The Golfalot.com Price Index fell off in August by just over -1% as the golf retail market appeared to be preparing for new equipment launches in Autumn with discounting of a number of brands across all sectors.
The Golf Clubs Sector fell by -1.4% with all of the categories recording falls in the month. Golf Drivers, which drove the growth of the sector in July, fell by -3.4% with significant discounting of the Adams Speedline, Callaway Hyper X and Hyper X Tour models as well as small price discounting across the majority of other major brands. The largest fall was experienced in Fairway Woods, which fell by -4.3%, a drop again attributable to retailers discounting prices on a number of models with the Adams Speedline range and Wilson Staff Df6 among the most notable movers. Golf Wedges also dropped by -4% with retailers discounting some models by small amounts across the sector and some of the older models dropping out of the index. The remaining categories in the Clubs Sector recorded more modest falls, Utility Clubs (-2.6%), Putters (-1.4%) and Irons (-0.3%) as retailers position themselves in this competitive market place.
The Accessories Sector also fell in July although the negative growth was far less marked than in Clubs with a fall of -0.4%. The largest drop came in the Golf Balls category which fell by -2.6% on the back of slight discounting by retailers across all brands. Golf Shoes also fell by more than -1%, with reductions witnessed on some Adidas and Footjoy models, whilst Golf Bags fell by just 0.7%. The only positive performance this month came from the Golf Trolley category that registered modest growth of +0.3%.
Despite the fall in the Golfalot.com Price Index in August the market remains in robust health following a very positive summer, with growth of +2.9% since January, and with retailers looking to position themselves to compete, it is good news for the consumers who continue to fuel the Golf Industry retail sector.
For more detailed information view the Golfalot Price Index graphs for the UK online at http://www.golfalot.com/News/PriceIndex.aspx