With an industry-wide growth rate of 6.5 percent for the first half of the year, sporting goods retailers are expecting a new record in their sales for this year, according to the Norwegian sporting goods industry association, Sportsbransjen. After reaching record sales in 2015 (see the retail chart in this issue), sales rose by a further 5.4 percent in the first quarter, followed by a 7.6 percent increase in the second quarter, leading to total sales of 6.2 billion Norwegian kroner (€669.5m-$747.4m) for the first half of the year. The positive trend probably continued as the Norwegian Tourism Association has reported an increase in memberships as well as people hiking and camping in the mountains. There have also been more foreign tourists in Norway. However, Trond Hansen, who recently rejoined the association as its chief executive has noted that lower earnings have been recorded in several segments of the market.

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