A 40 percent drop in sales of outdoor gear, due to a 66 percent decline in sales of military tents, did not prevent Johnson Outdoors from posting a 2 percent increase in sales to $80.2 million for the first quarter of its financial year, which ended on Dec. 31, but the operating loss increased to $3.7 million from $1.3 million in the year-ago period, due to the restructuring of its European watercraft, diving and marine operations, and related writeoffs. Sales of diving products dipped by 3 percent because of weakness in southern Europe. Watercraft and marine electronics instead scored increases of 22 and 11 percent, respectively. In the U.S., Johnson has introduced an online ordering service for its paddlesports dealers to react more quickly to changes in demand.

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