News of economic weakness and the destructive power of Hurricane Irene did little to slow retail sales of outdoor products in the fiscal month of August.
Overall retail sales of Outdoor Apparel grew 4.0 percent to $170.2 million on the strength of business in the Independent Outdoor Specialty channel. For the first time this year, the growth trend for Outdoor Apparel outpaced the trend in Outdoor Footwear in specialty stores.
On the heels of a very strong July, Outdoor Footwear grew yet again by over 21 percent to $192.3 million. The category shift toward lightweight footwear is being felt even among back-to-school consumers. Some of the more broadly‐sold outdoor footwear categories like Trail Running, Outdoor Sandals and Light Hiking have given up share to the lightweight footwear product that is now producing significant gains in Natural/Minimalist Footwear, Outdoor XT and Multi‐Sport and Approach Footwear.
Retail sales of Outdoor Hardgoods hit $538.3 million in fiscal August, a 4.5 percent increase that was roughly equal to the mid‐single‐digit gain seen in July. Back-to-school sales of Daypacks (both Lifestyle and Technical) more than offset weaker sales in some core categories like Tents and Sleeping Bags.
Stagnant consumer confidence levels when viewed through the lens of back-to-school shoppers may offer a glimmer of hope to outdoor product retailers. Parents appear to continue to invest in the needs (or wants) of their kids while pulling back on expenditures for themselves. While this may negatively impact sales of personal high‐end purchases like skis this fall, requests from the younger generation for the latest‐and‐greatest outdoor‐branded jacket or a new pair of lightweight shoes may be addressed.
OIA members can access the OIA VantagePoint monthly trend report for August 2011 by logging in to www.outdoorindustry.org/vantagepoint.
OIA VantagePoint is the first and only full market point-of-sale data view built specifically for Outdoor Industry Association members. OIA VantagePoint provides comprehensive visibility into the outdoor marketplace by tracking weekly point‐of‐sale data from over 10,000 retail doors and websites carrying outdoor products, including over 350 outdoor specialty locations.
About Outdoor Industry Association
Outdoor Industry Association® (OIA) is a national trade association whose mission is to ensure the growth and success of the outdoor industry. OIA provides trade services for over 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, sales representatives and retailers in the outdoor industry. OIA provides industry defining resources and support in government/legislative affairs, market and social research, business‐to-business services and youth outreach initiatives. Ongoing education opportunities and strategic business workshops provided by OIA include the annual Rendezvous®, Outdoor University® sessions, and the Capitol Summit. Outdoor Industry Association is based in Boulder, Colorado, and is the title sponsor of the Outdoor Retailer tradeshows. For more information about OIA go to www.outdoorindustry.org or call 303.444.3353.
About 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 is a SportsOneSource technology platform developed to compile, aggregate and disseminate aggregated retail point‐of‐sale information. SportsOneSource also publishes the Sports Executive Weekly and The B.O.S.S. Report executive newsletters, along with the SGB, SGD TEAM Business and SGB Performance print publications and their related online, e‐mail and digital products. For more information about The SportsOneSource Group call 704.987.3450 or go to www.SportsOneSource.com.
