Demand for warm clothes, axes, crampons and sledges fuels sales boom.
The current cold snap is
good
news for the outdoors industry according to the Outdoors
Industry Association (OIA) with consumers indulging in an
orgy of spending on warm clothing
like down jackets, fleeces, hats and gloves resulting in a brisk trade
for outdoor shops. Insert your own joke about ill winds here...
At least one major chain of outdoors shops reckons business is up by
around 10% and outdoor brands are working hard to keep outlets stocked
up with cold weather clothing and equipment.
Happy Shops...
Ken Reeve, buying and merchandising director for retailer
Cotswold Outdoor,
comments:
“Trading has been excellent with the arrival of the cold weather, with
all locations showing good increases.
“We have seen significant growth on cold weather clothing items
including hats, gloves, fleece and down as customers look for proper
outdoor kit to protect themselves against the cold. For the
more active customers, sales of ice-related products, such as crampons,
ice axes and sledges, have also been very strong.”
Mark Brigham of outdoor retailer
Ellis
Brigham is similarly positive:
“The weather has helped sales - a combination of cold weather and
Christmas presents ensured that we had a pleasing end to what had been
a slow few months. Unsurprisingly, most interest has been in winter
essentials such as gloves, hats, socks, down jackets, thermal underwear
and hand warmers.”
Happy Brands...
Regatta saw a massive 30% increase in turnover in December
2009 compared to the year before with cold weather clothing leading the
way. Meanwhile Berghaus is also doing well, thanks partly, says brand
president Richard Cotter to the tendency of TV reporters to wear the
brand:
"Berghaus benefits from its high profile in the UK – because it’s long
established and so well known, consumers request the brand in
store. Of course, it helps that so many TV reporters have,
out of necessity, been sporting their Berghaus jackets during outside
broadcasts in the last few weeks."
More outdoor industry stuff at
www.outdoorindustriesassociation.co.uk.
