The Retail Marketplace Analysis

1. $295 The Retail Marketplace Analysis 2003 SnowSports Industries America 8377-B Greensboro Drive McLean, VA 22102 (703) 556-9020 Prepared by: Julie Lynch, Director of Market Research

2. Executive Summary • The 2002-03 winter sports season was the fourth best ever for the industry. The season advanced $2.2 billion spent by consumers at specialty and chain stores. This is up 4.1% from the previous season of $2.1 billion. • With more Specialty stores on the East coast and abundant snowfall, these types of stores led the advance with sales up 7.1% in dollars. Chain stores lagged behind 5.1% in dollars because of the slower than normal sales in the Western half of the country. • Unit sales during the 2002-03 season were up 5.3% overall. Specialty store units gained 14.4% while chain stores decreased 10.5%. • The big growth areas in equipment were the ski binding systems, soft boots and juniors. • This was the biggest season ever for junior snow sports products; 1,274,353 units were sold for $96.8 million. This is very promising for the ski industry. The earlier we get kids involved in snow sports the longer they will participate. • The trends for next season will be seen in Alpine Touring/Telemark equipment.

3. Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1 Average Snow Sports Retailer .. .. .. .. .. 2 CONSUMER SPENDING .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 Methodology and Sample Size .. .. .. .. 4 Specialty and Chain Store Information .. .. .. 5 Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores: 2002-03 .. 6 Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores: 2001-02 .. 7 Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores: 2000-01 .. 8 Dollar Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores: 1999-00 .. 9 Sales ($): Five Year Trend .. .. .. .. .. 10 Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores: 2002-03 .. .. .. 11 Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores: 2001-02 .. .. .. 12 Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores: 2000-01 .. .. .. 13 Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores: 1999-00 .. .. .. 14 Specialty Store Retail Sales ($): Five Year Trend .. .. .. 15 Chain Store Retail Sales ($): Five Year Trend .. .. .. 16 Retail Unit Sales: Five Year Trend .. .. .. .. 17 Retail Sales by Week for Winter Sports Products .. .. .. 18

4. Table of Contents Snow Sports Sales by Channel of Distribution.. .. .. 19 Alpine and Cross Country Equipment .. .. .. 20 Average Retail Price of Alpine Skis .. .. .. 21 Units Sold of Alpine Skis .. .. .. .. 22 Average Retail Price of Alpine Boots .. .. .. 23 Units Sold of Alpine Boots .. .. .. .. 24 Average Retail Price of Alpine Bindings .. .. .. 25 Units Sold of Alpine Bindings .. .. .. 26 Snowboard Equipment .. .. .. .. 27 Average Retail Price of Snowboards .. .. .. 28 Units Sold of Snowboards .. .. .. .. 29 Average Retail Price of Snowboard Boots .. .. 30 Units Sold of Snowboard Boots .. .. .. 31 Average Retail Price of Snowboard Bindings .. .. 32 Units Sold of Snowboard Bindings .. .. .. 33

5. Ski/Snowboard Apparel .. .. .. .. 34 Accessories .. .. .. .. .. 35 Junior Products .. .. .. .. 36 Average Price Paid by Consumers at Specialty Stores .. .. 37 Average Price Paid by Consumers at Chain Stores .. .. 38 Product Mix of Total Winter Sports Product Sales .. .. 39 Total Equipment Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores .. .. 40 Total Apparel Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores .. .. 41 Total Apparel Accessories Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores .. 42 Total Equipment Accessories Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores .. 43 OTHER SNOW SPORTS ACTIVITIES .. .. .. .. 44 Snowshoeing .. .. .. .. .. 44 Trends in Snow Sports .. .. .. .. 45 SNOW SPORTS RELATED WEB SITES .. .. .. 49 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .. .. .. .. 50

6. “Are You Ahead of the Curve?” How do your margins on snow sports products compare to the average retail shop? This report can be used to compare your retail establishment performance to the overall retail market place and help you examine your business. It can be an important asset when gaining credit lines from financial institutions. In an effort to keep the snow sports industry professional informed, the information in this report is gathered from many sources and compiled by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) especially for retail management. It is provided in a PowerPoint format so you can use these slides for your own presentations. Special thanks to Leisure Trends for all their hard work on the Retail Audit. The information contained in this report is the property of SnowSports Industries America (SIA). It cannot be reproduced or extracted in whole or in part in any way without the prior written permission of SIA.

