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What is the total number of water sport boards (surfboards, boogie boards, skimboards, and paddle boards) sold each year in the US and globally?
Hello! Thanks for your question about the total number of water sport boards (surfboards, boogie boards, skimboards, and paddle boards) sold each year in the US and globally. 400,000 surfboards are sold annually in the US and 13 to 24 million surfboards are sold per year globally. 750,000 boogie boards are sold annually in the US and 3 million boogie boards are sold per year globally. 20,000 skim boards are sold per year globally, and 50,000 paddle boards are sold per year in the US. Below is my research methodology and a detailed explanation of my findings.
METHODOLOGY
I first began conducting general searches for number of each type of boards sold in the US and globally. Depending on the type of board, sometimes I found already calculated data for the number of boards sold per year and/or annual revenue. Other times I had to perform calculations to estimate number of boards sold or total revenue, which often required researching average prices.
Below are my in-depth findings. For each board type, I state how many boards are sold for how much revenue annually in both the US and globally, and I explain how I calculated my numbers and reached my conclusion. Exceptions include skimboard US sales (for which I could not find sufficient data to form a concluding statement) and paddle board global sales (I could only find data for the US and Europe).
SURFBOARDS
Transworld Business conducted an in-depth survey on surfboard retailers in 2001. Their data encompassed 700 "core" surf shops with significant hardgood sales volume (selling greater than 50 surfboards per month) and 650 low-volume surf shops (less than 10 surfboards sold per month). Many surfers also ordered boards directly from the 1,000 shapers in the US (about 10 boards sold per month). Using these values, Transworld Business estimated 337,000 surfboards sold per year in the US.
However, because this study was conducted in 2001, and more recent surveys and market research from 2011 show that the surfboard industry is growing, the current number of surfboards sold annually in the US may be greater than the above estimate.
This statement is validated by more recent reports declaring between 300,000 and 400,000 surfboards are sold per year in the US.
To calculate annual US revenue from surfboard sales, I tried to find the prices of different types of surfboards and the average number sold for each. The 4 main surfboard types followed by their price ranges are:
I could not find the proportion of each type of surfboard sold, so purely for calculation purposes I assumed 100,000 of each type of surfboard were sold, adding up to 400,000 surfboards sold annually in the US. I then calculated a minimum and maximum annual surfboard revenue in the US using the formula: (sum of prices)*(number of surfboards per type). This formula is valid because I assumed each type of surfboard was sold in equal amounts.
Minimum Annual Surfboard Revenue in the US: (700 + 400 + 600 + 500)*(100,000) = $220 million
Maximum Annual Surfboard Revenue in the US: (1,300 + 800 + 1,000 + 900)*(100,000) = $400 million
Thus, about 400,000 surfboards are sold annually in the US for a total of $220 million to $400 million.
The global surfing market was projected to reach $13.2 billion by 2017. Using this revenue along with the above prices for each longboard type, we can calculate a range of the number of surfboards sold globally. Using the formula $13.2 billion/(sum of prices), we obtain the number sold of each type of surfboard. Multiplying this number by 4 (because there are 4 main surfboard types), we can estimate the annual number of surfboards sold globally.
$13.2 billion/(700 + 400 + 600 + 500) = 6 million surfboards sold per type
Maximum Annual Surfboard Sales Globally: 6 million * 4 types = 24 million
$13.2 billion/(1,300 + 800 + 1,000 + 900) = 3.3 million surfboards sold per type
Minimum Annual Surfboard Sales Globally: 3.3 million * 4 = 13.2 million
Therefore, we estimated 13 to 24 million surfboards are sold annually globally for a total of $13.2 billion.
BOOGIE BOARDS (BODYBOARDS)
To calculate the annual revenue from boogie boards in the US, I found the average price, which ranges from $40 to $120. Using the formula (# bodyboards)*(price), we can find minimum and maximum revenues from bodyboard sales in the US.
Minimum Annual Bodyboard Revenue in US: 750,000 * $40 = $30 million
Maximum Annual Bodyboard Revenue in US: 750,000 * $120 = $90 million
From these calculations, about 750,000 bodyboards are sold annually in the US yielding revenues between $30 million and $90 million.
Approximately 3 million boogie boards are sold per year globally with a market value of $98.5 million (in 2015).
SKIMBOARDS
To calculate global skimboard revenue, we can use the formula (# skimboards) * (price). Wood skimboards cost $50-$100 and foam skimboards cost $150-$300.
Minimum Global Annual Skimboard Revenue: 20,000 * $50 = $1 million
Maximum Global Annual Skimboard Revenue: 20,000 * $300 = $6 million
Therefore, 20,000 skimboards are sold per year globally for $1 million to $6 million.
I could not compile data for US skimboard sales. I did find a list of the most popular skimboard manufacturers, but many had US and international retail offices and did not present their sales by country.
PADDLE BOARDS
50,000 stand up paddle (SUP) boards per year are sold in the US. Since the cost of an average board is $1,100, we can find annual paddle board revenue in the US by calculating (# boards) * (price).
Average Annual Paddle Board Revenue in US: 50,000 * $1,100 = $55 million.
Therefore, 50,000 paddle boards are sold per year in the US, yielding $55 million in revenue.
Although I could not find global paddle board data, I did get total European paddle board sales from 2015 European SUP market trend report. The report roughly estimated the total sales of SUP boards in Europe to be 80,000. Just adding US and Europe sales,
50,000 + 80,000 = 130,000 boards sold per year.
130,000 * $1,100 = $143 million
About 130,000 paddle boards are sold annually in the US and Europe for a total of $143 million.
CONCLUSION
400,000 surfboards are sold annually in the US for a total of $220 million to $400 million, and 13 to 24 million surfboards are sold annually globally for a total of $13.2 billion.
750,000 bodyboards are sold annually in the US yielding revenues between $30 million and $90 million, and 3 million boogie boards are sold per year globally with a market value of $98.5 million.
20,000 skimboards are sold per year globally for $1 million to $6 million.
50,000 paddle boards are sold per year in the US yielding $55 million in revenue, and 130,000 paddle boards are sold annually in the US and Europe for a total of $143 million.
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