boots finally got the boost they needed for the holiday period. While category sales were down nearly 10 percent of the fiscal month, Outdoor Winter Boots were up more than 24 percent for the last week of the month on easier comparisons to the Cyber Monday week last year. Still, when combining the Black Friday week and the Cyber Monday week this year versus the comparable holiday weeks last year, Outdoor Winter Boot sales were up more than 25 percent for the two-week period.

The other category that has been a primary drag on the Outdoor Footwear business, Barefoot Footwear, was not as fortunate as the Winter Boot business, posting a decline of nearly 60 percent for the month and last week of the period. If the Barefoot categories were excluded, Outdoor Footwear would have only declined 6 percent for the fiscal month.

Outdoor Hardgoods Gets Late Assist from Early Winter, Late Holiday
Outdoor Hardgoods sales fell 4.1 percent to $353.6 million for the fiscal month of November, as three down weeks early proved difficult to overcome. The last week of fiscal November, however, saw a substantial lift as Black Friday Weekend this year anniversaried against Cyber Monday week last year. The strong finish to the month (+16.6 percent) was not enough to overcome the weak start or the loss of the Cyber Monday week into fiscal December this year.

As a result, the National Accounts Internet business was among the hardest hit channels, but so too was the Independent Outdoor Specialty channel, which tends to perform better the week after Thanksgiving once all the crazy Grey Thursday/Black Friday door-buster sales are in the rear view mirror.

When combining the Black Friday week and the Cyber Monday week this year versus the comparable holiday selling weeks last year, Outdoor Hardgoods sales were up nearly 21 percent, with the total Internet business up more than 50 percent and the Independent Outdoor Specialty channel up in the mid-teens.

Final results for the month are published monthly in the OIA VantagePoint monthly trend report, available free of charge to Outdoor Industry Association members HERE. For more information about becoming an OIA member, visit outdoorindustry.org/join or contact the OIA membership team at 303.444.3353.
 
OIA VantagePoint is the first and only “full market” weekly point-of-sale data reporting platform built specifically for the outdoor industry. OIA VantagePoint weekly and monthly trend reports provide the broadest and most timely view of outdoor product sales available. Category reports are available at no charge to Outdoor Industry Association members and provide comprehensive visibility into the outdoor marketplace by tracking weekly point-of-sale data from more than 10,000 retail doors and websites that carry outdoor products, including nearly 450 specialty locations. It is the broadest view of both brick-and-mortar and Internet sales of outdoor products available in the market. In-depth sales information is available online within four days of the prior-week close – a competitive advantage for businesses, who can shift critical resources and react quickly to ever-changing consumer preferences.
 
Outdoor Industry Association
Based in Boulder, CO, with offices in Washington, D.C., Outdoor Industry Association is the leading trade association for the outdoor industry and the title sponsor of Outdoor Retailer. OIA supports the growth and success of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives and retailers of outdoor recreation apparel, footwear, equipment and services. For more information, visit outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.
 
The SportsOneSource Group
The SportsOneSource Group is a full-service market research company delivering solutions through consumer insight research, retail insight research and retail point-of-sale trending and analysis. The company provides the most reliable, timely and comprehensive sports and outdoor industry information available in the market today. SportScanInfo, SSI Performance, and OIA VantagePoint reports are developed utilizing a proprietary SportsOneSource technology platform to compile, aggregate, and disseminate retail point-of-sale trending information quickly and accurately. The SportsOneSource Group also publishes the Sports Executive Weekly and The B.O.S.S. Report executive newsletters, along with the SGB and SGB Performance print publications and their related online, email and digital products. For more information about The SportsOneSource Group or OIA VantagePoint, call 303.997.7302 or email OIAVantagePoint@SportsOneSource.com.