Terrific ski conditions in the West, and record skier visits at many resorts were balanced out this year by bitter cold and an abundance of ice in the East. Still, the SIA retail audit for the entire 2003-2004 retail season showed some respectable growth in the industry as sales for the entire SnowSports retail marketplace grew 0.6% to $2.213 billion through the end of March.
Specialty ski and snowboard shops overcame some profound price deflation and held on to a sales increase of 0.4% from $1.712 billion last year to $1.719 billion this year. Most of the declining prices came from the ski side of the industry, as the average selling price of a pair of skis dropped 10% and, in just about every equipment category, unit sales out-paced dollar sales.
Chain stores fared somewhat better than Specialty and did not experience the drop in average selling prices that the Specialty sector saw.
Chain store SnowSports sales increased 1.4% to $493.8 million in the 2003-04 season. The average selling price of a pair of skis only declined 5% at Chain stores, while carve skis actually experienced a 44% increase in price.
Both alpine and snowboard apparel showed solid sales growth at Specialty shops, increasing 6% and 17% respectfully. The category leaders were soft-shells and insulated parkas, the latter driven by the cold conditions in the east. Alpine equipment continued to struggle, falling 5% in units sold and 3% in dollars at Chain stores, and falling 14% in dollars at specialty. Snowboard equipment fell 12% in units and 2% in dollars at chain stores, but showed some a very strong performance at specialty, growing 16% in dollars.
Editors Note — For full detail on SIAs final Retail Audit for this year and other stories concerning the Bicycle, Outdoor, and Snow Sports markets, please look for todays issue of The B.O.S.S. Report…
