Camping regears as families take to the woods - camping products sales

Discount Store News, July 17, 1995 by Arthur Goldgaber

NATIONWIDE DSN REPORT - Despite a soggy spring that dampened sales of camping products, retailers are hoping for a strong summer rebound as the vacation season kicks in.

There is a ray of sunshine. The category has been growing at a healthy rate for more than 10 years. Last year, sales for the 10 major camping equipment categories rose 12% to $1.016 billion as tracked by the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA), based in Mount Prospect, Ill.

To describe camping's popularity, one retail manager said, "It has been on a nice roll for the past 10 years and the growth has been stable." Jim Potter, division merchandise manager for Wheeling, Ill.-based Sportmart, added that he is confident sales will pick up in the summer despite the category's poor spring performance.

Potter based his optimism on a vacation-time boom in the popularity of family camping - a trend mentioned by many in the industry. Sales-driving pursuits include family car trips to a campsite or park, where the family sets up a base with a tent, propane-fueled appliances and many other home conveniences. There is also a potential for add-on sales, such as with fishing and hiking.

Several camping and outdoor product trends emerged from discussions with retailers, product manufacturers and industry observers:

* Family camping is the hottest trend as aging Baby Boomers still want to maintain active, healthy lifestyles after having children. Products that help families enhance the camping experience, such as baby carriers and water purification systems, are extremely popular.

* Women are hiking and backpacking in greater numbers than ever and desire products that are specifically designed for them.

* Younger consumers of high school- and college-age enjoy wearing rugged gear - boots, loose-fitting cotton and canvas shorts and twill pants intended for rock climbing and hiking - all the time.

* The ecology trend is still popular and many consumers enjoy purchasing outdoor gear produced from recycled materials.

* Equipment manufacturers are developing lighter and easier-to-use products to attract more people to roughing it in the great outdoors. As an example, tent-maker Flexus has developed a pop-up tent for Dunlop that springs open by itself.

The best-selling outdoors products include tents, backpacks, sleeping bags and ice chests. For 1995, the NSGA projects a growth rate of 8% for camping gear, said Thomas Doyle, the association's director of information and research. "12% growth [in 1994] was a lot," explained Doyle about his projection, but "we can't expect it every year and our predictions tend to be conservative, but overall the category has shown stable growth."

Although the NSGA was conservative in its projections, retailers expressed more bullish feelings for camping gear. Kmart camping buyer George Shipes said that his company "is looking forward to a great year [for camping]." The best-selling items for his chain include backpacks, especially the larger packs, propane appliances as well as large two-room and dome tents and accessories such as sleeping bags, tables and cots. Shipes said another big seller, easy-to-step-up tents manufactured by Spaulding, demonstrates the need for convenience and simple-to-use gear.

Dave Covitz, general merchandise manager for Ames, also said his chain has seen strong growth in coolers, higher-end Coleman brand tents and backpacks.

Retailers and equipment manufacturers divide camping gear into two categories: camping (including car and family camping at parks and campsites) and backpacking, which includes "roughing it" activities" such as sleeping overnight in the woods, day hikes, rock clibing and exploring other countries.

Camping is still the dominant category, according to the latest NSGA survey with 60 million respondents saying they went camping at least once in 1994, and 43 million went camping at least twice last year. This type of camping generates a substantial level of spending each year. U.S. consumers spent $1.97 billion on camping fees and $1.21 billion on camping gear purchases in 1993, according to the latest fugures of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds.

Almost 10 million people reported that they back-packed at least once last year, but this category is showing a healty yearly increase rate of 20% to 30%.

To demonstrate the growing interest in backpacking, Rodale Press's Backpaker magazine ha grown 48% to 230,000 subscribers since the company purchased the magazine in 1988, said Dawson Winch, the magazine's assistant marketing director. The 1995 demographic profile of Backpacker's readership found it is primarily affluent, well-educated Baby Boomers; the median household income is $53,237 and almost 80% are collage graduates.

Although 70% of Backplacker's readership is male, almost 50% of the readers are married, which explains why the sport is now a family affair.

Camping and backpacking has its own specialty products, but there is overlap on many items such as clothing, boots and accessories. To explain some of the differences between two categories, Greg Simpkins, a camping buyer for San Diego-based Cal's Stores, said people who travel by car to a camp site request tents that are larger and easier to assemble. Because these campers usually bring along stoves and lanterns and sleep in tents, their sleeping bags do not need as much insulation.