June has traditionally been a clearance month for retailers in advance of the back-to-school season and this year was no different as retailers started to push the promotional button on a number of categories that were constrained by the odd spring weather across much of the country. Making the month more interesting was the broader availability of upper-end brands that built share in the outerwear business in the off-season for the category.
According to retail point-of-sale data compiled by SportScanInfo (SSI Data), Sport Apparel sales grew in the low-single-digits in units and dollars for the five-week fiscal month of June, resulting in low-single-digit growth in average selling prices.
“It has certainly been a strange spring season,” said James Hartford, chief market analyst at The SportsOneSource Group, which manages the SprortScanInfo.com platform. “Winter weather late into the spring season, coupled with lack of consistency in the spring weather patterns, pushed the purchasing window back so far into summer that the consumer may put off spring purchases altogether unless they see a great deal at retail.”
Sales originating on the Internet grew about 25 percent and represented 11 percent of the total sales tracked by SportScanInfo. Internet sales accounted for three-quarters of the growth for all measured channels for the month. Brick & Mortar retail sales were essentially flat for the fiscal month ended July 6.
Sales in the Run Specialty channel grew in the low-single-digits while sales in Chain Specialty and Other Sport Specialty channels both posted high-teens declines. The latter channels are more affected by the weather than Run Specialty. Sales of Sport Apparel in the Athletic Specialty/Sporting Goods (ASSG) Channel improved in the mid-single-digits for the five-week month.
Men’s Sport Apparel grew in the very-low-single-digits in fiscal June while women’s was up in the mid-single-digits and kids’ increased in the mid-teens.
Licensed Apparel sales for the month of June continued their sluggish pace as the business dealt with a number of headwinds. The NFL business is attempting to anniversary the big increases posted last year when Nike took over the primary license, NHL is fighting against the lingering effects of the lockout but got a terrific match-up in the finals to help boost sales at season-end. MLB is faced with a weaker draw with the Yankees while the overall headwear business has been dealing with the snap-back trend pushing down dollar sales.
Overall Licensed Apparel dollar and unit sales declined in the mid- to high-teens. Sales on the Internet were not much better than rick & mortar stores, down in the low-teens. Licensed Headwear sales declined in the mid-teens
The SportsOneSource Group is maintaining its estimates for mid- to highsingle-digit growth for Sport Apparel for the fiscal year.
“Fall weather that reflects more seasonal trends would drive considerable growth in the third quarter against a very weak fiscal Q3 last year,” explained Hartford. “A cold snap in the middle of September that maintains for a few weeks could fuel a strong back-half trend in the business. We believe the fashion outerwear brands will have their challenges as the consumer changes preferences, but the category as a whole will benefit from more seasonal weather patterns.”
For more details on June and weekly Sport Apparel trends, please contact The SportsOneSource Group at 303.997.7302 or e-mail SportScan@SportsOneSource.com.
To request a copy of the June Executive Summary for Sport Apparel please send an email to SportScan@SportsOneSource.com. Please include your name, title, company name, email and phone contact information.
