| __________________________________________________ July 6, 2004 - Vol. 5 No. 18 __________________________________________________ I CAST. YOU CAST. WE ALL CAST FOR ICAST 2004 A mild fever has been raging through the ranks of fishing tackle manufacturers in recent weeks and months. They've been busy building new show booths and more importantly, developing innovative new products to unveil to the outdoor media and industry buyers at the 47th annual International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades ("ICAST"), which takes place in just a few days, July 14-16 in Las Vegas. For full story and photos, visit: I CAST. YOU CAST. WE ALL CAST FOR ICAST 2004 http://www.insideline.net/articles/icast-2004.html __________________________________________________ SIZE OF U.S. SPORTS PRODUCT (AND FISHING) MARKET The fishing industry is part of the U.S. sports products industry. According to SGMA International's Recreation Market Report, manufacturers' sales of sporting goods equipment, sports apparel, athletic footwear, and recreational transport items in the U.S. totaled $68.6 billion in wholesale dollars in 2003. Fishing equipment is a $1.0 billion (at wholesale) chunk of that overall market: 1. Sports Apparel ($22.8 billion) 2. Recreational Transport ($18.5 billion) - Pleasure boats & motors, PWCs, RVs (except motor homes), bikes 3. Sports Equipment ($17.5 billion) The six largest categories of sports equipment are: a. Exercise equipment machines ($3.8 billion) b. Golf ($2.4 billion) c. Firearms/hunting ($1.9 billion) d. Camping ($1.7 billion) e. Team/institutional ($1.56 billion) f. Fishing ($1.0 billion) g. Other sports equipment categories ($5.1 billion) 4. Athletic Footwear ($9.7 billion) Source: SGMA International is the global business trade association of manufacturers, retailers and marketers in the sports products industry. For more information: www.sgma.com. __________________________________________________
|