The skiwear market - Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

The skiwear market comprises all the clothing products needed to enjoy the winter sport. The main products available on the market are jackets, trousers, ski suits, technical underwear and accessories (hats, gloves, neck warmers, etc.).

This type of market, as well as being segmented by product type, can also be segmented by consumer type into:

·      Ski clothing for amateurs

·      Ski clothing for professional athletes

·      Other type of skiwear

This market is closely linked to the more general winter sports market. Globally it is considered to be growing and this positive trend is also due to China's enthusiasm for hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics. Growth is therefore expected at a CAGR of 2.1% between 2019 and 2024.

In Italy, the market can be considered to be growing and it is estimated that the increase in recent years has reached 10%.

The growth of this type of market is usually related to the weather conditions, the more abundant the precipitation in ski areas the more people will be enticed to buy clothing for this type of sport. 

The growth of the market is also due to the increasing popularity of skiing among Italians in recent years. 

In Italy there are about 120 companies operating in this sector, including 300 brands and 9,300 employees. Turnover of this sector represents around 40% of the total achieved by the entire sports industry.

One of the top players on the Italian market in this sector is the Tecnica Group, which owns brands such as Tecnica, Nordica and Blizzard.

The most important trends to be taken into account within this market are the ability of the fabrics used to maintain body heat and the importance of an increase in the aerodynamics of the garments (thanks to the use of fabrics made from a mix of nylon and spandex) for better performance.