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Sports Equipment Market Report 2007
Key Note Publications Ltd, June 2007, Pages: 106
The sports equipment market has stalled since 2004 at a value of around £1bn a year, having previously shown better growth on the back of a strong consumer economy in the UK. The problem for the market is that many of the most affluent consumers have switched their allegiances away from competitive sports requiring equipment towards simple ways of keeping fit (joining a gym, swimming, jogging or cycling). Furthermore, they have less time for organised sports such as squash or cricket. Joining a private health club can also absorb most of consumers' budgets for sport and fitness.
The equipped sport that has fared best in this tough market climate is the perennially popular golf, for which sales account for more than a third of the consumer outlay on sports equipment. Given the drain on equipped sports, produced by the fitness trend, buying home-fitness equipment has itself become a major market. Other, smaller sectors — various types of fishing, outdoor pursuits, racket sports and ball games — reflect the variety of sports and the extreme fragmentation of this industry.
There is even fragmentation within each sports equipment sector; for example, the range of materials and items needed for golf. Therefore, manufacturing sports equipment offers few economies of scale. The largest companies are based in the largest market, golf, which features many international brands, such as Callaway, Slazenger, Nike, Wilson and TaylorMade. Most golf brands, like most other sports equipment brands, are produced by specialists; although some brands are used across more than one sport (e.g. Slazenger, Wilson, Head).
For the purpose of this report, the market is split into ten sectors, the majority of which are defined by the sports for which the best-selling equipment is designed. (Although not strictly a sport, outdoor activities, such as hiking, merit a sector of their own). Thus the market is split into the following: golf; home fitness; fishing; outdoor accessories; racket sports; team sports; indoor games (cue sports, table tennis and darts); water sports; skates and skateboards; and various others.
Manufacturers need to sell into all possible international markets, as national markets are too small. As a result, the sports equipment market has been globalised in structure for many years. Equipment distribution in the UK also has a diverse structure. Retailers include: multiples such as JJB Sports; several thousand independents; club shops; department stores; and e-commerce operations. One large retailer, Sports Direct, has also acquired several famous equipment brands (Donnay, Dunlop, Karrimor, Lonsdale and others).
The next 5 years (to 2011) will only be more profitable than the previous 5 (2002 to 2006), if consumers move away from solitary leisure activities — such as attending gyms, jogging, and playing or using the Internet on computers — and back towards more sociable, organised sports involving equipment. Otherwise, companies will have to concentrate on selling more equipment to a shrinking number of players. Fortunately, modern sports enthusiasts do have a willingness to spend more on their equipment — even acquiring expensive professional products — in order to improve their performance.
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