US: outdoor product sales rise 4.5%
The outdoor product business outpaced the overall retail market by a wide margin, posting a 4.5% sales increase to $774.3 million for the five-week fiscal month of March ending April 2, 2011. Sales leaders included technical backpacks and hydration systems in outdoor hardgoods and most types of outdoor outerwear, according to retail point-of-sale data compiled by SportScanInfo for OIA VantagePoint.
OIA VantagePoint tracks product sales identified with specific outdoor activities, such as hiking, climbing, camping, trail running, paddlesports and other active outdoor lifestyle pursuits.
“Winter storms early in the month delayed sales of spring products across much of the country in March,” explained James Hartford, chief market analyst for The SportsOneSource Group, which manages the OIA VantagePoint platform. “Retailers were able to capitalize somewhat from higher late-season inventories in outerwear this year, but the category still represented a small percentage of apparel sales for the period.”
The outdoor hardgoods business outpaced the sales trend for the total outdoor product market, posting a 6.7% increase for the month to $375.4 million in March. Hardgoods sales were particularly robust in the specialty channel, which rose nearly 20% to $89.8 million. Though footwear and apparel fell by more than 15% in the specialty channel for the month, and despite a decline in paddlesports sales to start the season, strong sales of technical daypacks, internal frame packs, hydration systems and camping equipment were reported.
The outdoor footwear sales rose by 3.7% to $160.7 million in fiscal March.