7. Who is SIA? SIA is the national, not-for-profit, member-owned trade association of competing snow sports companies. Working together, our members promote and develop snow sports through a national trade show, market development programs and other special events. Membership in SIA is open to product manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and retail shops that are involved in the snow sports industry and meet specific membership requirements. For retail shops, membership supports the development of winter sports through public relations efforts and consumer programs, while offering cost saving benefits, including valuable industry research, shop links to SIA’s web site (www.thesnowtrade.org), professional photographs for marketing use, competitive discount programs with FedEx® and more. Call SIA (703)-556-9020 for more information about membership and help continue making North America the best snow sports market in the world.

8. 1 INTRODUCTION The retailer has a tremendous economic impact on the winter sports industry. In each short season (August to March), retailers sell over $2 billion worth of equipment, apparel and accessories to consumers in the U.S. Winter sports products are sold by different types of retailers. This report concentrates on five types of retailers which sell equipment, apparel and accessories within winter sports. These retailers include: sports specialty (carry two or more categories of sports), ski specialty, outdoor stores (hiking, climbing, camping etc and also winter sports), snowboard specialty and sporting goods chain (3 or more storefronts). This report does not include mass merchants such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, large mail orders companies or Internet companies and department stores. Throughout the last decade, the number of alpine and cross country skiers has remained constant. Participation rates for alpine skiing have ranged between 7.4 and 12.4 million and for cross country between 2.2 and 5.8 million. The newest element in snow sports has been snowboarding. The number of snowboarders has exploded in the last 10 years, increasing 367% since the start of the decade from less than 1.2 to 5.6 million riders.

9. 2 Average Snow Sports Retailer Average selling space devoted to winter sports products 3,134 square feet Average yield per square foot $339 Percentage that keep their shop open all year round 50% Percentage that carry alpine equipment 58% Percentage that carry snowboard equipment 62% Percentage that rent equipment 48% (alpine skis) 58% (snowboard) 32% (cross country) Percentage that offer mail order/catalog sales 7.5% Percentage that sell products from their web site 21.8% Source: 2001 SnowSports Retail Market Study

10. 3 CONSUMER SPENDING

11. 4 Methodology and Sample Size The SIA Retail Audit uses a representative sample of retail stores throughout the country that sell alpine, cross country and snowboard merchandise. These sample stores submit to Leisure Trends (the market research firm which does this research for SIA) their end-of-the-month sales and inventory figures. Retail sales are tracked on a seasonal basis, August through March. The retail members submit their data for August-October, November, December, January, February, and March (6 reporting periods). Retailers are in urban, suburban and resort locations. In a normal year, resort retail panel members report sales beginning in the month of November. The data from panel stores are used to create a computer model that projects the sample data to the total population of stores selling alpine, cross country and snowboard merchandise. Each year the panel is modified. These changes are caused by any number of reasons including closed stores, unwillingness to cooperate, data integrity issues and panel refinement.

12. 5 Specialty and Chain Store Information The SIA Retail Audit defines specialty and chain stores in this manner: Specialty Stores: Higher priced merchandise More technical products Annual average sales per store front: $1.5 million These are stores like Christy’s, Ski Market, Alpine Hut, Kenny’s Double Diamond, Blades Board & Skate, Mesabi Chain Stores: Lower priced merchandise Less technical products These are stores like Garts, Oshmans, TSA, Dunhams, REI, Sports Chalet *Sales through mass merchants such as Wal-Mart and Kmart, large mail order companies or Internet companies and department stores are not included in the SIA Retail Audit. * Due to confidentiality agreements between Leisure Trends Group and retailers on the panel, the list of participating retailers is not available.

13. Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores 6 2002-2003 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty $476,179,598 $662,255,120 $575,114,038 $1,713,548,756 (28%) (39%) (33%) (100%) Chain $190,170,816 $487,572,541 $149,366,438 $148,035,286 (30%) (31%) (100%) (39%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ $666,350,414 $724,480,476 $810,290,406 $2,201,121,297 (30%) (37%) (33%) (100%) Overall, the 2002/03 season advanced in dollars sales to $2.2 billion or 4.1% spent by consumers at specialty and chain stores. With more Specialty stores on the East Coast and abundant snowfall in this region of the country, these types of stores led the advance, with sales up 7.1%. Chain stores lagged behind 5.1% because of the slower than normal sales in the Western half of the country where the majority of snow sports retailers are chain stores.Apparel and accessories sales at chain stores took the biggest hit (-10.0% and 11.4%, respectively). Equipment sales in specialty stores were flat (-0.3%) but up a healthy 10.7% at chains. The biggest winner was accessories sales at specialty store, up a whopping 18.6%. In addition, due to the cool winter weather in the East, apparel sales gained 5.5% at specialty stores. Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit

14. Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores 7 2001-2002 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty $451,235,852 $664,102,348 $484,957,388 $1,600,295,589 (28%) (41%) (31%) (100%) Chain $211,250,819 $513,650,000 $168,646,355 $133,752,827 (26%) (33%) (100%) (41%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ $662,486,671 $653,603,743 $797,855,175 $2,113,945,588 (31%) (38%) (31%) (100%) Overall, the 2001/02 season fell slightly in dollars sales (-4.8%) to $2.1 billion spent by consumers at specialty and chain stores. Specialty stores sales were down 4.2% and chain stores 6.4%.Post 9/11 sales began to turn upward, as it looked like the mountains would become a refuge from the density of the city and a place where people could reflect and find some spiritual and physical nourishment. But it didn’t snow. Equipment sales at chain stores took the biggest hit (-12.2%). It was snowboard equipment that consumers were not buying specifically in its hot bed of Southern California. In addition, accessories sales were slow in both specialty (-9.2%) and chain (-8.2%). But overall, despite the weather, interest in snow sports and therefore sales, held up a lot better than previous seasons when snow never fell. Source: 2001-02 SIA Retail Audit

15. Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores 8 2000-2001 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty $476,978,444 $659,127,545 $534,202,543 $1,670,308,532 (29%) (39%) (31%) (100%) Chain $212,602,506 $548,731,176 $152,402,522 $183,726,148 (28%) (33%) (100%) (39%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ $689,580,950 $717,928,691 $811,530,067 $2,219,039,708 (37%) (31%) (32%) (100%) The 2000/01 season was the third best with $2.2 billion spent by consumers at specialty and chain stores. The best season ever at $2.3 billion was 1999/00. This was due to heavy snowfall in the late winter and early spring. Feb/Mar posted $814 million or 34% of the 1999/00 season’s sales which pushed sales to an all-time high as compared to Feb/Mar sales this season which were $490 million. This season was down 4.7% in dollars but up 5.2% in units. The dollar sales downturn was caused almost completely by the average price drop of alpine ski equipment. However, at the end of the 2000/01 season, inventories were at their all-time low. The industry lost sales because of low stock of the best selling items. In most categories there was an 80% or greater sell through. Specialty stores saw a decline of 17% in apparel and 12% in equipment sales; however, a bright spot was accessories sales which gained 6%. Source: 2000-01 SIA Retail Audit

16. Dollars Spent by Consumers at Specialty and Chain Stores 9 1999-2000 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty $571,923,757 $742,464,015 $490,109,097 $1,804,496,869 (32%) (41%) (27%) (100%) Chain $200,751,871 $522,890,848 $152,861,352 $169,277,625 (29%) (33%) (100%) (38%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ $772,675,628 $659,386,722 $895,325,367 $2,327,387,717 (38%) (33%) (29%) (100%) The 1999/00 season was the biggest for the snow sports industry in terms of dollars spent by consumers at specialty and chain stores. Consumers spent a whopping $2.3 billion. Specialty stores saw increases in dollars spent on apparel (9%), equipment (1%) and accessories (12%), while chain stores saw a decline of 29% in equipment sales. Source: 1999-00 SIA Retail Audit

17. Sales ($): Five Year Trend 10 For the past five years, retail sales for winter sports products have stayed relatively flat. The largest year in history was the 1999/00 season where sales tracked at $2.3 billion. Source: 1999-2003 SIA Retail Audit

18. Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 11 2002-2003 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty 3,724,576 3,665,882 20,497,913 27,888,371 (13%) (13%) (73%) (100%) Chain 3,098,382 12,679,341 1,362,376 8,218,584 (11%) (65%) (100%) (24%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ 6,822,958 28,716,497 5,028,258 40,567,712 (12%) (17%) (71%) (100%) Overall units sales were up 5.3%. Specialty store units gained 14.4% while chain stores decreased 10.5%. Overall, unit sales for apparel were flat (-0.9%) while dollars increased. This can be explained by the higher average selling price this season. The opposite was true in chain store, where there were deals to be had in apparel. Equipment in both specialty (1.6%) and chain (4.0%) increased. Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit

19. Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 12 2001-2002 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty 3,668,849 3,609,097 17,097,854 24,375,801 (15%) (15%) (70%) (100%) Chain 3,218,286 14,164,347 1,309,824 9,636,237 (9%) (68%) (100%) (23%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ 6,887,135 26,734,091 4,918,921 38,540,148 (13%) (18%) (69%) (100%) Overall units sales were down 10.6%, both specialty (-10.3%) and chain (-11.2%) saw losses. The accessories category led the way for unit sale losses. Both specialty (-12.9%) and chain (-16.8%) stores saw double digit declines. The only bright spot was seen in apparel at chain stores (+8.3%). Source: 2001-02 SIA Retail Audit

20. Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 13 2000-2001 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty 3,851,615 3,682,671 19,627,806 27,162,092 (14%) (14%) (72%) (100%) Chain 2,971,891 15,942,963 1,383,217 11,587,855 (9%) (72%) (100%) (19%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ 6,823,506 31,215,661 5,065,888 43,105,055 (12%) (16%) (72%) (100%) Even though sales during the 2000/01 season were down 5.4%, units sold increased in both specialty (2%) and chain stores (17%). Overall, the largest gains were seen in the accessories category with a 14% increase. Source: 2000-01 SIA Retail Audit

21. Units Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 14 1999-2000 Season (August -March) Apparel Equipment Accessories Total Specialty 4,913,077 3,914,013 17,801,068 26,628,158 (18%) (15%) (67%) (100%) Chain 2,788,752 13,614,972 1,280,953 9,545,267 (10%) (70%) (100%) (20%) + + + + ______ ______ ______ ______ 7,701,829 27,346,335 5,194,966 40,243,130 (13%) (19%) (68%) (100%) During the 1999/00 season, units sold at specialty and chain stores grew 11% over the previous season. The largest growth was seen in accessories at both specialty and chain stores, an increase of 16% and 20%, respectively. Source: 1999-00 SIA Retail Audit

22. 15 Specialty Store Retail Sales ($): Five Year Trend (Billions) Specialty store dollar sales for the 2002-03 were the second highest to date, tracking at $1.71 billion. Source: 1998-2003 SIA Retail Audit

23. 16 Chain Store Retail Sales ($): Five Year Trend (Millions) Even with abundant snowfall in many parts of the country, the 2002-03 season for chain stores was one of the worst in the past five seasons. Sales tracked at $488 million. Source: 1999-2003 SIA Retail Audit

24. Retail Unit Sales: Five Year Trend (Millions) 17 Like retail sales, units have stayed relatively consistent for the past five years. However, there was a slight up tick during the 2000-01 season due to increases in unit sales at chain stores. Source: 1998-2003 SIA Retail Audit

25. Retail Sales by Week for Winter Sports Products 18 End f October End of Nov End of Dec End of Jan End of Feb End of March This graphs shows the peaks and valleys of retail sales by week during the season. The peak time for winter sports product sales are the end of November through end of December. There is also an increase in sales during the end of January through February when stores are trying to clear out inventory with the end of the season sales. This is also a popular time for ski vacations, during Presidents Day weekend and Martin Luther King Day.

26. Snow Sports Sales by Channel of Distribution 19 Other includes: Ski Specialty (multiple stores), Cross Country Specialty and Sporting Goods stores (single shop) Source: 2000/01 SIA Distribution Study

27. Alpine and Cross Country Equipment 20 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit • These numbers reflect cross country equip sold in ski/snowboard specialty and chain stores. It does not take into account xc equip sold in Outdoor specialty shops. With the abundant snowfall in the East, alpine ski equipment sales made positive gains. Skis (including ski/binding integrated systems) (+0.5% or 3,385 units), boots (4.8% or 38,224 units) and poles (19.3% or 98,775 units) all increased in unit sales. Alpine boots were clearly the unit sales leader with a new product, alpine soft boots, accounting for 5.7% of boot sales. Alpine bindings declined in unit sales (-10.1% or 65,973) Cross country equipment sales held their ground this year. Unit sales were up in boots (10.3%), bindings (2.7%) and poles (13.6%). Skis were down 5.7%. With the rising age of the Baby Boomers, many are taking the sport up again. We should see even more sales of cross country equipment in the next couple of years.

