OIA and SportsOneSource to Launch New Retail Point-of-Sale Reporting Platform

The new platform, scheduled to launch in February 2010, will provide broad, in-depth coverage of weekly retail sales of outdoor products in channels ranging from full-line sporting goods and outdoor specialty stores to family footwear, department stores and Internet/catalog retailers. The new Internet-based reporting system is a result of an eight month audit of retailers and manufacturers and will be available via the OIA website (outdoorindustry.org). It replaces the Top Line Report service provided by Leisure Trends Group, whose contract with OIA expires at the close of 2009.

“Once presented with the new platform and member benefits, the OIA board unanimously endorsed this shift to the SportsOneSource platform and launching this new product for the industry,” said Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of OIA, in an interview with Sports Executive Weekly.

“Our members asked for more timely reporting, expanded benefits and more robust and accurate data. They wanted a fuller view of data across channels of distribution, and we'll now be able to provide all that and much more.”

But the major difference is that the new service will provide much broader coverage and market projections – tracking nine retail trade channels versus the current three that OIA tracks in the current Top Line Report. Beyond the current outdoor specialty, chain specialty and Internet channels, the new OIA platform powered by SportScanInfo will track the sporting goods, mall specialty, department store, family/independent footwear, discount/mass and additional niche specialty segments.  The platform does not project for Walmart or Target.  

Hugelmeyer said that the economic downturn has accelerated the major shifts in consumer behavior and that OIA member companies are looking for quicker, faster and more complete information. 

“The outdoor lifestyle is rapidly evolving and businesses need to evolve at the same speed,” said Hugelmeyer. “The outdoor consumer is shopping in multiple channels of distribution and participating in a wider variety of activities. The new point-of-sale research will track these relevant trade channels and expand the coverage of activities so that OIA members are ahead of the curve and understand the full impact of the market shifts.” 

Through its SportScanInfo technology, SportsOneSource tracks more than 15,000 stores and websites compared to the nearly 650 currently being tracked by the Top Line Report, said Hugelmeyer.

Hugelmeyer said a number of major companies and retailers focused on the outdoor space will be participating in the tracking service that didn't in the past, including Eastern Mountain Sports.

For over ten years, SportScanInfo.com has provided 24×7 access to weekly trending data of outdoor and sporting good products, but had not tracked enough outdoor specialty stores in the apparel or hardgoods categories to provide projection data within a statistically relevant margin of error – but that changed over the last few years as SportsOneSource worked to add more specialty retail businesses to the  retail reporting group.          

“The SSI technology has been the only source to weekly retail point-of-sale data across the entire scope of the sporting goods market,” said James Hartford, president and CEO of The SportsOneSource Group.  “Our current platform at SportScanInfo.com provides weekly sales trending data from running shoes, basketball shoes, hiking boots and sandals to fitness equipment, team equipment, sports licensed products, camping and backpacking equipment, and hunting and fishing products.”

Hartford said the new OIA platform will utilize the same data as the current and future SportScanInfo.com platform, but the data will be organized into unique trade channels and geographic regions to better address the needs of the active outdoor lifestyle market.

“SportsOneSource was planning to launch its own outdoor specialty platform in February,” continued Hartford. “We have been collecting specialty retail data all year in preparation for that launch. SOS will instead focus its energy on the OIA platform partnership and the current SportScanInfo.com platform.”

The other major benefit in the new OIA platform is the timeliness of reporting, with weekly, monthly and quarterly data available to users just five days after the period closes. OIA members will have 24/7 online access to the sales summary reports graphing capability that tracks sales back up to four years and will also receive a discount on expanded access to product and brand level detailed reporting.  Finally, the service features enhanced usability and interactive functionality that will make the online tools much easier to use.

Outdoor Industry Association is encouraging all outdoor specialty retailers and OIA members to enroll with The SportsOneSource Group to report point-of-sale data into the new platform. There is no cost to retailers and they will receive complimentary, full access to the platform regardless of OIA membership.

A “beta” version of the new service will be launched at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. The current Top Line Report prepared by Leisure Trends will be available through the end of this year.

“This view across the full spectrum of selling channels and regions is critical to thoroughly understanding the entire retail landscape and identifying trends and opportunities,” said Hugelmeyer. “OIA is extremely pleased to partner with The SportsOneSource Group to provide this beneficial service.”