©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 2 2 SnowSports Industries America (SIA) | SIA is the national not-for-profit, North American member-owned trade association

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©2008, SIA. All rights reserved.2

SnowSports Industries America (SIA) | SIA is the national not-for-profit, North American member-owned trade association representing the winter sports industry. Established in 1954, SIA annually produces the SIA SnowSports Trade Show, the largest winter sports industry trade show and networking environment, while delivering invaluable data/research, support, marketing products, services and programs.

For over 50 years, SIA continues to work collectively with our members: Nordic, snowshoe, alpine and snowboard companies, rep, retailer, resort, regional and national associations and Buying Groups. Guidance from these different sectors of the industry make SIA what it is today, an organization representative of suppliers, retailers and reps all with the goal of getting more people on snow more often and making sure they are properly equipped and dressed to give them the best experience of snow sports.

SIA. Your Intelligent Partner.365.

Membership in SIA is open to product manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retail shops and industry professionals that are involved in the snow sports industry and meet specific membership requirements. SIA’s membership base averages approximately 600 snow sports companies. For those businesses that provide services to companies in the snow sports industry (i.e., raw material and fabric suppliers, photographers, financial institutions, publications, Internet/Web designers and public relations consulting firms etc.), there is a limited membership available. Members magnify their power by working together to further the development of the snow sports industry. Call SIA at 703.556.9020 for more information about membership.

For more information about SIA’s research products contact:

Kelly Davis, Director of Research SnowSports Industries America8377-B Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA 22102-3529703.506.4224 | [email protected]

Visit SIA’s website, snowsports.org, for additional information on SIA.

©2008, SnowSports Industries America, Incorporated ("SIA"). All rights reserved. This report is the exclusive property of SIA. Use, reproduction or distribution, in whole or in part, in any manner by any means, including any form of electronic distribution, without the prior written authorization of SIA is strictly prohibited and in violation of the copyright laws and international copyright treaties. A monetary reward will be provided to persons who provide SIA with conclusive evidence of unauthorized copying of this publication or transmission. SIA members may use this report for internal business.

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The Intelligence Report offers a compilation of research from over 10 different snow sports industry studies. It includes detailed snow sports participation data, retail sales tracking for snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories, ski area visits, business trends, demographics, merchandise distribution and more. It is the most comprehensive snow sports reference tool available to snow sports industry professionals; perfect for presentations, writing business plans, research and overall industry knowledge.

This report is published annually by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) before the start of each snow sport season.

Special thanks to National Ski Areas Association, National Sporting Goods Association, Leisure Trends Group, and the National Climate Data Center for providing research material for this Report.

The information contained in this Report is the property of SIA. It cannot be reproduced or extracted in whole or in part in any way without prior written permission of SIA.

Understanding the Intelligence Report

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The Snow Sports Market

Overview

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Total Snow Sports Market Executive Summary

2007.08 brought $2.97 billion in sales of snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories in specialty brick and mortar shops and on the Internet

$834 million in equipment $1.165 billion in apparel $973 million in accessories

Specialty shop sales increased 3% in units and 5% in dollars over last season to $1.9 billion

2007.08 Internet sales increased an astounding 39% in units and 46% in dollars

Chain store data was back in 2007.08 with snow sports sales totaling $616 million, 15% higher than in 2005.06, the last season measured

Alpine equipment sales were flat in specialty shops season over season but considering the state of the economy overall, flat was good

Cross Country Equipment sales increased 21% in units and 23% in dollars, probably due to excellent conditions for cross country skiing this season

Snowboard equipment sales declined 2.5% in units but dollar sales were flat in specialty shops. However, Internet sales increased 41% in units and 59% in dollars to more than $44.5 million

22,635 new (but not necessarily current) alpine skis and 37,182 new (but not necessarily current) snowboards were purchased on eBay between August 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008

The typical snow sports participant is a 29 year old male or a 31 year old female who participates in a winter sport nine days each year, has a college degree, and lives in household with average earnings above $100K per year**

Consumers report that high gas prices do not affect their participation in snow sports activities******

Over 24 million people consider themselves snow sports participants in the U.S. but 9 million did not participate in 2007***

NSAA reported 60.5 million skier visits in the U.S. during the 2007.08 season***

Excellent weather conditions in 2007.08 drove an 11% increase in overall sales****