28. 21 Average Retail Price of Alpine Skis Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit Fat: Skis with wider dimensions than Midfat, these are typically powder skis, waist dimensions are typically over 80mm, shovels are typically over 110mm Mid-fat: Skis with normal sidecut, overall dimensions are slightly wider than carve waists, are typically over 66mm, shovels are typically over 100mm Carve: Skis with normal amount of sidecut Skiboards: Less than 110cm, have twin tip construction and are sold with non-releasable bindings Twin-Tip: Both tip and tail are upturned, allowing for riding in either direction. *Percent difference between the average cost and average retail selling price. For example: If the wholesale cost to the retailer is $50 and the retail cost to consumer is $100, it would therefore be a 50% margin.

29. 22 Units Sold of Alpine Skis Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit Fat: Skis with wider dimensions than Midfat, these are typically powder skis, waist dimensions are typically over 80mm, shovels are typically over 110mm Mid-fat: Skis with normal sidecut, overall dimensions are slightly wider than carve waists, are typically over 66mm, shovels are typically over 100mm Carve: Skis with normal amount of sidecut Skiboards: Less than 110cm, have twin tip construction and are sold with non-releasable bindings. Twin-Tip: Both tip and tail are upturned, allowing for riding in either direction Traditional skis: These types of skis are not included on this chart, very few units are sold

30. 23 Average Retail Price of Alpine Boots Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit High Performance: Sold at the highest price points, includes race boots Sport Performance: These boots are sold at middle price points Recreation: These boots are sold at the lowest price points *Percent difference between the average cost and average retail selling price. For example: If the wholesale cost to the retailer is $50 and the retail cost to consumer is $100, it would therefore be a 50% margin.

31. 24 Units Sold of Alpine Boots Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit High Performance: Sold at the highest price points, includes race boots Sport Performance: These boots are sold at middle price points Recreation: These boots are sold at the lowest price points

32. 25 Average Retail Price of Alpine Bindings Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit *Percent difference between the average cost and average retail selling price. For example: If the wholesale cost to the retailer is $50 and the retail cost to consumer is $100, it would therefore be a 50% margin.

33. 26 Units Sold of Alpine Bindings Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit

34. 27 Snowboard Equipment Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit Today there are approximately 50 companies that manufacture or distribute snowboards worldwide. The snowboard equipment category stayed flat this season, overall gaining only 0.4%. Chains did extremely well, up 14.2% in units. Specialty stores experienced a 6.3% decrease which can be attributed to kids not buying products. Bindings did well this season (+5.3%) while snowboards (-2.1%) and boots (-1.4%) lagged behind. After doing really well in their introduction season, snowdecks/skates, dropped slightly in unit sales (-1.8%).

35. 28 Average Retail Price of Snowboards Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit All Mountain: Also includes BAM, race, carve and powder boards Freeride: Boards primarily for on mountain use (out of park/pipe use) Freestyle: Boards primarily for park/pipe use Ride/style: Combines attributes of freeride and freestyle boards *Percent difference between the average cost and average retail selling price. For example: If the wholesale cost to the retailer is $50 and the retail cost to consumer is $100, it would therefore be a 50% margin.

36. 29 Units Sold of Snowboards Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit All Mountain: Also includes BAM, race, carve and powder boards Freeride: Boards primarily for on mountain use (out of park/pipe use) Freestyle: Boards primarily for park/pipe use Ride/style: Combines attributes of freeride and freestyle boards

37. 30 Average Retail Price of Snowboards Boots Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit Step-in: Used with step-in binding Non step-in: Meant to be used with strap binding *Percent difference between the average cost and average retail selling price. For example: If the wholesale cost to the retailer is $50 and the retail cost to consumer is $100, it would therefore be a 50% margin.

