©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 2 2 SnowSports Industries America (SIA) | SIA is the national not-for-profit, North American member-owned trade association representing the winter sports industry. Established in 1954, SIA annually produces the SIA SnowSports Trade Show, the largest winter sports industry trade show and networking environment, while delivering invaluable data/research, support, marketing products, services and programs. For over 50 years, SIA continues to work collectively with our members: Nordic, snowshoe, alpine and snowboard companies, rep, retailer, resort, regional and national associations and Buying Groups. Guidance from these different sectors of the industry make SIA what it is today, an organization representative of suppliers, retailers and reps all with the goal of getting more people on snow more often and making sure they are properly equipped and dressed to give them the best experience of snow sports. SIA. Your Intelligent Partner.365. Membership in SIA is open to product manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, retail shops and industry professionals that are involved in the snow sports industry and meet specific membership requirements. SIA’s membership base averages approximately 600 snow sports companies. For those businesses that provide services to companies in the snow sports industry (i.e., raw material and fabric suppliers, photographers, financial institutions, publications, Internet/Web designers and public relations consulting firms etc.), there is a limited membership available. Members magnify their power by working together to further the development of the snow sports industry. Call SIA at for more information about membership. For more information about SIA’s research products contact: Kelly Davis, Director of Research SnowSports Industries America 8377-B Greensboro Drive, McLean, VA | Visit SIA’s website, snowsports.org, for additional information on SIA. ©2008, SnowSports Industries America, Incorporated ("SIA"). All rights reserved. This report is the exclusive property of SIA. Use, reproduction or distribution, in whole or in part, in any manner by any means, including any form of electronic distribution, without the prior written authorization of SIA is strictly prohibited and in violation of the copyright laws and international copyright treaties. A monetary reward will be provided to persons who provide SIA with conclusive evidence of unauthorized copying of this publication or transmission. SIA members may use this report for internal business.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 3 3 The Intelligence Report offers a compilation of research from over 10 different snow sports industry studies. It includes detailed snow sports participation data, retail sales tracking for snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories, ski area visits, business trends, demographics, merchandise distribution and more. It is the most comprehensive snow sports reference tool available to snow sports industry professionals; perfect for presentations, writing business plans, research and overall industry knowledge. This report is published annually by SnowSports Industries America (SIA) before the start of each snow sport season. Special thanks to National Ski Areas Association, National Sporting Goods Association, Leisure Trends Group, and the National Climate Data Center for providing research material for this Report. The information contained in this Report is the property of SIA. It cannot be reproduced or extracted in whole or in part in any way without prior written permission of SIA. Understanding the Intelligence Report

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 4 4 The Snow Sports Market Overview

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 5 5 Total Snow Sports Market Executive Summary  brought $2.97 billion in sales of snow sports equipment, apparel and accessories in specialty brick and mortar shops and on the Internet  $834 million in equipment  $1.165 billion in apparel  $973 million in accessories  Specialty shop sales increased 3% in units and 5% in dollars over last season to $1.9 billion  Internet sales increased an astounding 39% in units and 46% in dollars  Chain store data was back in with snow sports sales totaling $616 million, 15% higher than in , the last season measured  Alpine equipment sales were flat in specialty shops season over season but considering the state of the economy overall, flat was good  Cross Country Equipment sales increased 21% in units and 23% in dollars, probably due to excellent conditions for cross country skiing this season  Snowboard equipment sales declined 2.5% in units but dollar sales were flat in specialty shops. However, Internet sales increased 41% in units and 59% in dollars to more than $44.5 million  22,635 new (but not necessarily current) alpine skis and 37,182 new (but not necessarily current) snowboards were purchased on eBay between August 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008  The typical snow sports participant is a 29 year old male or a 31 year old female who participates in a winter sport nine days each year, has a college degree, and lives in household with average earnings above $100K per year**  Consumers report that high gas prices do not affect their participation in snow sports activities******  Over 24 million people consider themselves snow sports participants in the U.S. but 9 million did not participate in 2007***  NSAA reported 60.5 million skier visits in the U.S. during the season***  Excellent weather conditions in drove an 11% increase in overall sales**** *SIA Retail Audit, March Top Lines, specialty shops only. **NSGA 2007 Sports Participation Study. *** NSAA Kottke National End of Season ****Skier Participation Study. *****National Climate Data Center April 2008 snow data. ******SIA Consumer Panel