*SIA Retail Audit, March Top Lines, specialty shops only. **NSGA 2007 Sports Participation Study. ***2007.08 NSAA Kottke National End of Season ****Skier Participation Study. *****National Climate Data Center April 2008 snow data. ******SIA Consumer Panel

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State of the Marketplace2007.08

Consumer’s Perspective (Slumping Economy and Higher Prices)

• Gasoline prices up 20% since last year and 50% since 2005

• All consumer goods prices increasing at a rate of 3% annually and median wages are flat

• Recession in the news daily• Overall lack of time for leisure activities (American’s

fail to use one-third of their vacation time)

Retailer’s Perspective (Uncertainty and Risk)

• Weather is not clearly predictable at this time for next season

• All retail markets slumped (down .06% according to DOC)

• Equipment Sales are flat overall• Specialty shop equipment sales were flat• Cost of Doing Business is increasing throughout the

industry as the economy worsens

Supplier’s Perspective

• Preliminary reports indicate that pre-season orders will be flat or down 5% to 7%

• Significant increases in materials and shipping costs inflate overall costs of doing business

• Devaluation of the dollar significantly reduces margins when products are imported into the U.S. market

• Retailers’ risk aversion results in smaller preseason orders

• Labor market issues in China may negatively affect production

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State of the Marketplace

Market Realities

• Weather is the strongest predictor and uncertainty remains

• Costs of doing business are increasing due to devaluation of the dollar, increasing oil prices, increasing costs of labor abroad, and other related pressures

• The economy overall is slumping

Reasons for Optimism

• The typical snow sports participant is in the top 20% of wealth and income in the U.S. and their resources are growing

• The NSAA Kottke study on mountain visits indicates that skier/rider visits increased 8% to more than 60 million in 2007.08

• Slumping economic conditions and high gas prices are not issues that significantly impact the snow sports demographic

• Led by strong apparel and accessories sales, total snow sports sales are up 11% season over season in the face of slumping retail sales in other industries

• There are over 24 million potential snow sports participants and many of the 9 million potentials that didn’t participate will come back when they get some extra time, heal from their injuries, and/or get their kids through the early developmental years

• La Niña pattern in the Pacific that significantly contributed to heavy snows last season is expected to continue


Accessories

All Channels

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Accessories Executive Summary

• Almost $1 billion in snow sports accessories were sold in 2007.08

• Accessories brought in $1.4 million more than equipment in 2007.08

• Overall, chain stores offered the lowest average prices on accessories

• More than 60% of accessories sold were apparel accessories such as hats, gloves, base layer, and neck gaiters

• More than 1/3 of all accessories sold during 2007.08 were sold in December

• Over 24 million persons in the U.S. consider themselves snow sports participants and buy snow sports oriented accessories such as hats, gloves, sunglasses, and base layer items

• Helmets and goggles brought in almost half of all equipment accessories dollars

• Gloves, hats and base layer items brought in more than half of all apparel accessories dollars

• Snowboard accessories sales fell 38% in dollars and 30% in units in 2007.08

• On average, fewer than 20% of all equipment accessories were sold online

• The Internet dominated backcountry accessories including beacons, probes and shovels sales with 56% of all units and 67% of all dollars sold

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All Snow Sports AccessoriesUnit and Dollar Sales by Channel of Distribution

Source: 2007.08 March/April SIA Retail Audit

Specialty Chain Internet/OnlineTotal - All Channels

Equipment Accessories

Dollars Sold $261,654,946 $75,980,318 $59,559,496 $397,194,760

Units Sold 8,259,594 3,229,033 1,021,692 12,510,319

Apparel Accessories

Dollars Sold $371,212,291 $144,224,585 $60,172,877 $575,609,753

Units Sold 12,875,259 5,803,031 2,086,797 20,765,087

Accessories Total

Dollars Sold $632,867,237 $220,204,903 $119,732,373 $972,804,513

Units Sold 21,134,853 9,032,064 3,108,489 33,275,406

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Total Equipment AccessoriesUnit and Dollar Sales in Specialty Shops

2007.08

Source: SIA Retail Audit, March Top Lines. Top Line data includes carryover sales

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Total Apparel AccessoriesUnit and Dollar Sales in Specialty Shops

2007.08

Source: SIA Retail Audit, March Top Lines. Top Line data includes carryover sales

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Accessories Sales by Month in All Channels 2007.08

Accessories Sales by Month

$0

$100,000,000

$200,000,000

$300,000,000

$400,000,000

$500,000,000

$600,000,000

$700,000,000

2007/Oct 2007/Nov 2007/Dec 2008/Jan 2008/Feb 2008/Mar

Accessories

Apparel Accessories

EquipmentAccessories

36% of all accessories were sold in December.

Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes. Totals from August to March Top Line Report , not adjusted historic comparisons.

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SIA Participation Panel

1 in 12 Americans consider themselves snow sports participants

• SIA collaborated with the U.S. Golf Association, the Outdoor Industry Association, U.S. Tennis Association, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association to measure broader aspects of snow sports participation than those covered in the National Sporting Goods Association participation data used throughout this Report to indicate top line participation trends.

• We asked survey participants who said they had not participated in Alpine or cross Country skiing, or in snowboarding in 2007 whether they still considered themselves skiers or riders. We found more than 9 million (9,181,000) of these “potential participants” in this study.

• This study indicated that there are 15,750,000 (cross country, downhill, freestyle, telemark, snowboard) participants in snow sports, almost 5 million more than indicated in the NSGA study*.

• Total Market: 24,931,000

*Note: This participation panel has a much larger body of respondents than the NSGA study and may contain more accurate data on participation. However, SIA has only two years of data from this study, not enough to indicate overall trends and was, therefore, not used as the principle measure of participation in snow sports for the 2007.08 season.

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Source: NSGA Sports Participation Study, 2000.07 calendar years

Snow Sports Participation by SportNSGA Participation Study

2000.07

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

(000

s)

Alpine skiing 7,392 7,660 7,402 6,772 6,303 6,900 6,394 5,494

Snowboarding 4,347 5,343 5,589 6,309 6,572 5,987 5,204 5,063

Cross country skiing 2,338 2,337 2,202 1,935 2,352 1,873 2,560 1,665

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

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Source: *NSGA Sports Participation Study, 2007 calendar yearThese numbers include any participant of alpine skiing, cross county skiing or snowboarding and may include crossover, i.e. an individual may participate in both alpine skiing and snowboarding.

Snow Sports Participants Profile

Typical Participants

Average age of Snow Sports participants* Male 29, Female 31

Gender of Snow Sports participants* 78.2% Male, 36.3% Female

Percentage (Head of Household) that are College graduates*

78.2% Male, 85.2% Female

Percentage of Snow Sports Participants that are African American*

.8%

Percentage of Snow Sports Participants that are Hispanic*

7%

Typical Household Income $100K or above

Average Number of Days Participating in Snow Sports 9

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Snow Sports Participationby Region

Source: NSGA Sports Participation Study, 2005-2007 calendar years

Region States 2007 2006 2005 % Change 2006 to 2007

New EnglandCT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT 947,000 1,246,000 1,513,000 -24.00%

Mid-Atlantic NJ, NY, PA 1,732,000 1,953,000 2,415,000 -11.32%

E. North Central IL, IN, MI, OH, WI 1,741,000 2,201,000 1,873,000 -20.90%

W. North CentralIA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD 863,000 1,115,000 591,000 -22.60%

South Atlantic

DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV 1,165,000 1,337,000 1,340,000 -12.86%

E. South Central AL, KY, MS, TN 304,000 143,000 331,000 112.59%

W. South Central AR, LA, OK, TX 672,000 354,000 498,000 89.83%

MountainAZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY 1,651,000 2,780,000 2,194,000 -40.61%

Pacific CA, OR, WA 1,922,000 2,218,000 2,875,000 -13.35%

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Equipment AccessoriesUnit Sales in Specialty Shops

2004.05 – 2007.08

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2004.05 12,300 1,267,556 556,961 407,373 538,568 58,080 365,237 371,258 449,144

2005.06 8,084 1,270,171 592,764 370,603 627,427 68,282 418,735 396,016 488,397

2006.07 4,988 1,251,432 513,066 302,074 617,251 66,829 393,082 328,887 443,415

2007.08 3,277 1,278,148 518,147 257,064 686,366 66,389 397,101 326,873 308,914

Snow Decks/ Skates

Goggles Sunglasses Auto Racks HelmetsTechnical Day

PacksLuggage Wax

Snowboard Access


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Equipment AccessoriesDollar Sales in Specialty Shops

