The sports goods market - Portugal

1.2 A fast-growing global market

The sale of sporting goods worldwide in **** represented a market of *** billion dollars according to the figures of LSA-conso, a third of which is controlled by ** major sports brands. The main sports goods distribution brands are Intersport, Décathlon and Foot Locker.

Market growth in the same year was *.*% . According to the estimates of the consulting firm Capitalmind, annual growth should reach *% by ****, thanks to the maturity of the sector as well as to fast-growing emerging markets such as China, the second largest market after the United States. [***]

Two sporting goods companies together hold more than **% of the global market share (***) Nike with revenues of $**.* billion in ****, and Adidas, with sales of $**.* billion in ****.

Source: ****

The graph above shows the main global sports brands, which control the sports market and have a direct impact on the major high-profile events such as the Olympic Games or the World Cup. It should be noted that these brands are in constant war, notably Adidas and Puma born in Germany following the breakdown of relations between the two Dassler brothers in ****, until then at the head of a single family factory named the Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. Nike appeared much later but is now Adidas' ...

1.3 The Portuguese market is beginning to grow again

According to Eurostat data, after a decline in sales over the period ****-****, the market for sports goods (***) is gradually recovering to reach ***.* million euros in Portugal in **** .

Source: ****

Generally, European countries prefer to import rather than manufacture on their territories, so the manufacture of sporting goods often represents a small share of the market (***).

However, in Portugal, the sales of sports equipment manufacturers amounted to ***.* million euros in **** or **% of the total sporting goods market . Several brands have production sites in Portugal, taking advantage of low costs and high quality workmanship, such as Décathlon, which produces more than **% of its bicycles (***) sold in Europe and Portugal. [***]

The manufacture of sporting goods in Portugal is also driven by a pool of start-ups and small or medium specialized companies in the high-end segment. This production is almost fully exported to Europe . Supported in part by collaboration with the CeNTI (***) and many universities in Northern Portugal, ** Portuguese companies attended the ISPO Munich ****, the largest multisectoral exhibition on the sports industry. A very good example of Portuguese know-how in high-end sports textiles is P a company that produces many articles dedicated to top athletes. P Olympic Games, Adidas, Asics and The Sporting Rooster ...

1.4 Foreign trade

Portugal imports almost as much as it exports sports goods worldwide: the coverage rate (***) is ***%.

The amount of exports is ***.* million euros in ****, representing a CAGR of **% over the ****-**** period . Portugal mainly exports to other EU Member States: according to data Eurostat **% of Portugal's exports of sporting goods go to other European countries.

Source: ****

Imports of sporting goods amounted to ***.* million euros in ****, representing a CAGR of **.*% over the period ****-**** . Often, major brands prefer to import what they do not want or cannot manufacture, for economic or technical reasons.

Source: ****

2.1 Economic and structural demand

The Portuguese are doing less and less sport

The current evolution of lifestyles (***) naturally implies a decrease in the regular activité

According to a study carried out by the Portuguese daily newspaper Público using Eurobarometer data for sport and physical activity, **% of Portuguese people reported in **** exercise a sporting activity on a fairly regular basis (***) . But this figure fell to **% in ****, then **% in **** ** points below the average of the European Union Member States. Only Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Hungary are below Portugal in terms of regular sport participation today, as shown in the graph below.

Source: ****

The same study estimates that only *% of Portuguese people play sports very regularly (***) in ****, compared to *% in **** and *% in ****.

Gender and age are two factors to be taken into account in the frequency of sporting activity carried out by the Portuguese:

Women play less sport than men: three out of four women never or rarely play sport in Portugal. Men over ** are the least active in sport: almost nine out of ten men in this age group do not participate regularly.

Source: ****

Finally, most Portuguese do not exercise lack of time (***). The graph below gives the main reasons for the low proportion of regular ...

2.2 New consumer trends

A new type of audience

The future for manufacturers and distributors of sporting goods lies in the sale of products to segments that are still under-exploited . However, brands pay particular attention to to women as they represent a new market opportunity for the sporting goods market, as their interest in sporting activities has increased rapidly in recent years. For example, in Portugal there has been a gradual increase in the number of female athletes federated at the national level since ****, according to data from the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth (***): at the end of ****, they were **% of the ***,*** federated athletes in the country. [***]

New practices: running and outdoor

Running is gaining in popularity in Portugal, which has about one million runners according to Jorge Vieira, President of the Portuguese Athletics Federation (***). [***]

A study conducted by Runnics shows that road and track running have seen an increase in the participation rate of **% between **** and **** . There are ** races per year organised in Lisbon alone, then ** in Porto and ** in Setúbal. As for the number of participants per year, Lisbon dominates by far with a total of **,*** participants in ****, well ahead of Porto (***) Women are increasingly attracted to running The same study ...

3.1 Strength in presence and organization of the sector

Two categories of actors: manufacturers and distributors

The value chain in the sports goods market in Portugal can be divided into two main categories manufacturers and distributors . It is possible to identify * main types of manufacturers (***):

o The new entrants positioned in emerging market segments (

o The specialist manufacturers Historical players, they remain focused on their core markets

o The generalist manufacturers present in a particular sporting universe, they nevertheless remain more generalist than the previous category

Then there are * other players, including * types of distributors:

o The importing companies whose headquarters are located abroad but for whom Portugal is a major market

o The specialized distributors With one or more points of sale (***), they are specialized in one or more segments

o The importers distributors multisports distributors These are international groups, not specialised, with significant resources, which produce abroad and market their products in points of sale (***)

o The multisport specialty department stores Sports Direct stores (***)

o The generalist websites Everything can be found on these sites, including sports equipment.

