The market research agency GfK recently published figures on the German market for alpine skis and ski boots for the September–December 2011 period. The study shows the market share of the biggest ski and ski boot suppliers in Germany during this period as well as the sell-out figures of the respective companies. All figures are compared with the same period of the previous year.
K2, with the biggest market share in the German ski segment, managed to strengthen its position in 2011. The company increased its market share from 20.7 percent to 22.4 percent.
Head Germany was not able to maintain its market share in the ski sector. In the September-to-December period, Head's market share was 13.8 percent, down from 18.6 percent in the same period of the previous year.
Companies that benefited from Head's loss in market share were Atomic and Salomon, both recording an increase in market share. Fischer, Nordica and Rossignol maintained stable market shares, while Völkl experienced a slight decrease in its market share.
Atomic's market share in the ski segment increased from 15.9 to 17.3 percent. Salomon's market share rose by 2.2 percentage points to 8.4 percent at the end of 2011. Fischer's market share was stable, with just a slight decrease from 8.5 percent to 8.4 percent. Nordica's market share in the ski segment increased slightly from 1.3 to 1.9 percent. Rossignol secured its market share of 1.7 percent.
In the total market, the sell-out decreased by 11 percent in the German ski segment from €33.7 million to €29.9 million. Building up on this estimate, the German sporting goods industry federation BSI, says that, with the help of good snow conditions and cold weather in the second part of this winter, total sales in terms of volume should reach 300,000 pairs, down from about 350,000 pairs sold during the winter 2010-11.
The German ski boot segment has also been experiencing a difficult winter this season, with the sell-out estimated to have dropped by 25 percent to €20.9 million. The four biggest suppliers of ski shoes in Germany – Atomic, Head, Salomon and Nordica – all recorded declines.
Atomic increased its market share in this segment significantly by 4.3 percent to 19.6 percent. Head's market share dropped from 24.3 to 21.8 percent. Salomon's market share remained stable. Nordica's market share dropped from 16.6 to 15.3 percent.
BSI drew attention to a more and more difficult alpine ski market, with stronger competition among fewer players. During the 1980s, the German ski market had reached a volume of 850,000 to 900,000 pairs. The development of the Austrian market has been similar.
Another trend in the German snow sports market is a continuing drop in sales of snowboards. In the winter 2010-11 season, only 60,000 snowboards were sold and the trend is still downward. Many kids change from snowboards to skis.
