According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), wholesale sales of sporting goods equipment, sports apparel, and athletic footwear in the USA were slightly stronger in 2005 with sales rising to $55.7 billion, a 6.8% increase over the $52.2 billion reported for 2004. The positive trend sets to continue too as 2006 sales are now projected to rise by 7% to reach $59.5 billion.

A renewed popularity in sports brands for both fashion and performance were largely responsible for the surge in sales last year, noted SGMA President Tom Cove, who announced the results at the State of the Industry luncheon during The Super Show in Orlando, Florida.

Wholesale shipments of sports apparel rose by 9% to $26.1 billion with consumers purchasing more units of sports apparel and paying more for them. The leading activities for sports apparel usage are walking, running, basketball, golf, and baseball/softball. Athletic footwear shipments were also up by nearly 9% to $10.9 billion. Higher sales of low-performance, fashion-oriented shoes and expensive, high-performance models fuelled growth in this area.

In other segments: Fitness equipment experienced an increase of 6% to more than $4 billion; golf equipment sales rose slightly to $2.6 billion from $2.5 billion; tennis and soccer equipment also continued their upward trend in sales, with sales growing by more than 10% in 2005.