The sporting goods distribution market - Italy (2024)

1.2 World market

The sporting goods market is a market that is mainly divided into four macro categories: sportswear, sports footwear, sports equipment, and various bicycles and accessories. The value of the global market in **** is listed at $***.* billion, with the largest market share belonging to the sportswear category, **% of the market value, followed by sports footwear with **%, sports equipment, **%, and finally bicycles and accessories with **% [***]. The market between **** and **** is growing with a CAGR of *.**%.

Sports market value by category World, ****, ****, Billions of dollars Source: ****

The world market is mainly in the hands of eight major players, who collectively have revenues of $*** billionin ****. The sports company with the highest turnover is Nike, with $**.** billion, followed by Adidas, VF Corporation, Puma, and Lululemon.

The top eight sports companies by revenue World, ****, billion dollars Source: ****

The market is mainly divided among U.S., Japanese, Chinese, German and French companies, with the U.S. alone holding **.* percent of the market, followed by China with **.* percent and Japan with *.* percent.

World sports market breakdown by country World, ****, percent Source: ****

1.3 Italian market

The distribution of sporting goods in Italy takes place through two channels, the retail trade of sporting goods in specialized establishments, identified by ATECO code **.**.** for sporting goods and ATECO **.**.** for watercraft(***) and accessories, and wholesale trade in sporting goods, identified by ATECO code **. **.wholesale trade means companies that produce their own equipment and resell it both to smaller businesses and in their own brand stores, while retail trade means companies that resell sporting goods to end consumers.

The turnover of sporting goods retail companies turns out to be *.** billion euros in ****, a percentage growth of +** percent since ****.

Turnover retailers of sporting goods Italy, ****-****, billion euros Source:Istat Ateco **.**.**

*.** billion

Turnover of companies in the sporting goods wholesale sector Italy, ****, million euros Source: ****

1.4 Imports and exports of sporting goods

The Italian sporting goods market is characterized by the strong export of them.

Italian sporting goods exporters are in the segment of the high quality products market. During the period ****-****, there was an ever-increasing trend of Italian sporting goods exports. **** marked a *.*% decline in exports due to Covid. In ****, global trade marked a recovery of +**%.

Sporting goods exports Italy, ****-****, billion euros Source: ****

at the European level, Italy ranks only after Germany in terms of exports and since its imports amount to *,*** billion euros, the coverage rate is *, this underscores the country's strong exporting trend.

Imports and exports sporting goods Europe, ****, billion euros Source: ****

In ****, within the EU**, the main outlet markets for Italian sporting goods, were France, Germany and Spain while the main destinations outside the EU** were the US, UK, Hong Kong and Switzerland.

Main countries with which Italy exports sporting goods Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

boats

sporive footwear

equipment

Percentage by value of exports of sporting goods Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

displacement, have successfully placed themselves in the market segment of products with

higher quality.

characterized

by a high propensity to expo

by a high propensity to expo

1.5 Impact of Covid

The Covid pandemic has affected the sporting goods retailer market, mainly due to closures and restrictions enforced by the Italian government. The number of active businesses in the wholesale sector dropped by *.** percent while the number of active businesses in the retail sector dropped by *.** percent, from **** to ****.

Source: ****

In the first phase of the pandemic, physical stores, apart from primary goods stores, had to remain closed, including sporting goods stores; in addition, sports centers were also affected by the forced closures, and were among the last businesses to reopen.

Source: ****

Source: ****

2.1 Clientele and spending

According to research conducted by Istat, in **** there are **.* million people in Italy who practice sports continuously, *.* occasionally, and **.* who engage in some kind of motor activity.

Percentage of people practicing sports activities Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

These numbers are slightly decreasing from ****, in fact in ****, the data show a decline in continuous sports practice among younger people, and the share of sedentary adolescents increases. In fact, the *-** age group has experienced a reduction in the of number of practitioners.

Percentage practicing sports by age group Italy, ****, Percent Source: ****

In addition, **% of people in Italy who practice motor activity are women, and the remaining **% are men.

percentage of women and men who participate in sports activities Italy, ****, percentage

As for spending, according to Istat data, an Italian family spends an average of €*.** per month. This value has decreased compared to **** by ** percent, from €*.** to €*.**. While the average spending on the bicycle category increased by ** percent to €*.** monthly.

Average monthly household expenditure in current euros on bicycles and sporting goods Italy, ****-****, current euros Source: ISTAT Coicop code bicycles: ***** Coicop code sporting goods: *****

2.2 Sports brands best known to the public

According to research by Statista and YouGov carried out on a sample of **** people over the age of **, in Italy the most popular sports brands are Adidas and Nike, followed by Puma, Levi's, Lacoste and FILA, Diadora and Superga, which are known to ** percent of participants.

Percentage of people who know a particular brand Italy, ****, percentage Source: ****

The same survey also reports the brands that people most often talk about among friends and family. According to the survey, ** percent of the sample recently talked about the Nike brand, followed by the Adidas brand and finally the Levi's brand.

Percentage of people who have recently talked about the brand mentioned Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

In particular, Nike and Adidas are cited by ** percent and ** percent of the sample as brands most capable of anticipating fashions and trends.

Percentage of people who think the cited brand can anticipate fashions and trends Italy, ****, percent Source: ****

2.3 Demand trends

McKinsey identifies eight new trends that will see the sporting goods industry change in the coming years:

Athleisure Gap between sports and sedentary population Sustainability Digital leapfrogging E-commerce Influencer Specialty Stores Supply Chin

Many of them are due to the pandemics and new habits that people have begun to adopt, in particular four of them relate to demand (***):

Source: ****

3.1 Distribution market and distribution channels

In Italy, the distribution of sporting goods is through two main channels, retail businesses, identified by ATECO code **.**.**, and wholesale businesses, identified by ATECO code **.**.*.

