Bright spots in early snow sales

All charts courtesy of SIA

 

The snow industry experienced several bright spots through October, including strong sales at specialty stores in the West, an increase in snowboard equipment sales in dollars, and double digit increases in goggle sales.

 

 

Reverse camber snowboards continue to be an important category, accounting for 55% of all snowboard sales from August-October.

 

(In the chart at left, sales for 2010/2011 are for August-October, while the other years are full season reports.)

 

 

 

Alpine ski equipment appears to be flying out the door, with sales at a 10-year high, according to data from SIA.

 

 

 

Another interesting trend is that online sales have leveled out after years of rapid growth.

 

Overall, total snow industry sales from August-October rose 1% in dollars and fell 5% in units.

 

Equipment

 

Leaner inventories led to higher dollar sales in many categories as fewer carryover styles were sold.

 

For instance, snowboard sales in all channels combined fell 0.6% in units. In dollars, however, snowboard sales rose 3%.

 

The same trend held true with boots, with sales falling 7.7% in units and rising 2.3% in dollars.

Sales of alpine equipment in all channels rose 8% in units and 16% in dollars.

 

 

 

See page 2 for results on apparel and goggles, and by region

 

 

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Apparel and goggles

Apparel sales overall did not fare so well, with a 6% decline in dollars and units. The SIA believes some of the decline may be due to challenges getting product out of China and into stores in time.

 

However, goggle sales jumped 32% in dollars and rose 23% in units sold.

 

Regionally

Good snowfall in West, which accounts for the largest percentage of dollar sales, appears to have boosted early sales at specialty stores, with sales rising 21% in the region.

 

The South posted a 3% increase, while sales were softer in the Northeast and Midwest.

 

Channels

Internet sales decreased 5% in units and 1% in dollars.

 

Specialty sales rose 3% in dollars and declined 2% in units.

 

Chain stores sales declined 14% in units and 5% in dollars.

 

Click here to read the full SIA release.