Fiscal October again brought flat growth for outdoor products, as sales rose just 0.3 percent to $825.2 million according to the latest figures from OIA. Outdoor apparel posted solid gains while outdoor footwear continued to struggle. In a shift from prior months, however, outdoor hardgoods sales were flat. This was thanks in part to Superstorm Sandy, which in October 2012 drove significant increases in outdoor hardgoods sales, say OIA researchers.
There’s also conjecture over the impact of the federal government shutdown on the outdoor industry, and the subsequent closure of National Parks.
“While October sales numbers overall did not appear to take a hit, major retailers reported troubling declines in store traffic,” said Christie Hickman, vice president of market insights for Outdoor Industry Association. “Additionally, businesses located in national park gateway communities reported unusual losses in revenue during the two week shutdown.”
Outdoor apparel sales rose 12.2 percent to $359.8 million—almost double the September growth rate—driven primarily by cold weather categories, including outerwear, baselayers, and sportswear, particularly long-sleeve woven tops, and casual/fitted pants and bottoms. By contrast, raingear sales declined, falling 30 percent this year in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions versus last year’s Sandy-driven sales growth.
Outdoor footwear sales fell once again in fiscal October, down 17.6 percent to $177.7 million. Most footwear categories declined for the month, with the exception of multi-sport footwear, the only primary segment to post positive growth.
Sales of hardgoods increased just 0.5 percent to $287.7 million, a noticeable slowdown from prior months and the year-to-date gain of 6.6 percent. Sales of camping gear slowed from the fiscal quarter trend as weather turned colder, and paled in comparison to the onslaught of Sandy-related purchasing of lanterns/lighting, stoves, coolers, water containers, tents/shelters, and sleeping bags, says OIA. Declines also were evident in outdoor electronics, paddlesports, trailers/racks, and snow sports equipment but were offset by gains in packs and bags, cyling, eyewear and fly-fishing equipment.
