Units down, dollars up in June

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)—While the average retail price of bikes was up 3 percent, unit sales dipped 4 percent in June, according to RetailTRAK data from Leisure Trends Group.

IBDs sold 277,477 bikes in June, down from 289,992 from the same month last year. Despite the month-to-month drop, overall units sold through the first six months is still up, at 1.23 million bikes, up from 1.21 million through June of 2011.

Total merchandise sales reached $387 million for the month at specialty bike shops, a slight 1 percent gain over the same month in 2011, reported the Boulder, Colorado, research firm.

Big-wheel bikes continue to see strong sales at IBDs, accounting for $27 million in sales for the month. Unit sales were up 52 percent and dollar sales were up 48 percent. Twenty-niners are responsible for the 6 percent growth in dollar sales across the mountain bike category, with non-29ers down 16 percent in dollars and 15 percent in units.

All other bike categories saw a dip in dollars and units except for kids bikes, which were up 4 percent in dollars for the month. Year to date, unit sales of children’s bikes are up 8 percent.

Road bikes—a traditionally strong segment—were down 7 percent in units and 6 percent in dollars in June.

Aside from 29ers and kids, aftermarket parts and accessories saw growth in dollars, up 7 percent and 6 percent, respectively, for the month with healthy sales of components, up 9 percent to $23 million, tires and tubes, up 7 percent to $22 million, and wheels and wheel parts, up 17 percent to $9 million. However, unit sales were down on average 2 percent across all of these categories.