The Golfalot.com Price Index experienced a quiet month in November with small falls across the majority of sectors as the industry gears up to the festive period. Despite the Index falling by -0.4% to its lowest level since February, the year to date growth of +2.7% represents a fruitful year.
The Golf Clubs Sector rose by +0.1% as positive returns in the Golf Irons and Golf Utility Clubs categories were offset by a fall in the average price of Drivers, Fairway Woods, Wedges and Putters. The Golf Irons sector was boosted by the entry to the Index of the new Mizuno MP-59 and Adams Golf A12 OS irons resulting in a +0.6% rise. The Golf Irons category has been the one of the star performers of 2011 with the average price of a set of irons up by over +6% in the year to date.
Last month’s fall in the Utility Clubs category was reversed this month as a combination of the prices returning to former levels and a new entry for the Adams Idea Pro a12 Hybrid resulted in growth of +0.5%. The rest of the Golf Clubs sector was categorised by price falls. Drivers (-1.1%), Fairway Woods (-0.2%), Wedges (0.1)% and Putters (-0.3%) all fell as retailers position themselves for the pre-Christmas sales across the main brands in all categories.
The Golf Accessories Sector fell by -1.3% with all but one category reporting negative growth as retailers again looked to compete in these extremely popular Christmas Gift areas. Golf Balls (-0.4%) and Golf Bags (-0.2%) recorded small falls, whilst golf shoes rose by less than +0.1%. However the big story in this Sector was the fall of -2% in the Golf Trolley category. Trolleys have been a consistently strong performer across 2012 however competition on a number of models, notably the popular Powadaddy Touch and Powerbug Sport Electric, should alert bargain hunters who may be looking to go electric for 2012.
Despite the Index falling slightly this month, it is clear from the optimism of the industry evident at the Harrogate Golf Show, that we are in good shape approaching one of the key periods of the retail year.
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