Last week the SIA (Snow Sports Industries of America) released their report on the 2013/14 season, looking at how the retail market has performed.

The key standout messages were:

  • A new record revenue of $3.6bn was acheived
  • Overall sales were up 7%
  • Accessory sales were the biggest success area up 14%
  • Alpine Touring is a massive growth area
  • Protective gear has also done really well

 

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21 Retail Sales Facts from the SIA 2013/14 Report
  1. The snowsports retail market finished with $3.6bn in sales, up 7%
  2. This was a new record high for the industry
  3. The snowsports market has more than 19m active participants
  4. Equipment sales were up 2% by revenue
  5. Equipment sales were the highest the market has seen since 2010/2011 when $913m of hard goods were sold
  6. This was the first increase in Equipment sales after two years consecutive decline
  7. Accessories were up 14% to $1.3 billion, up 7% in units
  8. Accessory sales accounted for more than 75% of the increase in specialist shop sales
  9. Online sales were up across the board with Accessories registering a 15% increase
  10. Online Clothing sales increased 3% to $424m
  11. Online Equipment sales grew 8% to $189m
  12. Alpine Touring/Backcountry equipment sales increased 8%
  13. Sales of Alpine/AT boots were up 27% in units to 93000 and 21% in revenue terms
  14. Alpine/AT boots make up nearly 12% of units in the ski boot market
  15. Sales of women-specific cross country equipment increased 28% to over $6m
  16. Junior girls snowboarding equipment sales grew 37% in units
  17. Overall snowboard equipment sales were flat at $256m
  18. Backcountry accessories sales including beacons, probes and shovels increased 12%
  19. Sales of protective gear increased by 24% in revenue terms
  20. Action camera sales were up 20% in revenue to $41 million, with 121,000 units sold
  21. Clothing sales fell 2% in terms of units, but were 4% in revenue terms

 

By Iain Martin