November Outdoor Product Sales Outpace Market

 

If a stellar Black Friday and steady sales throughout the fiscal four-week month of November was any indication, consumers have finally returned to the aisles in search of discretionary items –  at deeply discounted prices, of course.   Still, on the specialty side of the business it appears that consumers are perhaps mirroring the trends seen in the luxury retail businesses as that “NPR Consumer” started to satisfy some of their “wants” last month by plunking down their credit cards on better discretionary purchases for themselves and others even as much colder weather pushed consumers into stores to satisfy their “needs” for the season.

“Consumer spending is starting to shift slightly as discounts and promotions are tempting consumers to purchase items for themselves,” said  LaRae Marsik, vice president of business intelligence at the Outdoor Industry Association. “Many of the top outdoor brands are invigorating their presence online for good reason.  The Internet and e-commerce channels continue to expand and offer broader inventory selection for consumers who are looking for the shopping trifecta of choice, convenience and value.  Brands that provide the whole package are seeing consumer spending grow despite a hesitant economy.”

Overall consolidated retail market same-store sales were up a healthy 5.8% from November 2009, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which tracks 31 major retail chains, excluding Wal-Mart. In early November, the ICSC forecast consolidated comps would improve between 3.0% and 3.5%, but the association said the aforementioned factors, along with easy comparisons versus the year-ago period, propelled results handily past estimates.

The Outdoor Products business saw a major lift from weather versus November 2009 which was warmer than usual.  As seen in the graph below, sales of Outdoor Apparel and Outdoor Footwear accelerated throughout the month.  Outdoor Hardgoods got a bit of a lift as Snow Sports items and Accessories like Handwarmers and Footwarmers flew off the shelves.

 

The channel trends in the outdoor market are a real reflection of the overall consolidated retail market – luxury and specialty out-performed the low-end, department stores took share on more aggressive (and earlier) promoting and the Internet is aggressively taking share in the retail business, through the online operations of traditional retailers, through pure-play Internet players or increasingly through the direct online stores operated by the brands.

These look to be the new market realities — at least for the short term as consumers react rather than plan.

The Outdoor Footwear business saw a reversal of fortunes in the four-week fiscal month of November as weather turned more seasonal, resulting in a twenty point swing in the variance line for the consolidated category business across all channels versus last year.  After posting a low-teens decline in October, the Outdoor Footwear market swung nearly 10% to the positive in November, driven by strong double-digit gains in the market bookends represented by the Independent Outdoor Specialty and Discount/Mass channels and mid-teens growth in the Outdoor Chain Specialty channel.

Low– to mid-teens growth in the outdoor specialty channels, represented by the Independent Outdoor Specialty and Outdoor Chain Specialty channels, was only surpassed by the strong double-digit gains seen in the Internet and Department Stores businesses, where discounting and promotional activity reached a fever pitch in the last week of the fiscal month of November that included Black Friday weekend.

With ski resorts in the Rockies reporting snow bases of more than 60 inches by month-end and many resorts in the Sierras opening early, it’s no wonder the Outdoor Apparel business, driven by Outdoor Outerwear, posted a break-out month, with consolidated sales up in the low-teens for the period. Low– to mid-teens growth in the outdoor specialty channels, represented by the Independent Outdoor Specialty and Outdoor Chain Specialty channels, was only surpassed by the strong double-digit gains seen in the Internet and Department Stores businesses, where discounting and promotional activity reached a fever pitch in the last week of the fiscal month of November that included Black Friday weekend.

Outdoor Apparel was a larger share of all apparel product sold through the outdoor specialty channels in November (95.9%) than it was in October (94.5%), but the category still fell short of the share of sales held in the channels in November last year (96.4%).

Outdoor Outerwear was the clear driver of the month’s fortunes, representing 53.0% of all Outdoor Apparel sold across the market in November versus just 42.9% of sales in the prior-year month.  The fashion trends in Outdoor Outerwear have also provided a stronger YTD position for the category this year.

Outdoor Hardgoods turned positive in November as the declines in the outdoor specialty channels, represented by Independent Outdoor Specialty and Outdoor Chain Specialty, grew last month after posting declines in October.  The result was a slightly positive month for the consolidated Outdoor Hardgoods business as the outdoor specialty increases helped offset declines in the Sporting Goods Retailers channel. 

 

Consistent with the overall retail market this holiday season, the real driver for the business last month was the Internet, which continues to post big gains (+29.3%) across the board – especially in hardgoods.  Growth also accelerated in the Discount/Mass channel, marking the channel as the other major beneficiary of the early holiday shopping trend towards lower prices.