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 6 6 State of the Marketplace Consumer’s Perspective (Slumping Economy and Higher Prices) Gasoline prices up 20% since last year and 50% since 2005 All consumer goods prices increasing at a rate of 3% annually and median wages are flat Recession in the news daily Overall lack of time for leisure activities (American’s fail to use one-third of their vacation time) Retailer’s Perspective (Uncertainty and Risk) Weather is not clearly predictable at this time for next season All retail markets slumped (down.06% according to DOC) Equipment Sales are flat overall Specialty shop equipment sales were flat Cost of Doing Business is increasing throughout the industry as the economy worsens Supplier’s Perspective Preliminary reports indicate that pre-season orders will be flat or down 5% to 7% Significant increases in materials and shipping costs inflate overall costs of doing business Devaluation of the dollar significantly reduces margins when products are imported into the U.S. market Retailers’ risk aversion results in smaller preseason orders Labor market issues in China may negatively affect production

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 7 7 State of the Marketplace Market Realities Weather is the strongest predictor and uncertainty remains Costs of doing business are increasing due to devaluation of the dollar, increasing oil prices, increasing costs of labor abroad, and other related pressures The economy overall is slumping Reasons for Optimism The typical snow sports participant is in the top 20% of wealth and income in the U.S. and their resources are growing The NSAA Kottke study on mountain visits indicates that skier/rider visits increased 8% to more than 60 million in Slumping economic conditions and high gas prices are not issues that significantly impact the snow sports demographic Led by strong apparel and accessories sales, total snow sports sales are up 11% season over season in the face of slumping retail sales in other industries There are over 24 million potential snow sports participants and many of the 9 million potentials that didn’t participate will come back when they get some extra time, heal from their injuries, and/or get their kids through the early developmental years La Niña pattern in the Pacific that significantly contributed to heavy snows last season is expected to continue

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 8 Accessories All Channels

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 9 9 Accessories Executive Summary Almost $1 billion in snow sports accessories were sold in Accessories brought in $1.4 million more than equipment in Overall, chain stores offered the lowest average prices on accessories More than 60% of accessories sold were apparel accessories such as hats, gloves, base layer, and neck gaiters More than 1/3 of all accessories sold during were sold in December Over 24 million persons in the U.S. consider themselves snow sports participants and buy snow sports oriented accessories such as hats, gloves, sunglasses, and base layer items Helmets and goggles brought in almost half of all equipment accessories dollars Gloves, hats and base layer items brought in more than half of all apparel accessories dollars Snowboard accessories sales fell 38% in dollars and 30% in units in On average, fewer than 20% of all equipment accessories were sold online The Internet dominated backcountry accessories including beacons, probes and shovels sales with 56% of all units and 67% of all dollars sold

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 10 All Snow Sports Accessories Unit and Dollar Sales by Channel of Distribution Source: March/April SIA Retail Audit SpecialtyChainInternet/Online Total - All Channels Equipment Accessories Dollars Sold$261,654,946$75,980,318$59,559,496$397,194,760 Units Sold8,259,5943,229,0331,021,69212,510,319 Apparel Accessories Dollars Sold$371,212,291$144,224,585$60,172,877$575,609,753 Units Sold12,875,2595,803,0312,086,79720,765,087 Accessories Total Dollars Sold$632,867,237$220,204,903$119,732,373$972,804,513 Units Sold21,134,8539,032,0643,108,48933,275,406

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 11 Total Equipment Accessories Unit and Dollar Sales in Specialty Shops Source: SIA Retail Audit, March Top Lines. Top Line data includes carryover sales

