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Cottonwood Heights Journal

Ski & Snowboard News / Skier days down but sales up

May 21, 2015 06:47PM ● By Harriet Wallis

photo: Harriet Wallis

On the heels of announcements that skier days were down across the country this past season, the sale of ski-related gear and is up overall. Go figure!

SIA (Ski Industries of America) just tallied the sales of equipment and clothing from 1,200 retailers during the past season and sales were up 3 percent to $4.6 billion is total sales. That's $110 million more than at the end of the 2013-14 season.

However, the breakdown shows that outerwear sales were up 8% to $1.6 billion, equipment and equipment accessories sales were down 2% to $1.6 billion, and selected apparel accessories sales including total headwear, handwear and base layer sales increased 5% to $589 million through March.

An analysis of sales shows how the impact of heavy snow, skimpy snow, and warmer than average temperatures affected the ski gear sales month by month. 

However, skier visit-wise, the National Ski Areas Association showed that resort visits were down nationwide 6% by the end of the season. The hardest hit was the Pacific Northwest where visits were down more than 30% this season. Yet overall ski gear sales increased.