The number of companies classified as "retail trade in sporting goods" is **** in ****. This number has gradually decreased since **** by **.* percent

Active establishments category "retail trade in sporting goods" Italy, ****-****, units Source:istat ATECO code: **.**.**

With the lower number of activities, the number of people employed in the sector has also decreased, from ***** employees in **** to **** in ****.

Number of employees category "retail trade in sporting goods" Italy, ****-****, persons Source: Istat ATECO Code : **.**.**

In ****, most sporting goods retail businesses are small stores, with an average of *-* employees. This category occupies **% of the sector, while large businesses, with more than *** employees are less than *.***% of the total.

Number of activities by category of employees Italy, ****, number of activities Source:Istat ATECO: **.**.**

On the other hand, as far as wholesale trade in sporting goods is concerned, the number of activities is much smaller than retail, ****, and over the years this number has remained fairly constant. This is due to the fact that large brands with which it is more difficult to compete are part of the ...

3.2 Protagonists of the industry

In both trades, the companies that dominate the market, are large groups that expand throughout the Italian territory, in addition, in the wholesale trade, we find major companies and brands, which produce and resell their own goods.

In the retail category, the market is dominated by the French multinational Decathlon Italia, with *.* billion euros in sales in ****. In second place, with ** percent less turnover, is the company Cisalfa, with a turnover of *** million euros in ****. Thus, in the category, there appears to be one major player, followed by eight other companies with eight-figure turnover, while the remaining part of the market consists of businesses with a turnover of a few million euros. The difference is mainly due to the name of the company and the number of outlets in the territory. Note that the top eight companies by turnover are the same as those that fall into the catagory "companies with more than *** employees." Though they represent a minority in the category, less than *.*%, their total turnover is *.** billion euros, or **% of the category's turnover.

wholesale retailers

3.3 Technological sporting goods

The Anglo-Saxon term "wearable" is used to define all those wearable technological devices that measure and monitor a person's sports performance. By means of sensors, connected to the athlete, they transmit a series of data that allow monitoring one's performance, state of health, fatigue, stress and performance in general.

The types of models offered by the market are quite varied: they range from smartwatches to frequency meters, from the more classic pedometer to devices integrated into clothing, whether team uniform jerseys, or running shoes, or sensors in helmets or baseball team bats.

Use by Italians has increased sharply in recent years, when compared with data from pre-pandemic years now there has been a **% increase in the adoption of this type of technology. This type of technology is increasingly pronounced among women (***) and a percentage among "home" sportsmen rises as high as ** percent[***].

Smartphones, smartwatches and wristbands are the most used devices, respectively by **.*%, **% and **.*% of the sample. Ranking that partially changes if we consider only women: in fact, in third place is the laptop, further confirmation of the impact of smart working on physical activity.

Devices most used by Italians during sports activities Italy, ****, in percent Samsung

More and more Italians ...

4.1 Distribution offer

Both retail and wholesale distributors specialize in certain product categories. The main categories offered by sporting goods are listed below.

4.2 Prices

Product prices vary greatly depending on whether the piece is purchased from a wholesaler or a specialty store. The wholesale price will usually be drastically lower than the price that is charged in a retail outlet, with a price increase providing the retailer with the profit he needs to keep his business running, he must therefore also contain the price of expenses, labor costs, administrative costs, transportation, logistics etc...

Below are the prices of some garments bought wholesale or retail. The price values were found on the e-commerce of various retailers, and the wholesale prices depend on the quantity that is ordered, the lower prices are shown, i.e. those that involve a larger purchase of pieces.

4.4 Supply trends

One novelty in the market that will bring about a change in the distribution of sporting goods is definitely the growing demand for rental of sporting goods. Though with some items, such as ski equipment, have always been rented by small stores located in resorts, now even specialized stores, first and foremost Decathlon, are giving the opportunity to rent sports equipment at low cost.

Decathlon, unlike small stores, offers the possibility of renting equipment for ** different sports and for a period of time that can vary from * day to a whole season. in addition, Decathlon relies on private stores for this service, so it is not necessary to have to go to a store of the brand to take advantage of it.

Sports for which it is possible to rent sports equipment:

SUP Surf Skiing Ski touring Cross-country skiing Snowboarding Bicycles Kayaking Camping Tennis Padel Beach tennis Snowshoeing Luge Scooters Body building Cardio training

The prices are very different from rentals in small private stores, the difference lies in the quality of the products. Taking for example the rental of a pair of skis, the prices are as follows:

The same idea of equipment rental is also provided at the European ...

5.1 Regulations

Activities that are part of the category "commercial activity" in Italy abide by DLGS ***/**.

The decree enacts the regulations to which commercial establishments must adhere and the characteristics that allow subsequent division into wholesale and retail establishments.

In general, businesses are required to follow certain regulations regarding administrative rules to be followed, safety, respect for the environment and waste disposal, tax and work accident prevention requirements, and also follow the moral requirements of the business. Following are some articles of the decree

Article * Objects and purposes General rules on business activity, rules for autonomous regions, market transparency, competition, freedom of enterprise,network development, prices, safeguarding business activity. Article * Freedom of enterprise Commercial activity is based on the principle of freedom of private economic initiative pursuant to Article ** of the Constitution and is exercised in accordance with the principles contained in Law No. *** of October **, ****, laying down rules for the protection of competition and the market. Article * Obligation to sell In accordance with the provisions of Article **** of the Civil Code, the owner of the retail business shall conduct the sale in accordance with the time order of the request. Article * Scope of the decree Definition of wholesale trade (***). List activities exempt ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Macron
• Adidas Italia
• Intersport Italia
• Game 7 Athletics
• KING S.p.A
• Cisalfa Sport