Outdoor Sales Up: Online Purchases Fuel Double Digit Increases in June

Boulder, CO (July 15, 2010) - Sales data from Leisure Trends’ Outdoor RetailTRAK ™ reports June sales up 13% in the outdoor segment (outdoor chains, outdoor specialty and online), signaling the fifth straight month of positive retail sales this year.

Online sales are fueling growth, gaining almost 50% in dollars sold compared to June 2009 and accounting for 22% of June sales in the outdoor channel, up from 17% last June and 14% in June 2007. Outdoor chains gain 11% and outdoor specialty stores hold ground with flat sales for the period.

"While growth is positive for outdoor overall, the core specialty retailers are not doing nearly as well as the internet and chain channels this year," comments Jason Gee, Managing Director of Retail Sales Tracking for LTG. Outdoor specialty saw double-digit gains during the early months of 2010, but growth is slowing through the spring and early summer. Categories such as recreation tents, packs, camp accessories and footwear have sold well but other categories, like apparel, are suffering in specialty. Gee continues, "Retailers have tightened their belts and inventory levels are down nearly 10% for the specialty channel as a whole at the end of June."

In all three channels, footwear is the big story this year - hiking boots, winter boots, trail running shoes, multisport shoes and sandals are all easily outperforming 2009. Specialty retailers are banking on those sales to continue into back-to-school and beyond as their footwear inventory levels are up nearly across the board at the end of June.

While there are still several weeks to go until the close of July, the month is off to a good start. The 4th of July weekend gave specialty retailers a boost; they report retail sales up significantly compared to last year. However, outdoor specialty retailers aren’t as optimistic when asked about their outlook for the remainder of the summer, whereas bike, paddlesports and running stores remain bullish.

Toning Shoes and Pet Products

With the official release of June sales data, LTG will unveil new tracking capabilities, including toning shoes and pet products. "Our clients are eager to know what kind of impact toning and pet products have on the core outdoor business," relates Retail Analyst Elisabeth Stahura. "We are now able to report on their performance, answering key questions regarding the life cycle of these products as they relate to the marketplace."

Leading pet product brand, Bergan, is already looking forward to the opportunity to see the LTG reports on pet sales within the outdoor market:

"As a pet product development company, our team is excited to have Leisure Trends uncover data and key insights for the growing pet product categories. Having collected research from Automotive, Housewares, Pet and OR, I believe Leisure Trends provides easily the most comprehensive and relevant data to our business."
- Tibor Siklosi, Director of Marketing and Product Development at Bergan.

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The data come from the LTG's Topline RetailTRAK™ which are available free to retailers and suppliers for the remainder of 2010. To view which categories and classes are hot and which not, sign-up for the LTG topline by clicking here.

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About Leisure Trends Group - LTG is the leading provider for active sports and lifestyle consumer research, retail market intelligence (retail sales tracking) and integrated CRM/Direct Marketing services. Suppliers, retailers, associations, resorts and companies in the sports, recreation, hospitality, travel and entertainment industries rely on LTG. Leisure Trends Group is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. For more information, contact Julia Day (jday@leisuretrends.com or 303-786-7900 x107 or visit www.leisuretrends.com).

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