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Want some good news about the
economy? Look at the fitness
industry.
In 2011, U.S. wholesale sales of
sporting goods equipment, sports
apparel, licensed merchandise,
athletic footwear, and fitness
equipment were $77.3 billion –
according to the Sporting Goods
Manufacturers Association’s (SGMA) State
of the Industry Report (2012).
That was a 4.2% increase over
2010, when sales were $74.2
billion. This boost in sales
indicates the second straight
year that the sporting goods and
fitness industry has shown signs
that it is ‘on the comeback
trail’. It’s the first time
since 2007 that the industry’s
wholesale sales reached $77
billion. And, the sporting
goods industry, for the second
straight year, outperformed GDP
in the US.
The ‘hot’ categories in the
industry which drove this growth
were branded activewear (up
9.6%), golf clubs (up 8.9%),
running footwear (up 7.6%),
elliptical machines (up 7.1%),
outdoor/adventure footwear (up
6.1%), classics/originals
footwear (up 5.6%), and
performance apparel – tops (up
5.4%).
One of the leading industry
business topics is mass
customization where
manufacturers are producing
customized, quick-turnaround
gear for the consumer. And,
there are two types of mass
customization: for performance
(fitness) and for style
(personalization).
Consumer Spending Trends
SGMA surveyed 13 categories of
consumer spending. Of those 13
categories, six of them revealed
higher consumer spending in 2011
than in 2010. The top two
categories that exhibited the
highest percentage of ‘more
consumer spending’ were Lessons,
Instructions, & Camps and Team
Sports at School. Of those
consumers who spent money on the
former, nearly 25% of those
consumers said they spent more
in 2011 than in 2010. As for
the latter, just more than 22%
of those consumers said they
spent more in 2011 than in
2010. The category which had
the least amount of change,
where consumers kept their
spending steady, was Tennis
Membership Fees, where 71% of
those who spent money on tennis
memberships in 2010 actually
spent the same amount of money
in 2011.
It’s worth noting that in seven
of the 13 categories, more than
20% of the consumers from those
categories expect to spend more
this year than in 2011.
Sports & Fitness
Participation
The state of fitness and
activity in the U.S. is an
ever-changing situation. The
good news is that 217 million
Americans are considered
‘active,’ yet more than 68
million Americans are totally
‘inactive’ – for any number of
reasons such as age, illness,
little interest, lack of access
to facilities, or minimal
ability. Listed below are some
of the other noteworthy facts
and figures on sports
participation in the U.S.
Group Fitness.
Yoga, boot-camp style training,
and class-based fitness classes
are the main growth categories
in the fitness industry.
Older and More Active. ‘Baby
Boomers’ (those born between
1945 and 1964) are more
interested in fitness activities
and outdoor sports than
Generation X (those born between
1965 and 1979).
Voters Are Active. Those
who are physically active are
more likely to vote in the
Presidential elections this
coming November than those who
are not physically active.
E-Commerce Continues To
Expand
According to WebScore Analytics,
e-commerce sales in the U.S. for
all industries in 2011 reached
$185 billion, which was a 14%
increase over sales in 2010.
E-commerce sales are expected to
reach $270 billion by 2015. In
the U.S. sporting goods
industry, e-commerce sales in
2011 were $2.1 billion and they
are expected to reach $4.9
billion by 2015.
As a percentage of overall
sporting goods industry sales in
the U.S., e-commerce sales
continue to play a bigger role.
The percentages have continued
to increase every year since
2006 – rising from 3.6% in 2006
to 6.2% in 2011.
Of the 91 industry leaders
surveyed by SGMA, nearly 60% of
the companies represented in the
survey said they sell directly
to the consumer. And, of those
companies that do not sell
direct to consumers, nearly 70%
of them plan to start selling
directly to consumers this year.
Sports/Fitness Industry’s
Biggest Concerns
The five leading business
concerns for the sporting goods
and fitness industry in the U.S.
are (1) increasing market share,
(2) material cost/availability,
(3) slower consumer spending,
(4) product sourcing, and (5)
lack of consumer confidence.
Future Olympic Inclusions?
Something that might interest
sports facility builders is the
fact that two sports considered
strong contenders for future
Olympic Games are 3-on-3
basketball and skateboarding.
(Skateboarding, in particular,
say some insiders, could do what
for the summer Games what
snowboarding did for the winter
Games -- bring in new youth
interest, particularly in the
tween and teen market.
The SGMA’s State of the Industry
Report (2012 edition), which
discusses business and
participation trends within the
sporting goods industry, may be
obtained at
www.sgma.com/reports.
It is available for free for
SGMA members. The cost of this
report for non-members is $495. |