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 12 Total Apparel Accessories Unit and Dollar Sales in Specialty Shops Source: SIA Retail Audit, March Top Lines. Top Line data includes carryover sales

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 13 Accessories Sales by Month in All Channels % of all accessories were sold in December. Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 14 SIA Participation Panel 1 in 12 Americans consider themselves snow sports participants SIA collaborated with the U.S. Golf Association, the Outdoor Industry Association, U.S. Tennis Association, and the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association to measure broader aspects of snow sports participation than those covered in the National Sporting Goods Association participation data used throughout this Report to indicate top line participation trends. We asked survey participants who said they had not participated in Alpine or cross Country skiing, or in snowboarding in 2007 whether they still considered themselves skiers or riders. We found more than 9 million (9,181,000) of these “potential participants” in this study. This study indicated that there are 15,750,000 (cross country, downhill, freestyle, telemark, snowboard) participants in snow sports, almost 5 million more than indicated in the NSGA study*. Total Market: 24,931,000 *Note: This participation panel has a much larger body of respondents than the NSGA study and may contain more accurate data on participation. However, SIA has only two years of data from this study, not enough to indicate overall trends and was, therefore, not used as the principle measure of participation in snow sports for the season.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 15 Source: NSGA Sports Participation Study, calendar years Snow Sports Participation by Sport NSGA Participation Study

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 16 Source: *NSGA Sports Participation Study, 2007 calendar year These numbers include any participant of alpine skiing, cross county skiing or snowboarding and may include crossover, i.e. an individual may participate in both alpine skiing and snowboarding. Snow Sports Participants Profile Typical Participants Average age of Snow Sports participants*Male 29, Female 31 Gender of Snow Sports participants*78.2% Male, 36.3% Female Percentage (Head of Household) that are College graduates* 78.2% Male, 85.2% Female Percentage of Snow Sports Participants that are African American*.8% Percentage of Snow Sports Participants that are Hispanic* 7% Typical Household Income$100K or above Average Number of Days Participating in Snow Sports9

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 17 Snow Sports Participation by Region Source: NSGA Sports Participation Study, calendar years RegionStates % Change 2006 to 2007 New England CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT947,0001,246,0001,513, % Mid-AtlanticNJ, NY, PA1,732,0001,953,0002,415, % E. North CentralIL, IN, MI, OH, WI1,741,0002,201,0001,873, % W. North Central IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD863,0001,115,000591, % South Atlantic DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV1,165,0001,337,0001,340, % E. South CentralAL, KY, MS, TN304,000143,000331, % W. South CentralAR, LA, OK, TX672,000354,000498, % Mountain AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY1,651,0002,780,0002,194, % PacificCA, OR, WA1,922,0002,218,0002,875, %

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 18 Equipment Accessories

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 19 Equipment Accessories Unit Sales in Specialty Shops – Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 20 Equipment Accessories Dollar Sales in Specialty Shops – Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 21 Equipment Accessories Average Retail Price vs Equipment Accessories Specialty Average Price Specialty Average Price Internet Average Price Internet Average Price Chain Store Average Price Snow Decks/Skates$66.73$ $63.30$21.48 Ski Boards$222.94$ $137.56$ Goggles$48.26$ $59.21$35.06 Sunglasses$55.93$ $56.41$59.65 Auto Racks$94.41$ $93.04$86.99 Helmets$80.40$ $70.47$67.64 Technical Day Packs$62.29$ $87.23$53.01 Luggage$57.08$ $63.94$42.77 Wax$11.96$ $14.48$9.26 Snowboard Accessories$13.67$ $14.69$11.57 Source: SIA Retail Audit for Specialty Shops. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons. Chain Store data was not measured Ski Boards were heavily discounted for online sale, but fewer than one quarter (2165 of 8753) were sold online. On average, fewer than 20% of all equipment accessories were sold online.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 22 Apparel Accessories

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 23 Apparel Accessories Unit Sales in Specialty Shops – Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes for Neck Gaiters only. All other totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 24 Apparel Accessories Dollar Sales in Specialty Shops – Source: SIA Retail Audit Top Line Reports for Specialty Shops and Dynamic Data Cubes for Neck Gaiters only. All other totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons.

