Abstract
With growth in these apparel sectors being very much marketing-driven, 2008 is
an important year for the active sportswear and athletic footwear industry.
Not only is it an Olympic year, but an Olympics that will take place in
Beijing, China, creating a completely different environment for the world' s
major sporting event than is the case in developed economies.
As reviewed in this third edition report from just-style, a lot is riding on
this oppourtunity for the major sports brands, all of which will be paying
attention to the domestic Chinese market, the Olympic tourist market and the
world market spin-offs from television coverage, not to mention internet
exposure of their product catalogues.
The active sportswear and athletic footwear product group is one of the most
heavily-branded areas of apparel. There are only two truly global players:
Nike and Adidas-Reebok. They compete with a multitude of smaller and regional
sports brands, and also with the sports ranges of casualwear brands. The
purchasing choice is frequently determined by the sportsman or woman you
admire, or the team that you follow and therefore the brand that you aspire to
wear.
The sportswear product segment is one of the most confusing to define and
categorise, and the argument of ' what makes a consumer of sports clothing and
athletic footwear?' is a theme which runs through this report.
As consumers, we have all become ' available' to sports brands and retailers
trying to reach us with their marketing material. The main reason for this
being that sport is a huge business, and particularly, a huge business for
television. This is backed up by the SGMA' s recent suggestion that the
sportswear sector is becoming less ' professional' and less ' extreme' . On the
other hand, it is in the commercial best interests of the equipment, clothing
and footwear providers to ' up' the value of their products by relating them to
real or perceived benefits.
This latest global market review concentrates on consumers who enjoy a
sporting lifestyle, and garments that will be used in active sport, including
competition, recreation and exercise, with comprehensive data and analysis
including:
- Definition of the market for active sportswear and athletic footwear
- What people around the world use their sportswear for
- Market estimates broken down by product and geographic region
- Forecasts for overall consumption to 2014
- Supply to the market
- Market share of the global players and review of secondary players
- Product, styling and lifestyle trends driving the industry forward
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