Global Sporting Goods Industry Analysis
The worldwide sporting goods industry is forecast to reach $303 billion by 2015, reports Global Industry Analysts. Consumer interest in sports has been steadily rising in recent years partly due to wider media coverage of sporting events, making sports popular with huge numbers of people, young and old. TV and internet sports coverage also serve to make sporting events more and more accessible to the masses.
With sporting events firmly established as mainstream entertainment, and sports stars gaining celebrity status, increasing numbers of children and young adults are attracted to sports as a professional career, or just as a leisure activity. In recent times, the industry has also witnessed growing numbers of female spectators and players, particularly in organized sports such as basketball, badminton and tennis.
Green Trend
The electric bicycle is the leading electric vehicle in the world with sales forecast to surpass 30 million units in 2012, according to Pike Research. Factors fuelling electric bicycle demand include increasing urbanization and rising demand for low-cost transportation in emerging markets. Companies operating in the global e-bicycle industry are offering a wide range of styles, such as scooter-style electric bicycles, pedal-assist electric bicycles and throttle-controlled drive trains.
The US and Latin America markets are being negatively impacted by modest demand combined with a weak distribution network. For this reason, the industry is witnessing a rising number of acquisitions and business failures. China represents the world’s largest e-bicycle market, accounting for more than 90% of overall sales. Most e-bicycles sold in China are run on sealed lead acid batteries, which affords the country very low cost e-bicycles but has also resulted in e-bicycle traffic congestion. Another concern regarding the use of sealed lead acid batteries is lead contamination, plus manufacturers have been failing to adhere to laws concerning e-bicycles speed and weight limits.
Regional Market Share
Traditionally, the US and the EU have contributed the lion’s share of revenue to the global sporting goods industry. However, Global Industry Analysts predicts future growth will come from emerging markets such as Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Growth in these regions will be fuelled by rising standards of living and greater awareness concerning international brands. With established markets nearing saturation, industry players are concentrating more on Central and Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East countries.
Asia-Pacific in particular is a region with vast potential, already recording the most rapid rate of growth across the global sporting goods industry, due in large part to emerging market consumption in countries like India and China. China leads the Asian regional market, with many sporting events organized within the country. Demand from other emerging economies – such as Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore – is also fuelling growth. The Asia-Pacific sports equipment industry reached around $18 billion in 2011, having maintained yearly growth in excess of 2.5% for the four preceding years, reports MarketLine. Market growth is expected to accelerate to a yearly growth rate of almost 3% between 2011 and 2016 to reach almost $21 billion. Ball sport equipment represents the leading market segment, reaching almost $5.5 billion in 2011 or accounting for around 30% of the overall market.
Sports equipment sales in the EU generated more than $19 billion in 2011, reports MarketLine. The sector is set to slow from almost 2.5% yearly growth between 2007 and 2011 to a yearly rate of less than 2% for the five-year period ending 2016 to exceed $21 billion. In 2011, the ball sport equipment sector led the market reaching $5 billion, or totaling more than a quarter of the overall market in terms of value.
The US sports equipment industry broke the $21 billion mark in 2011, after more than 1.5% yearly growth for four years. Adventure sport equipment represented the leading market segment in 2011 generating more than $7 billion for almost 34% of the market. Market growth is expected to accelerate to a yearly rate of 2% between 2011 and 2016, bringing the market to exceed $23 billion.
