SnowSports Retailers Continue with Record Year through December…

Both Chain and Specialty ski and snowboard retailers are having one of the best seasons in years, thanks to intermittently strong snow throughout the country and some pent-up consumer demand. With the Olympics fueling this even more, it seems to be the convergence of the perfect storm for the SnowSports Industry as a whole. Year-to-date industry-wide SnowSports sales through December increased 13% to $1.5 billion led by ski systems, snowboard equipment, and apparel. Specialty Retailers accounted for $1.2 billion in sales for the year, a 12% increase over last year. Chain retailers accounted for $347 million, a 17% increase over last year. At Specialty Retailers, equipment sales remained larger than apparel and accessories with $421 million in sales, or 36% of the market, while apparel accounted for 33% and accessories accounted for 31%.

After a very difficult year last year, Snowboard retailers seem to be bouncing back nicely. Specialty Snowboard shops’ sales increased 12% so far for the year with snowboard sales increasing 12%, boots up 11%, and bindings up 14%. Retailers continue to sell through their inventory at a rapid rate. At the end of December, there were 19% fewer boards in-stock. SIA is predicting shortages by spring which could lead to healthy sell-in numbers for vendors next year. SportScanINFO numbers confirm these sales increases have continued into February. The market research firm, which tracks weekly POS data, reported that Snowboarding is up 32.96% compared to the same period last year. One interesting observation is that the Snowboarding category is up 32% over the previous week, leading SportScanINFO analysts to note that the visibility from the Olympics may be a factor in helping spur sales.

The Snowboard Market, according to SIA, is being led by sales of freestyle boards, which increased sales by 30% over last year, while freeride boards increased sales by 12% and all-mountain board sales declined 16%. The market appears to be healthy as well – ASP’s of boards increased $12 this year, while boots and bindings increased $7 per pair.

Sales in Alpine equipment were driven primarily by three separate categories – integrated ski systems, fat skis, and twin tip skis. Integrated ski sales jumped 32% in units-sold and dollars-sold, while stand alone ski sales declined 9% in dollars. There is clear evidence that stand-alone skis are primarily being sold to more advanced and more aggressive skiers. First, the average selling price of a pair of binding-less skis is increasing. This year it was 8% higher than last year at $358. Second, higher performance DIN 12-24 bindings sales are increasing while DIN 8-11 binding sales are falling.

Twin tip sales were by far the biggest growth area in the industry, jumping 66% in dollars and 70% in units sold. SIA’s figures show that retailers increased their inventory by 58% compared to last year, but the category is still nearly half way sold-through.

Apparel sales continue to play a bigger role in Specialty retail results. The category increased by 14% this year, out-pacing equipment growth by a considerable margin. Insulated parkas, shells, and fleece all saw healthy double digit increases in sales, while softshells and vests led the category with increases of 45% and 50%, respectively. Snowboard apparel sales increased 18%.

After a strong season last year with considerably higher ASP’s across the board, Chain Retailers are beginning to see this metric decline. However, total sales thorough the channel continue to increase and were driven by many of the same factors affecting specialty retailers.

Snowboard equipment sales increased 18%. Board sales increased 16% with freestyle product leading the way on a 33% jump in dollars sold. Freeride board sales increased 26% on considerably lower ASP’s. Snowboard carryover sales increased in the double digits, and were the likely cause behind the lower prices. Boot sales increased 18%, while bindings increased 23%.

Apparel sales, which climbed 19% for the year, were driven primarily by vests, insulated parkas, and shells. The women’s category spurred some healthy growth across the board.

Alpine equipment sales were driven primarily by the same factors driving specialty sales. The category saw a healthy increase in units-sold, but rapidly falling ASP’s in nearly every category caused dollar growth to remain low.