The German sporting goods industry association, BSI, reported figures for the German ski market during its annual press conference at Ispo. The BSI expects that about 250,000 pairs of alpine skis will be sold in Germany by the end of this year's winter season, a drop from 280-300,000 pairs sold last year.
Cross-country ski sales are expected to decrease from 80,000 to 60,000 pairs. The high demand for touring skis continues this winter and BSI assumes that about 40,000 pairs of classic touring skis will be sold by the end of the winter.
The market volume for ski boots will drop to 300,000 pairs, a double-digit decline compared to last year.
BSI increased its membership to 150 firms, with Schöffel and Restube joining the German sporting goods industry federation recently. A surveyconducterd among them to find out their current economic situation showed that 94 percent are satisfied with it, 54 percent assess it as good and 4 percent evaluate it as very good.
In addition, for the next six months, 62.5 percent expect that business will be equivalent to the first half of 2014, and 27 percent assume an increase in sales, while 10 percent expect their sales to decline in the first half of this year, as compared to the same period of 2015.
About 21 percent of BSI's members stated that their inventories are higher than normal, while 71 percent said they are normal and 8 percent indicated that they have declined. About 21 percent of affiliated companies reported an increase in the number of employees, while 12 percent had cut staff.
According to the outdoor division of the BSI, sales of outdoor apparel increased in Germany by 1-2 percent in 2015 as compared to the previous year. Sales generated by online retailers in Germany rose by 25 to 30 percent in 2015. That means that the market for stationary retailers is getting smaller and that they have to differentiate more from online retailers by offering a good service in the store.