2004.05 – 2007.08

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

Mill

ion

s

2004.05 $0.9 $55.0 $29.3 $33.2 $43.5 $3.4 $21.2 $4.2 $6.0

2005.06 $0.6 $60.1 $34.6 $30.9 $50.6 $4.3 $23.7 $4.4 $6.8

2006.07 $0.3 $60.4 $28.7 $28.5 $49.6 $4.2 $22.4 $3.9 $6.0

2007.08 $0.2 $64.9 $28.8 $25.0 $56.1 $4.1 $23.1 $4.1 $3.7

Snow Decks/ Skates

Goggles Sunglasses Auto Racks HelmetsTechnical

Day PacksLuggage Wax

Snowboard Access


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Equipment AccessoriesAverage Retail Price2006.07 vs. 2007.08


2006.07 Specialty Average

Price


Price

2006.07 Internet

Average Price

2007.08 Internet

Average Price

2007.08 Chain Store

Average Price

Snow Decks/Skates $66.73 $65.22 53.63 $63.30 $21.48

Ski Boards $222.94 $212.46 154.63 $137.56 $179.53

Goggles $48.26 $50.78 47.19 $59.21 $35.06

Sunglasses $55.93 $55.54 62.08 $56.41 $59.65

Auto Racks $94.41 $97.14 83.26 $93.04 $86.99

Helmets $80.40 $81.68 71.26 $70.47 $67.64

Technical Day Packs $62.29 $61.75 87.55 $87.23 $53.01

Luggage $57.08 $58.27 58.18 $63.94 $42.77

Wax $11.96 $12.59 9.43 $14.48 $9.26

Snowboard Accessories $13.67 $11.89 16.99 $14.69 $11.57

Source: SIA Retail Audit for Specialty Shops. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons. Chain Store data was not measured 2006.07.

Ski Boards were heavily discounted for online sale, but fewer than one quarter (2165 of 8753) were sold online. On average, fewer than 20% of all equipment accessories were sold online.

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Apparel Accessories

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Apparel AccessoriesUnit Sales in Specialty Shops

2004.05 – 2007.08

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

2004.05 275,605 1,304,135 556,827 2,506,269 2,301,303 347,390 1,943,029 632,693

2005.06 281,034 1,495,552 629,236 2,543,582 2,341,463 293,375 1,961,082 702,918

2006.07 318,953 1,552,854 628,833 2,565,074 2,149,345 333,197 1,987,038 762,604

2007.08 386,016 1,703,834 664,223 2,786,799 2,110,908 276,254 2,076,785 778,636

Winter Boots

Gloves Mitts Socks Base Layer Turtlenecks HeadwearNeck

Gaiters

Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes for Neck Gaiters only. All other totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

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Apparel AccessoriesDollar Sales in Specialty Shops

2004.05 – 2007.08

$0

$20

$40

$60

$80

$100

$120

Mill

ion

s

2004.05 $19.2 $48.4 $18.8 $36.0 $75.1 $15.5 $42.8 $8.2

2005.06 $21.5 $56.8 $21.4 $37.1 $77.2 $14.0 $42.2 $9.5

2006.07 $25.4 $58.9 $22.5 $37.7 $78.3 $16.2 $44.8 $10.6

2007.08 $33.0 $66.5 $24.1 $42.1 $79.9 $14.8 $47.4 $11.3

Winter Boots

Gloves Mitts Socks Base Layer Turtlenecks HeadwearNeck

Gaiters

Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes for Neck Gaiters only. All other totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

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Apparel AccessoriesAverage Retail Price2006.07 vs. 2007.08

Apparel Accessories


Price


Price

2006.07 Internet

Average Price

2007.08 Internet

Average Price

2007.08 Chain Store

Average Price

Winter Boots 79.59 $85.60 $70.67 $82.10 $76.38

Gloves 37.9 $39.05 $38.79 $38.30 $27.43

Mitts 35.81 $36.28 $42.44 $45.80 $24.62

Socks 14.68 $15.12 $9.05 $8.98 $14.08

Base Layer 36.41 $37.84 $30.89 $31.36 $27.33

Turtlenecks 48.63 $53.62 $48.92 $51.08 $27.57

Headwear 22.54 $22.81 $19.33 $20.93 $19.04

Neck Gaiters 13.85 $14.54 $16.89 $20.92 $15.35

Source: SIA Retail Audit for Specialty Shops. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons. Chain Store data was not measured 2006.07