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 25 Apparel Accessories Average Retail Price vs Apparel Accessories Specialty Average Price Specialty Average Price Internet Average Price Internet Average Price Chain Store Average Price Winter Boots79.59$85.60$70.67$82.10$76.38 Gloves37.9$39.05$38.79$38.30$27.43 Mitts35.81$36.28$42.44$45.80$24.62 Socks14.68$15.12$9.05$8.98$14.08 Base Layer36.41$37.84$30.89$31.36$27.33 Turtlenecks48.63$53.62$48.92$51.08$27.57 Headwear22.54$22.81$19.33$20.93$19.04 Neck Gaiters13.85$14.54$16.89$20.92$15.35 Source: SIA Retail Audit for Specialty Shops. Totals from August to March Top Line Report, not adjusted historic comparisons. Chain Store data was not measured

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 26 Backcountry Accessories

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 27 Backcountry Accessories Unit Sales in All Outdoor Retail Channels – Source: SIA Retail Audit, Dynamic Data Cubes for Backcountry Accessories, outdoor retail

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 28 Backcountry Accessories Dollar Sales in All Outdoor Retail Channels – Source: SIA Retail Audit, Dynamic Data Cubes for Backcountry Accessories, outdoor retail

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 29 Backcountry Accessories Unit Sales by Channel – The Internet dominated sales of backcountry accessories in with 56% of all unit sales. Source: SIA Retail Audit, Dynamic Data Cubes for Backcountry Accessories, outdoor retail

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 30 Backcountry Accessories Dollar Sales by Channel – The Internet dominated sales of backcountry accessories in with 67% of all dollars sold. Source: SIA Retail Audit, Dynamic Data Cubes for Backcountry Accessories, outdoor retail

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 31 Bibliography StudyContact 2007 NSGA Sports Participation Study: Snow Sports, National Sporting Goods Association NSGA, NSGA NSAA Kottke National End of Season Survey NSAA, NSAA National Demographic Study NSAA, NSAA Economic Analysis of US Ski Areas NSAA, SIA Retail Audit, Leisure Trends GroupSIA, SIA SnowSports US Distribution Study, Leisure Trends GroupSIA, SIA Canadian Snowsport Retail Market Study Season, Leisure Trends GroupSIA, Average Snowsport Specialty Shop front, Leisure Trends GroupSIA, SIA’s inSight™ version 5.0SIA, SIA Proprietary eBay Data provided by DataUnisonSIA, SIA SnowSports Consumer PanelSIA, National Climate Data Center, NOAA Satellite and Information Service, United States Department of Commerce 151 Patton Avenue Asheville NC SIA offers research reports to both members and non-members. Please contact Chris Semon for more information at

©2008, SIA. All rights reserved. 32 Snow Sports Web Sites SIA Sites Snowsports.orgAssociation site Snowlink.comConsumer site WinterFeelsGood.comNational Youth Participation Initiative WinterTrails.orgWinter Trails Program Industry Media and Association (Trade) Sites NSAA.orgNational Ski Areas Association PSIA.orgProfessional Ski Instructors Association SAMinfo.comSki Area Management OutdoorIndustry.comOutdoor Industry News NSGA.orgNational Sporting Goods Association Consumer Snow Sports Sites Powdermag.comPowder Magazine Snowboard.comSnowboard Skinet.comSki news site Skiracing.comRacing news TWsnow.comTransWorld Snowboarding Skipressmag.comSki Press Magazine SKImag.comSKI Magazine Freeskier.comFreeskier Magazine Skiingmag.comSKIING Magazine Freezeonline.comFreeze Magazine USOC.orgU.S. Olympic Committee Olympic Sites USSkiTeam.comU.S. Ski Team Info