After a 0.5 percent drop in 2008, the French sporting goods market again fell by 0.5 percent in 2009, according to FPS, the French sporting goods retailers’ association, which estimates its size at €9.11 million, including bicycles. The drop is attributed to the poor economic situation as well as to the fact that no major international sports events took place last year.
The market performed better than other sectors of the French economy such as the consumption of clothing, furniture and electronic appliances, but no reversal of the trend is in sight. For the first two months of 2010, it went down by 2.5 percent, with a 5.0 percent decrease in January followed by a 2 percent increase in February, as compared to one year ago.
While specialty retailers increased their sales by 1.0 percent to €7.09 billion in 2009, non-specialized retailers continued to lose ground as their sales of sporting goods declined by 5.5 percent to €2.02 billion.
Among the specialty sports retailers, the integrated chains raised their combined sales by 1.4 percent to €4.42 billion. The sales of independent retailers affiliated with buying groups rose by 1.4 percent as well, reaching a level of €2.25 billion. Instead, unaffiliated specialty retailers and single-brand sports stores saw their sales decline by 3.5 percent to €415 million.
Average prices went down, but the general footfall remained high, thanks to numerous sales promotions. Together, sports apparel and footwear registered a drop of 2 percent, according to NPD. Sports-inspired lifestyle products and the women-specific sports market fell sharply, at least in terms of value. While men’s products increased by 1 percent overall, sales of women’s products dropped by 3.9 percent, with declines of 7 percent in clothing and 2.2 percent in shoes. Sales of lifestyle shoes dipped by 8 percent, while technical sports shoes held up with an increase of 1 percent.
According to the French Cycling Industry Association (CNPC), sales of bicycles fell by 6 percent internationally and by 6 percent in France, where their reached a level of 3,132,300 units. In terms of value, the French bike market fell by only 4.5 percent to €1.3 billion. Multi-sport retailers such as Décathlon represented the bulk of the market, with a share of 52.5 percent.