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Backcountry Accessories

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0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

2004.05 9,064 1,577 8,046 5,589

2005.06 6,801 3,076 9,772 5,187

2006.07 14,539 5,922 14,281 8,859

2007.08 26,949 12,778 28,603 12,444

Beacons Probes Shovels Skins

Backcountry AccessoriesUnit Sales in All Outdoor Retail Channels

2004.05 – 2007.08

Source: SIA Retail Audit, Dynamic Data Cubes for Backcountry Accessories, outdoor retail

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0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

2004.05 $829,796 $75,108 $357,862 $607,943

2005.06 $1,048,860 $152,341 $422,310 $591,353

2006.07 $3,146,493 $287,460 $678,802 $1,027,203

2007.08 $5,770,193 $650,700 $1,255,260 $1,640,766


Backcountry AccessoriesDollar Sales in All Outdoor Retail Channels

2004.05 – 2007.08


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0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

Chain 2,349 2,514 9,381 1,353

Specialty 6,567 2,898 6,557 3,537

Internet 18,034 7,366 12,664 7,555


Backcountry AccessoriesUnit Sales by Channel 2007.08

2004.05 – 2007.08

The Internet dominated sales of backcountry accessories in 2007.08 with 56% of all unit sales.


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0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

Chain $589,740 $127,511 $374,281 $180,710

Specialty $856,761 $147,267 $307,036 $447,647

Internet $4,323,692 $375,921 $573,943 $1,012,409


Backcountry AccessoriesDollar Sales by Channel

2004.05 – 2007.08

The Internet dominated sales of backcountry accessories in 2007.08 with 67% of all dollars sold.


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BibliographyStudy Contact

2007 NSGA Sports Participation Study: Snow Sports, National Sporting Goods Association

NSGA, 847.296.NSGA

NSAA Kottke National End of Season Survey 2007.08 NSAA, 303.987.1111

NSAA National Demographic Study 2006.07 NSAA, 303.987.1111

NSAA Economic Analysis of US Ski Areas 2006.07 NSAA, 303.987.1111

SIA Retail Audit, Leisure Trends Group SIA, 703.556.9020

2006.07 SIA SnowSports US Distribution Study, Leisure Trends Group SIA, 703.556.9020

SIA Canadian Snowsport Retail Market Study 2004.05 Season, Leisure Trends Group SIA, 703.556.9020

Average Snowsport Specialty Shop front, Leisure Trends Group SIA, 703.556.9020

SIA’s inSight™ version 5.0 SIA, 703.556.9020

SIA Proprietary eBay Data provided by DataUnison SIA, 703.556.9020

SIA SnowSports Consumer Panel SIA, 703.556.9020

National Climate Data Center, NOAA Satellite and Information Service, United States Department of Commerce

151 Patton AvenueAsheville NC 28801-5001828.271.4800

SIA offers research reports to both members and non-members. Please contact Chris Semon for more information at 703.556.9020.

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Snow Sports Web Sites

SIA Sites

Snowsports.org Association site

Snowlink.com Consumer site

WinterFeelsGood.com National Youth Participation Initiative

WinterTrails.org Winter Trails Program

Industry Media and Association (Trade) Sites

NSAA.org National Ski Areas Association

PSIA.org Professional Ski Instructors Association

SAMinfo.com Ski Area Management

OutdoorIndustry.com Outdoor Industry News

NSGA.org National Sporting Goods Association

Consumer Snow Sports Sites

Powdermag.com Powder Magazine

Snowboard.com Snowboard

Skinet.com Ski news site

Skiracing.com Racing news

TWsnow.com TransWorld Snowboarding

Skipressmag.com Ski Press Magazine

SKImag.com SKI Magazine

Freeskier.com Freeskier Magazine

Skiingmag.com SKIING Magazine

Freezeonline.com Freeze Magazine

USOC.org U.S. Olympic Committee

Olympic Sites USSkiTeam.com U.S. Ski Team Info

Documents

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 2 2 SnowSports Industries America (SIA) | SIA is the national not-for-profit, North American member-owned trade association