38. 31 Units Sold of Snowboards Boots Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit Step-in: Used with step-in binding Non step-in: Meant to be used with strap binding

39. 32 Average Retail Price of Snowboards Bindings Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit Step-in: Step-in interface includes step-in high back and plate binding Non step-in: Two buckle- traditional strap binding *Percent difference between the average cost and average retail selling price. For example: If the wholesale cost to the retailer is $50 and the retail cost to consumer is $100, it would therefore be a 50% margin.

40. 33 Units Sold of Snowboards Bindings Specialty Stores Chain Stores Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit Step-in: Step-in interface includes step-in high back and plate binding Non step-in: Two buckle-traditional strap binding

41. 34 Ski/Snowboard Apparel Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit Ski/Snowboard apparel did fairly well in specialty stores (+1.5%) but not as well in chains (-3.7%). The biggest seller in chain stores were apparel tops that were on sale from last season or carry-over. Among individual categories, tops, both alpine (+3.6%) and snowboard (+5.8%), did well overall. It was in the bottoms category that sales fell short, alpine (-1.0%) and snowboard (-2.6%).

42. 35 Accessories Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit The accessories product categories were chosen based on their popularity among consumers. Accessories have become an important part of on-snow retail sales, making up 33% of all dollars spent by consumers and representing 71% of unit sales. The 2002-03 season was great season for accessories, almost all categories saw increases. The largest increases were helmets (+23.6%) and headwear (+20.0%).

43. 36 Junior Products This was the biggest season ever for Junior snow sports products, 1,274,353 units were sold for $96.8 million as compared to the 2001/02 season with 1,095,923 units sold for $90.5 million. This was definitely the year of the big bang in junior products, all categories made double-digit gains. The largest gains were seen in the categories of alpine boots (+45.6%) and shell parkas (+87.5%). This is very promising for the ski industry. The earlier we can get kids involved in snow sports the longer they will participate. The only category to see a loss was alpine bottoms (-10.7%) Source: 2002-03 Retail Audit

44. 37 Average Price Paid by Consumers at Specialty Stores ( ) represent 2001/02 One of the most frequently asked questions is “How much does the average ski or snowboard cost?” Prices paid by consumers for on-snow products have remained fairly consistent with last season. Most changes in price were in the $10 and under range. There were three products which decreased in price significantly compared to last season at specialty stores. These products were alpine skis (-$15.40), ski/binding integrated systems (-$95.63) and snowshoes (-$27.24).

45. 38 Average Price Paid by Consumers at Chain Stores ( ) represent 2001/02 Consistently, winter sports products sold in chain stores sell for less then specialty stores. In chains this season, alpine skis (-$33.75), ski/binding integrated systems (-$116.54), cross country skis (-$11.59) and snowboards (-$12.33) saw price decreases. It seems that chain stores cut equipment prices slightly to move product out the door.

46. 39 Product Mix of Total Winter Sports Product Sales Source: 2002-03 Retail Audit

47. 40 Total Equipment Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 2002/03 Dollars Units Typically, about 78% of equipment is purchased through specialty stores, with 22% sold through chains. This chart shows that 55% of the total equipment sold (units) is alpine while 65% of total equipment dollars is alpine. Total equipment dollars have been shifting away from alpine and toward snowboard. During the 1999/00 season snowboard equipment represented 25% of total equipment dollars, currently it represents 30%. Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit

48. 41 Total Apparel Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 2002-03 Units Dollars This chart shows the breakdown of apparel by general product categories sold at specialty and chain stores. Tops are comprised of parkas, shells, vests, fleece tops and sweaters. Bottoms include bibs, shell waist pants, insulated pants, stretch pants, fleece pants and junior pants. Suits are comprised of insulated suits, shell suits, stretch suits and junior suits. Snowboard apparel includes tops and bottoms. Source: 2002/03 SIA Retail Audit

49. 42 Total Apparel Accessories Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 2002-03 Dollars Units The four largest apparel accessories categories in terms of dollars (besides “other”) are base layer (23%), gloves,(17%), headwear (15%) and socks (11%). These four categories contribute 66% of dollar and 68% of unit sales. Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit

50. 43 Total Equipment Accessories Sold at Specialty and Chain Stores 2002-03 Dollars Units Besides “other”, helmets and goggles are the largest category contributing 20% and 19%, respectively, of the total dollar equipment sales. However, the “other” category, which contributes 30%, contains items like wax, suntan lotion, watches, etc. Source: 2002-03 SIA Retail Audit