NPD Group estimates that the European outdoor market grew by 2.4 percent in constant currencies last year, or by 1.4 percent including snow sports products. Excluding this category, the outdoor market was driven by shoes and equipment. Sales of outdoor apparel were nearly stable, going up by about one percent. Geographically speaking, the outdoor market increased in each of the main countries excluding Russia, which had enjoyed particularly strong growth in 2014 due to several factors. However, German retail sales performed below average. NPD focuses on the sell-out, as its data are based on retailers' sales and online surveys of consumers. It will be interesting to check them out against the sell-in data that will be disclosed by the European Outdoor Group in a couple days at the OutDoor show in Friedrichshafen.