Sales for the entire winter sport market, including specialty and chain stores, were up 1.9% in dollars to $2.25 billion for the August 2004 through March 2005 period, compared to $2.20 billion reported for last year, according to the SIA Retail Audit. Unit sales were down 7.8%. Sales at specialty shops were up 1.5% compared to last season to $1.74 billion in sales compared to $1.71 billion for the same period last season. Unit sales were down from last season 3.3%.
“Specialty store sales were especially strong in the month of March, topping Marchs dollar sales last season by 29%. Strong March numbers and solid carryover sales prompted industry dollar sales to come out on top of last year,” said Christine Martinez, market research manager for SIA, the not-for-profit industry trade group that represents manufacturers and distributors of snow sports products. The SIA Retail Audit tracks and reports sales in all snow sports product categories. This is the final report of six that looks at sales through March 31, 2005, the end of the winter season.
Overall equipment sales (alpine, snowboard, Nordic, Telemark and Randonee/AT) were down 2% in dollars as compared to last season with sales reaching $628.8 million through March 2005. In specialty stores, alpine equipment (including skis, ski systems, boots, bindings and poles) sales decreased 1% in dollars this season over last.
Alpine skis, excluding integrated systems, fell 14% in dollars over last season, ending the season with $106.7 million in sales. Comparing this March to last, all ski sales fell 2% in dollars.
At a season-to-date average retail price of $354, twin tip ski sales continue to show growth, up 26% in dollars and reaching $7.9 million in sales for the period of August 2004 March 2005. Last year at this time, twin tips retailed for $375. At the end of March 2005, there were approximately 12,000 units remaining in retail inventory.
Due to most manufacturers widening their carve skis, sales jumped 65% in dollars this season, after double-digit losses last season. (Leisure Trends Group has changed the carver max width definition to 69mm to reflect the wider carve skis that are being produced. Midfat skis are defined as those with waist widths between 70mm and 79mm).
Sales of fat skis decreased 13% while midfat skis declined 49% in dollars, when comparing this season to the same August to March period in 2004. Despite last seasons strong start, junior ski sales continue to decline this season, with a 15% drop in dollar sales.
All alpine carryover ski sales increased a substantial 39% in dollars. The average retail selling price increased from $233 last March to $251 this March.
By the end of March, total alpine boot sales were flat in dollars ($138.4 million in sales) as average retail prices moved from $252 last March to $273 this March. High performance boot dollars increased 14% and accounted for 44% of all boots sold through March. Sport performance boots, 30% of all boots sold, fell 2%. Recreation boots and soft boots suffered 15% and 44% dollar losses, respectively. Carryover boots, however, managed to gain 4% in dollar sales. By the end of March, alpine boots were 64% sold-through.
The growth of integrated systems has resulted in a decline in sales of stand-alone bindings. Sales were down 20% in dollars as compared to last season, with season-to-date sales totaling $35.7 million. Similar to junior ski sales, junior alpine binding sales also dropped (down 26% in dollars over last season). Carryover bindings, however, saw a healthy 22% dollar increase this season over last.
Alpine poles fell 5% in dollars this season over last. Adult and junior poles lost 8% and 9% in dollars respectively, but carryover dollars increased 26%.
Integrated ski system sales jumped 31% in dollars when comparing this August to March period to the same period a year ago. Integrated ski systems had double digit growth in both specialty and chain stores, clearly stealing sales from non-integrated alpine skis.
So far this season, integrated systems are 75% sold-through and retailers had 56,900 remaining pairs to sell. At the end of this March, 49% of the integrated ski system units sold were midfats, 46% were carvers, 3% juniors and 3% fat skis.
Telemark ski equipment growth slowed down in March. Sales were down 3% reaching $6.6 million at the end of March and the category was 60% sold-through. Telemark ski sales fell 7% in dollars as the season-to-date average retail price for Telemark skis increased from $347 to $387. Telemark boots managed a 2% increase while telemark bindings fell 4%.
The Nordic categories ended the season slightly down as compared to last season. The Nordic ski equipment category fell 4% in dollars this season over last. Nordic skis (down 4% with $14.7 million in sales), bindings (down 4% with $5.0 million in sales) and poles (down 22% with $2.7 million in sales) all experienced dollar declines as well.
Snowboard equipment sales (including snowboards, boots and bindings) were down 3% in dollars with a total of $200.7 million in sales. Snowboards (down 5% with $92.2 million in sales) and boots (down 6% with $58.0 million in sales) experienced dollar decreases while bindings ($50.5 million in sales) inched up 3% in sales this season over last.
All mountain boards were down 10% with sales at $9.8 million by the end of March. The average retail price for an all mountain board fell from $242 to $236. Freestyle board sales remained flat in dollars and accounted for 38% of all boards sold through March. Average retail prices edged up from $297 last season to $300 this season. Freeride boards dipped 3% in dollars. At the end of March, all snowboards were 66% sold-through. Snowboard carryover sales increased 1% in dollars this season-to-date.
Step-in boots and bindings continued their decline this season with 21% and 76% drops in dollar sales, respectively, over last season. Non step-in boot sales also fell 7%. Carryover boots and bindings managed to gain dollars, 13% and 18%, respectively.
Snowboard apparel sales followed the trend of snowboard equipment and dropped 8% in dollars this season over last, ending March with $84.7 million in sales. Snowboard tops slid 16% in dollars while snowboard bottoms fell 8% in dollars. Snowboard apparel carryover sales jumped 34% in dollars. Carryover units accounted for 17% of all units sold.
After a strong start last year, junior snowboard apparel lost steam. Junior top and bottom dollars sank 33% and 21%, respectively.
Specialty apparel sales (including tops, bottoms, suits and snowboard) were up 6% in dollars with season-to-date sales totaling $546.4 million. At a season-to-date average retail price of $188, insulated parka sales rose 13% in dollars. At the end of March, insulated parkas were 81% sold-through. Soft shell parka sales slowed down after nearly triple digit growth in the past two seasons. Sales still managed to jump 15% in dollars as average retail prices slipped from $192 to $180.
Soft shells continue to roll with healthy increases, especially as more manufacturers offer a soft shell selection in their lines. Soft shells were 70% sold-through by the end of March. After a tough season last year, shell parka sales ended the season slightly down (2%) as compared to last. Accounting for 8% of all shell units sold this season, junior shells shot up 50% in dollars. Vest and fleece sales continue to be impressive, up 42% and 11%, respectively, over last season.
Carryover tops and bottoms both showed healthy increases over last season, up 74% and 44%, respectively. At the end of March, all apparel was 76% sold-through.
The accessories category in specialty stores showed a slight 1% increase in dollars over the same period last season with sales reaching $562.1 million for the current season. Equipment accessories decreased 2% due to hefty dollar drops from snow decks/skates (down 47%) and snowshoes (down 28%).
Apparel accessories saw sales increase 3% for August through March of this season over last. Winter boots continue to perform well with sales up 31% reaching season-to-date sales of $19.2 million. However, dollar declines in headwear (down 3% with sales at $42.8 million), gloves (down 10% with sales at $48.4 million) and mitts (down 3% with sales at $18.8 million) helped keep category growth down.
