Outdoor Industry Association is updating its Outdoor Retailers Financial & Operations Benchmarking Survey for the first time since 2009. The aggregated data that come from this survey will allow retailers to compare key productivity measures, gross margins, operating expenses, product mix and much more with their peers.


Participating retailers will receive two reports: (1) the summary Retailers Financial & Operations Benchmarking Report and (2) a personalized Profit Improvement Profile (PIP). This 25-page report – an estimated $10,000 value that OIA member participants receive at no cost – compares participating retailers with similar firms and provides suggestions for improving profitability.  Along with the PIP, participants will receive access to Profit Toolkit Online, a Microsoft® Excel spreadsheet that provides simple tools to help plan and track improvement.


Each company’s information is absolutely safe and confidential. All participant data sets are treated with complete confidentially by Profit Planning Group, the administrators of the survey. Data are aggregated in a way that prevents identification of any individual firm. All survey forms and files are destroyed after processing.


“Identifying how key productivity and profitability measures compare against a field of competitive firms is an invaluable business tool as today’s marketplace continues to shift,” said LaRae Marsik, vice president of business intelligence for OIA. “Contributed information is completely confidential. The collective knowledge gained from the update reveals where outdoor-involved businesses are currently heading and where industry-wide profitability and performance benchmarks lie.”


Download the survey here.


Any company is eligible to participate, though OIA non-member participants are assessed a nominal fee for the customized report package (which is provided free of charge to OIA member participants) should they choose to receive it.


Completed surveys are due by May 1, 2011, and should be submitted via e-mail to surveys@profitplanninggroup.com.


Surveys are also available through OIA via e-mail at research@outdoorindustry.org or by standard mail.