A tendency towards concentration

There is a gradual concentration of the national market: indeed, there is a a gradual decrease in the number of companies on the sports goods market ...

3.2 A production in several stages

The production process depends on the product in question. However, the preliminary step is always the same: the analysis the needs of athletes. Then comes product design. Designers and engineers, more or less numerous depending on your technicality of the product, work together to design the product so that it meets the specifications.

Then comes the production . For shoes, sports equipment and clothing, the materials chosen are cut, assembled (***). In more specialized equipment such as weight machines and cycles, design is generally more important. Products are manufactured through the assembly of individually produced parts, which requires upstream logistics.

During the manufacturing process, the products are tested until they effectively meet the needs of athletes.

3.3 New practices: the rise of e-commerce

Many physical stores are closing in favour of Internet sales.

As shown in the graph below, a Eurostat study shows that **% of respondents had purchased a good or service on the Internet in the three months preceding the survey (***), compared to only **% in ****, representing a **% growth over the last eight years.

Source: ****

More specifically, the growth in the number of people buying sports equipment online is even higher than the growth in the number of people buying consumer goods or services online **% of people bought clothing or sports equipment on the Internet in ****, compared to only *% in ****, or **% over the period ****-****.

Source: ****

Some of the most popular online shops in Portugal for buying sports and outdoor equipment include decathlon.pt , nike.com and probikeshop.pt .

Source: ****

4.1 An abundance of products

There is a multitude of sports equipment available on the market . Most are simple and generally provide little added value (***).

It is possible to make another distinction between the products available on the market:

o The équipements These are the objects that will be used by athletes to help them in their sports practice (***)

o The vêtements They must correspond to the needs of the athlete since a swimmer does not dress in the same way as a golfer or cricket player. It is also necessary to take into account sportwear, which is not particularly intended for athletes. All this corresponds to a category of products (***)

o The footballwear Shoes are generally a decisive element for any sportsman since they must often also meet particular needs (***)

Prices are very variable: they depend on the type of product and their range (***).

4.2 Product trends

- The rise of leasing in Portugal

The " The " leasing" of sports equipment a form of long-term rental that allows consumers to acquire items at a lower cost and change products regularly, is increasingly appealing to consumers. The trend previously reserved for the automotive sector is gradually spreading to more varied sectors, such as the distribution of sports equipment.

The following graph shows the evolution of the turnover generated by the "leasing" and sports equipment rental industry in Portugal since ****. By ****, the size of this market was $**.* million and is expected to reach $**.* million **.* million dollars in **** according to Statista forecasts, or a CAGR of *% over the period ****-****.

Source: ****

Digitisation and innovation

The digitalisation of sport takes place in three aspects:

*) Sales of sporting goods are increasingly made on the Internet: according to data Eurostat **% of Portuguese people buy sports goods or clothing on the Internet today, compared to *% ten years ago (***).

*) Communication increasingly involves social networks, both for the organization of events and for advertising communication. *) Finally, technological innovations accompany the customer in his sports practice, such as shoes and shoes

connected watches (***) such as shoes FutureCraft Biofabric of Adidas and the connected Garmin Forerunner ** watch.

This third ...

4.3 Counterfeiting that costs the Portuguese market dearly

Although the French sports market is much more affected by counterfeiting (***).

Source: ****

These illegal sales are costly both to the State in terms of lost income (***) and to consumers: counterfeit products may contain toxic products that are dangerous to their health.

5.1 Regulations: textile and sportswear products

In particular, textile products are subject to transparency obligations with regard to product composition. According to the DGCCRF, "the labelling or marking of textile products is part of a Community text, directly applicable in all Member States". [***]

As far as sportswear is concerned, brands are threatened by counterfeiting, among other things, knowing that the Internet has greatly simplified the distribution of these products to young buyers who can easily be convinced.

5.2 ̀me Harmonized global customs

The Harmonized System is an international nomenclature for the classification of products. It allows participating countries to classify goods traded on a common basis for customs purposes. At the international level, the Harmonized System (***) for the classification of goods is a six-digit code system. [***]

The HS contains approximately *,*** item/product descriptions that appear as titles and subtitles, divided into ** chapters, grouped into ** sections. The six digits can be divided into three parts. The first two digits (***).

The Harmonized System was introduced in **** and has been adopted by most countries around the world. It has undergone several changes in the classification of products. These changes are called revisions and came into effect in ****, ****, ****, **** and ****. Detailed changes to each HS nomenclature are available on the links below.

For the development of the statistics for this study, we selected the following fields:

- **.** Manufacture of sporting goods

This class includes:

Manufacture of sporting goods with the exception of articles clothing and footwear Manufacture of articles and equipment for sports and games for outdoor and indoor use, in all types of materials: hard, soft or inflatable balls and balloons rackets, bats, golf clubs skis, bindings and poles for skis ski boots windsurfing and surfing boards sporting ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Texturarica
• Intersport International
• Decathlon Portugal
• JD Sport
• Sport Zone
• Sports Direct
• Adidas
• Nike
• P&R Têxteis
• CM Socks