Sports market: 5% drop in sales in Europe

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Feb 5, 2015

Ispo, which began on Thursday, February 5, serves as a good opportunity, especially for sports retailers, to release various reports. Haizmann Werner, president of the German federation of sports retailers and of Fedas, the European retailers' federation, released such a report. He painted a mixed picture for 2014. While sports sales are still on the rise, one would have expected better results given that 2014 saw both the Olympics in Sochi and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

European retailers saw their sales fall by 5% last year to 35.8 billion euros—a decline largely due to the economic situation in Southern and Eastern Europe. 

In Germany, on the other hand, Werner Haizmann noted a 1.5% increase to 7.3 billion euros. But the increase was rather low considering the sporting events held in 2014 and the German team’s victory at the World Cup. The result was also affected by the weather, the warmest year in Germany since meteorological measurements have been taken. 

In Germany, sales of winter sports equipment by sports retailers fell by 19%. However, the running and outdoor segments grew respectively by 12% and 3%. Outdoor made up 20% of the market in Germany, while running and walking accounted for 12%. 

In contrast, team sports, which accounted for 11.5%, saw their sales at sports retailers jump by 20%.

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