The general assembly of the European Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (Fesi) has approved all the proposals put forward by its board of directors to modernize the organization and to make it more transparent and representative of the sector.
Only companies whose focus is on sporting goods and their federations will be allowed to be regular members with full access to all of Fesi's services, the right to vote at the general assembly and the possibility to become a board member. Fashion companies that have developed a sports range, service providers and others can be associate members without voting rights, but they will also have access to all services and be allowed to participate in any committee meetings. They previously were allowed to participate in only one of the committees.
Fesi has also introduced a new category of “project members” who can also participate in the work of the association in relation to certain specific themes like the collection of ski data and the discussion of trade measures such as anti-dumping duties.
About 35 companies including big players like Adidas, Nike and Puma are currently regular members, in addition to ten federations, which typically represent small and medium-sized enterprises. Footlocker is the only regular member from the retail sector, but JD Sports Fashion will be indirectly represented by its parent company, the Pentland Group, a former associate member which is set to become a regular member in January.
About 20 companies are currently associate members, including some ski companies, Lotto or Timberland, but like Pentland, some of them may become eligible for full membership based on the new criteria, if endorsed by the board. The ski companies will become project members. Organizations like Ispo or HDS/L will remain sustaining members.
The membership fees of the federations have been adjusted to take into account their working budget. For individual companies, membership fees have been revised upwards based on their turnover, and this should help Fesi to hire two more people and to launch new initiatives and services.
In another major change, Fesi's general assembly has voted a new committee structure, consolidating the work of some previous committees to avoid duplications. The number of steering committees has been reduced to five. They will focus on:
- Digitalization, including e-commerce, selective distribution and intellectual property protection
- Trade, including sustainable development
- Product compliance, including chemical restrictions
- Corporate responsibility, including the promotion of a circular economy
- Sport, including the promotion of physical activity.
In addition, ad hoc working groups will be assigned to deal with temporary issues like the Brexit negotiations between the U.K. and the European Union. In case of a final break-up, the British sporting goods industry federation, FSPA, has pledged to continue to be a member of Fesi.
Separately, Fesi's trade committee is working on the free trade agreement between the EU and Vietnam. Expressing hope that the FTA will be approved by the European Parliament before next May's European elections, Frank Dassler, president of Fesi, said it could save its members up to €500 million in import duties per year.
In an interview, he listed other priorities for Fesi like the strengthening of the European Week of Sport, the issue of selective distribution on the internet, the simplification and harmonization of labelling requirements and the revision of the European customs nomenclature for sports products.
Fesi's new organizational set-up follows Dassler's election one year ago and the work of a taskforce for its transformation under the management of a new secretary general, Jérôme Pero, who stepped in last year. Preliminary decisions were taken after a discussion of the relevant points during a workshop organized by Fesi's board of directors in Barcelona last May, which was opened up to all members.
