Fiscal September brought flat growth for outdoor products, as sales rose just 0.4 percent to $896.6 million, according to the latest figures from OIA. As in fiscal July and August, hardgoods and apparel posted solid gains while footwear continued to struggle.
Outdoor apparel sales rose 6.2 percent to $254.6 million, similar to the August growth rate. The growth in Apparel was driven primarily by stronger outerwear and sportswear sales as consumers purchased more fall-like items, such as insulated jackets, long-sleeve woven tops and casual/fitted pants and bottoms, say OIA figires. Headwear and handwear sales increased for the month, while the socks sub-category pulled down the outdoor accessories category overall.
Outdoor footwear sales continued to decline in fiscal September, falling 14.8 percent to $210.6 million, according to OIA. Most outdoor footwear categories fell for the month, with the exception of trail shoes, which was the only primary category to post positive growth.
Sales of outdoor hardgoods, meanwhile, increased to $431.4 million. The 6.3 percent growth rate was similar to that in prior months, but a slowdown from the 10 percent growth seen in August. Most hardgoods categories increased over the comparable month last year, with the exception of the hydration, electronics and trailers/racks categories, each of which had slight declines. Sales of camping equipment maintained strong growth for the start of fall, but slowed from the double-digit gains in August.
