Editor: Jane Griffiths
ISBN: 1-84168-157-1

This report covers: sports equipment, personal equipment, golf, badminton, tennis, bowls, squash, climbing, mountaineering, tenpin bowling, snooker, darts, table tennis, billiards, racket sports, pool, swimming, football, cricket, basketball, rugby, hockey, sailing, fishing, cycling, horse riding, gym, gymnastics,

Companies covered include: Acushnet, Callaway Golf Europe, Dunlop Slazenger Group, Pentland Group, Wilson Sporting Goods, adidas,

Executive Summary

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Despite some fluctuations in recent years, demand for sports equipment in the UK returned to its 1996 retail value of £850m in 2000. Consumers account for £700m of the spending, and organisations for £150m. The stagnant state of the market is due to declining participation in sports that require equipment, and this stems from a growing preference for keeping fit for its own sake — using health clubs or jogging.

Golf is the main sport bucking the trend, and it constitutes by far the largest equipment market, followed by racket sports, fitness equipment and fishing. A wide range of individual sports maintain markets for equipment worth less than £10m a year, although consumers may spend much more on fees for participating in them (e.g. club membership or travel costs).

For manufacturers, fragmentation across many sports means that economies of scale are very difficult to achieve. Most companies supplying the market are small specialists, often making or distributing only certain types of equipment (e.g. balls or gloves) for a single sport.

There are a few large, multisport companies, one of the largest being Dunlop Slazenger Group Ltd (DSG), a major manufacturer and exporter, and easily the UK's largest sports equipment company. Other large companies include Wilson (part of Amer, of Finland), the Sports division of adidas-Salomon (Germany), Spalding (US), Titleist & Footjoy (part of Fortune Brands) and Callaway Golf. These companies reflect the global structure of brand distribution, and also emphasise the growth of golf.

The prospects for the next few years should be better, based on demographic trends (such as an increasing proportion of the population being accounted for by 15 to 24 year-olds, who are crucial to this market) and the expansion of private sports clubs.

Key Note forecasts that the retail market for sports equipment will increase to £860m in 2001, rising to £900m by 2004.

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Text © 2001 Key Note

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