Outdoor and snowsports sales up in Leisure Trends Group Feb. 2010 topline report

Leisure Trends Group, continuing to unveil its new, much-improved reporting format, has published the February 2010 Topline retail sales tracking reports which reveal good news for snowsports and outdoor, not so good for paddlesports — but then who’s buying boats when the snow is falling?

Snow Topline Summary:

Total Snowsport Industry retail dollar sales were up 23% Across All Channels compared to February 2009, all Specialty store sales were up 24% in February, all Chain stores increased 10% from February 2009 and all Internet sales jumped 22% over February 2009.

Outdoor Topline Summary:

Total Core Outdoor retail dollar sales were up 27% across all channels compared to February 2009. Compared to last February, all Specialty dollar sales were up 24%, all Chain dollar sales jumped 30% and all Internet dollar sales gained 31%. Not only did sales rebound from a miserable month last year, they exceeded February 2008 by a solid 5%. Gains came out of multiple categories and from all over the country. Growth was systemic: equipment, accessories, apparel and footwear all saw double digit gains in each of the channels.

Paddlesports Topline Summary:

All paddlesport sales decreased 14% from February 2009. Compared to last February, all Specialty dollar sales were down 17%, Chain dollar sales dropped 4% and Internet dollar sales lost 1%.

Running Topline Summary:

Total running industry retail dollar sales were $53M in February 2010, up 11% from February 2009, with across-the-board growth against last February. Footwear, with 71% of total February sales, maintained the positive trends seen in previous months’ sales. All Footwear gained 8% this month with Road Running Shoes up 6% for the period. Accessories continue to gain importance in the channel. February 2010 accessory sales were up 21% from last February and moved from 16% of total run specialty dollar sales last year at this time to 18% this month. Apparel did see some forward movement against last February’s abysmal sales; however, all apparel sales were still more than $1M, or 16%, short of the February 2008 sales total.

Dive Topline Summary:

Total dive industry retail dollar sales were down 4% compared to February 2009. Compared to last February, Dive Merchandise (Equipment, Suits and Apparel) dropped 5%. Losses were felt across the board as All Dive Equipment: declined 5%, suits fell Dive Suits: -2% and Dive Services dropped 3%* compared to February 2009. *Dive Service numbers are directional only, as services are not always tracked via the same POS system as merchandise.

Athletic Apparel Topline Summary:

Athletic apparel sales were positive this month, with across the board double digit growth compared to February 2009. Athletic sportswear, licensed apparel, outerwear and base layer all saw healthy growth this February. The entire category was up 14% in retail dollars sold for the month.

–Leisure Trends Group