Sales of outdoor products increased 2.6 percent in fiscal July to $810.3 million, according to the latest monthly sales report from OIA VantagePoint. Outdoor Hardgoods continued its solid sales trend, and Apparel sales posted a strong increase. Footwear, however, struggled once again. The National Accounts Internet and Discount/Mass trade channels again provided the strongest growth in outdoor product sales, but Specialty Internet also increased for the four-week period ended Aug. 3, 2013.
Outdoor Apparel sales increased 9.5 percent to $152.4 million for the month, a noticeable acceleration from June’s 1.9 percent increase. The growth in apparel was driven primarily by increases in Outdoor Outerwear sales – much of it pre-season liquidation – and, to a lesser extent, Outdoor Raingear and Outdoor Sportswear. Sales of Outdoor Active Bottoms remained weak for the month, especially Outdoor Active Shorts.
Outdoor Footwear sales posted a steeper decline in July versus the recent trend, down 12.4 percent to $190.0 million for the four-week month. Most Outdoor Footwear categories declined for the month, with the exception of Technical Hiking, which was the only primary category to post positive growth.
Sales of Outdoor Hardgoods increased 7.9 percent to $467.9 million, a similar level of growth seen in fiscal June. Most Hardgoods categories increased over the comparable month last year, with the exception of the Trailers/Racks category, which declined in the mid-single-digits. Sales of Camping Equipment, one of the largest segments within Outdoor Hardgoods, maintained a strong growth rate for the month.
The National Accounts Internet and Discount/Mass channels continued to gain share of outdoor product sales for the month. National Accounts Internet accounted for 7.8 percent of all Outdoor Product sales while Discount/Mass Retailers accounted for 7.1 percent of the channel sales tracked by SportScanInfo for OIA VantagePoint (each up from 6.0 percent in July 2012). Specialty Internet also gained share for the month to account for 6.3 percent of sales, up from 5.5 percent in July 2012.
Final results for the month are published monthly in the OIA VantagePoint monthly trend report, available free of charge to Outdoor Industry Association® (OIA) members. 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 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.
