me time, the womens market grew by $444 million, and the mens by $166 million (refer to Appendix, Exhibit 2).Household IncomeSince swimwear is purchased for leisure activities that are related to disposable income, swimwear expenditures vary greatly by household income. Between 1993 and 1999, swimwear purchases by all households earning under $70,000 decreased as a whole from 83.1% to 58.2% of total sales (see Appendix, Exhibit 1).This segment not only experienced a decrease as a percentage of total sales, but also an actual decrease in absolute terms of $54 million. During the same time, only the spending by households earning over $70,000 increased, from 16.9% to 41.8% of total sales.RegionalAs would be expected, swimwear sales increase as one goes further south in North America (for our purpose this is only Canada and the US). However, swimsuit expenditures appear to be quite uniform throughout all of North America.Between 1993 and 1999, only the North Central US experienced an increase of 4% as a percentage of total sales, yet this gain was offset evenly by the other 4 regions.All regions account for 19% to 32% of total swimwear sales.Influential Factors of DemandThe market for swimwear within North America is influenced by such factors as tourism to warm beach destinations, water sports and other water related activities. Swimming and Other Related ActivitiesNorth American participation in water sports, such as swimming, water polo and diving, is being increasingly adopted by individuals of all ages. In fact, as of 1998, swimming was the fourth most popular sport in Canada.Approximately, 1,120,000 people over the age of 15 participated in swimming events in 1998. 61% of these individuals (approximately 688,000) are female.Figures for North America also show the growing popularity of swimming as both a leisure sport and a frequent means of exercise. In 1999, 57,900,00 North American participated in swimming activities.3,800,000 we...
