The equestrian accessories market - Italy

1.2 A growing global market

According to Fact.MR data, the global equestrian equipment market will be worth more than $* billion and is set to grow at a compound annual rate CAGR of *.* percent over the period ****-****, reaching $*.* billion in ****. The growth outlook for the period ****-**** is better than that seen in the period ****-****, when the CAGR was * percent. This shows positive future prospects for the accessories market. In particular, the increase in people's disposable incomes and spending on recreational activities, such as riding, will drive the growth of equestrian accessories. The growing popularity of horseback riding among women will also play a key role for equestrian sports and related accessories.

Value of the equestrian accessories market World, ****-****, in billions of $ Source: ****

In addition, through sporting events, including championships and tournaments, in various countries around the world, such as the Japan Cup held annually in Japan, will bring greater awareness of horseback riding among individuals.

1.3 The Italian market

The study published by Luiss Business School in collaboration with the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation revealed what is the impact of equestrian sports on the Italian economic system. Equestrian sports have an impact of *.* to * billion euros on Italian GDP. They are therefore configured as a significant economic resource for Italy.

In general, sports disciplines collectively represent the *th largest industry in the country, with *** thousand people working in the sector and ** thousand active businesses, for a production that generates more than ** billion euros. The possibility of growth in the sector will also be made possible thanks to the intervention of institutions. The government has already allocated more than * billion euros for investment in the sports sector, and could leverage the PNRR to contribute to development[***].

Regarding the accessories market, the chart below contains data on the turnover of companies, registered under ateco code **.**, from the travel goods, leather goods and saddlery sector in Italy, including saddles, reins and other leather riding products. After growing steadily since ****, the sector's overall turnover has contracted by -** percent in **** compared to ****. The reasons were reportedly due to the consequences of the covid-** pandemic.

Turnover of the travel goods, leather goods and saddlery market Italy, ...

1.4 A surplus trade balance

The following graph shows the evolution of imports and exports of:

Saddlery and harness articles for any animal (***), of any material. Harnesses are defined as accessories worn by horses during their use. Saddles, stirrups, the headstock, reins, bit, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all harnesses.

From the graph below, it is evident that from **** to ****, the value of exports has always been higher than the dollar value of imports of saddlery and harness items. It is evident from the graph below that exports and imports have not been affected much by the COVID-** pandemic and the resulting restrictions. In fact, trade flows remained more or less constant in **** and ****. In the post-pandemic, however, there was a sharp increase in global demand, which mainly increased exports of Italian products to the rest of the world. In ****, imports also grew, by +** percent from the previous year. This is a growth rate that remains lower than that of exports in ****, which is +**% over ****.

The coverage rate, shown with the solid blue line, is important because it measures the percentage of exports covered by imports. it is calculated as the percentage ratio of the country's exports to imports. This value can be greater or less ...

2.1 Demand characteristics

Ansa revealed that in ****, * percent of the working population in Italy aged **-** years old practiced horseback riding. Combining the information from the study on horseback riding in Italy by Businesscoot and Ansa, it is possible to state that individuals who practice horseback riding have certain demographic characteristics:

They belong mainly to Generation X, college graduates, with middle-income and in northern Italy. Each incurs an average annual expenditure on horseback riding of €*,***. The reasons that turn a person off to horseback riding are the sense of freedom, harmony, and fun[***].

The numbers of athletes and horses

In Italy, FISE, Federazione Italiana Sport Equestri, is recognized by CONI as the sole representative of equestrian sports at the Olympic level for Italy. The federation registers both athletes and horses. The number of registered athletes in **** is ***,*** athletes and **,*** horses. From what can be seen from the graph, the number of athletes decreased between **** and **** by ** percent while the number of horses increased between **** and **** by ** percent. Some clarifications must be made, however, first of all, not all FISE card-carrying members can be considered actual practitioners; in fact, some of them (***) do not appear to have riding licenses and must therefore be considered only ...

3.1 Market structure

The equestrian accessories market involves countless sectors and players. The following tables contain data on the number of firms in Italy by sector and the area in which they operate.

3.2 The manufacture of leather goods and saddlery

Looking at ISTAT data, with ateco code **.**,in which, among others, companies that manufacture accessories, leather and non-leather, for the activity equeste are reported, it is possible to observe the number of active enterprises and employees of companies on the Italian territory. The following graph shows the change in the number of enterprises active in the manufacture of the items listed above, including saddles, reins and other leather products, over the period from **** to ****. Over time, enterprises have been shrinking, reaching a low in **** with *,*** entities. However, in ****, there was a slight recovery probably because almost all economic sectors came out of the covid-** pandemic alert. The number of employees of enterprises, on the other hand, followed a rather constant trend over time.

Number of enterprises and employees in saddlery manufacturing Italy, ****-****, in units Source: ****

Another relevant figure is the legal form of enterprises. Istat data show that the main legal form of active enterprises is the form of sole proprietor, freelancer and self-employed, accounting for nearly ** percent of total active enterprises in Italy. The second most common legal form is the limited liability company (***).

Share of legal form of saddlery manufacturing companies Italy, ****, in percent Source: ****

These firms contributed ...

4.1 Analysis of the offerings of some Italian companies

Source: ****

4.2 New products on the market

Among the made-in-Italy products recently put on the market are those that are displayed in the Fieracavalli event, which is set up every year. They are listed below in the table below:

Source: ****

4.4 The costs

Based on the survey conducted by Luiss Business School and the estimates provided by Fise, it is possible to observe the estimated average costs for the individual expense items shown in the table below. Before looking at the individual expense items, it should be considered that according to Fise estimates the average value of a horse in Italy is around **,*** euros.

Source: ****

Active horses are defined as all those horses and ponies that directly or indirectly engage in sport and recreational riding activities.

The following table, on the other hand, contains the expenditure items for the maintenance and value of capital assets of equestrian clubs/centers.

Source: ****

Tractors have an average value of **,*** euros, which broken down over an expected life of ** years have an average annual cost of *,*** euros.

The expenditure items contained in the table below, however, refer to costs associated with riders' activities and were found through Luiss Business School survey results combined with FISE estimates.

Source: ****

6.1 Segmentation

Source: ****

• Prestige
• Amahorse
• Tattini
• Equiline
• Selleria Equipe
• Agromil
• Cavalleria toscana
• eQuick