SPORTS APPAREL: SLAMMIN' AWAY; SEGMENT EXPECTED TO OUTPERFORM TOTAL APPAREL AGAIN IN '03.(sporting goods industry rebounds in 2002 from sales decline of 2.8% in 2001 )(Industry Overview)

Daily News Record, January, 2003 by LLOYD, BRENDA

LAS VEGAS -- Sports apparel is hot -- and getting hotter.

Fueled by licensed products and retro looks, consumer spending for sports apparel grew 2.5 percent last year, bucking the overall softness in the total apparel market. And the industry is expecting sports apparel to continue to outperform total apparel in 2003.

In a presentation at the Super Show here last week, John Riddle, president of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), which sponsors the show, reported the results of the association's "State of the Industry" report.

After several years of stagnant sales, the sporting goods industry rebounded in 2002 from a sales decline in 2001 of 2.8 percent. This year the industry is looking for an increase of 2.8 percent....