Snow Accelerated Sales in Late December

Granted it's a pretty obvious conclusion for a headline. I get a ton of press releases and I probably read less than half.  This one had some interesting stuff in it. I cut a bunch and it's still long, but I BOLDED the stats if you want to skip the hype. Looks like more people are touring.

Snow Accelerated Sales in Late December

Washington, DC (January 30, 2013) -- SnowSports Industries America (SIA) and Leisure Trends Group have released SIA RetailTRAK™ numbers for August-December 2012, total market projections are based on data collected from the Point of Sale systems of more than 1,200 snow sports retailers.

December started slow in the snow sports marketplace, but the onset of true winter conditions and good snow across more than 50 percent of the country brought acceleration in sales of equipment, apparel and accessories made for cold and snowy conditions. Consumers spent more than $1B in the snow sports market in December alone, and sales for the season reached $2.1B ­­- down 4 percent in units sold and down 3 percent in dollars sold compared to November when sales were down 8 percent in units sold and 7 percent in dollars sold. The arrival of winter will continue to spur sales in the snow sports market and all eyes are on recovery from last season's difficulties brought on by lack of snow.

The snow sports market had an uphill battle to fight in the pre-season as inertia from last season, recovery from Hurricane Sandy and "fiscal cliff" concerns put multiple dents in the market. Conditions in the snow sports market from late November to the end of the winter season typically depend upon current snow conditions and Mother Nature began to rev up winter conditions during the holidays. In fact, snow covered 51 percent of the lower 48 on December 25th and sales picked up accordingly.

Despite the acceleration in sales late in December, inventories continued to weigh down retailers. On December 31st, specialty shop retailers had $951M worth of snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories in inventories, 3 percent higher than Dec. 31, 2011.

Sales during the second half of the 2012/2013 season (January to March) typically bring in approximately 35 percent more dollars into the snow sports market for equipment, apparel and accessories. Increased snowfall and lower temperatures could help retailers clear out swollen inventories and allow for a full recovery from last season's disappointing sales and participation.

 * * *

As the market picks up several trends in the market are emerging:

Twin tip ski sales (flat and systems combined) are up 2 percent in dollars sold to more than $45M and up 4 percent in units sold to 101,500 pairs of skis sold through Dec. 31.

Sales of alpine/AT boots, alpine boots with a walk mode and rubber/Vibram sole designed for use with alpine touring bindings have more than doubled compared to last season. More than 41,000 alpine/AT boots were purchased between August 1 and December 31.

Sales of lighter, more technical AT/Randonee boots are up 19 percent in units and 29 percent in dollars sold.

Sales of skins, used on the bottoms of skis to prevent backwards sliding when traversing or sliding uphill, are up 10 percent in units sold and 9 percent in dollars sold.

Splitboard sales, although still a small category with 2,300 units sold through December, are up 33 percent in units sold and up 19 percent in dollars sold.

Action camera sales are soaring, up 14 percent in units to 69,500, and up 36 percent in dollars sold to $20M.

 * * *

Snow conditions will determine the fate of the snow sports market for the remainder of the season.  Good snow conditions have a positive impact on participation and sales overall and expectations are for increased participation and increased sales. In fact, good conditions should bring more than 20M U.S. residents out for snow sports this season and result in an increase over last season's $3.3B in total sales. For a detailed look at advances in technology in snow sports equipment apparel and accessories, don't miss the January 31 opening of the 2013 SIA Snow Show in Denver, Colo.