During the first seven months of 2024, sales in the Russian sporting goods market increased by 6 percent compared with the previous year, Check Index, a retail market operator, calculated. The upward trend is noticeably weaker than in the previous year, though particular market players still registered solid sales rises.
For instance, Lamoda, a Russian e-commerce fashion retailer that only recently started expanding its range of sporting goods, revealed that demand in this category rose by 45 percent in the third quarter of 2024. Lamoda calculated that sporting shoe sales increased by 88 percent, tracksuit sales by 49 percent, and sports outerwear sales by 26 percent. Demand for sneakers increased by 57 percent.
In 2023, the Russian sporting goods market expanded by 24 percent compared with the previous year, Check Index stated in early 2024.
Check Index analysts attributed the rise in 2023 to the low base effect in turbulent 2022. During 2022, several sporting goods stores were shut down in Russia, and prominent retailers like Decathlon and Adidas pulled out of the country. This created a lower starting point for 2023, making the growth percentage appear higher than it might have been under normal circumstances.
In 2023, sales in the Russian sporting goods market were driven by a gradual replacement of the luxury segment with the mass market and new store openings. Besides, the analysts added, a return of interest in healthy living in 2023, which somewhat faded in the previous year, played a role in the trend.
In 2024, the sporting goods market is largely driven by growth in sales in the SUP board segment, where the demand spiked by 176 percent during the first seven months of the year, Check Index estimated.
“In practice, we see a steady growth in demand for various categories of sporting goods,” confirmed Felix Asmolov, Commercial Director of DeSport, a Russian sporting goods retailer running former Decathlon stores. Asmolov agreed with Check Index data about the booming popularity of SUP boards. He estimated that in 2024, DeSport’s sales in this segment expanded nearly threefold, and kayaks showed a similar dynamic.
Asmolov said that this tendency is associated with the skyrocketing popularity of domestic tourism, which involves activities requiring sporting goods. In line with this trend, he added, DeSport anticipates a 30 percent rise in sales of cross-country skis, given that the winter sees enough snow.
The rapid expansion of online trade played an important role in the growth of the popularity of sporting goods in the country, said Alexander Khvostov, Director of the Agricultural and Consumer Sector Practice at Strategy Partners, a Moscow-based consultancy. The potential of this growth is yet to wind down, as Wildberries, the largest player in this market, expects to boost revenue by 60 percent this year.
