The chief executive of Royal Padel, Rafael Tarradas, has made twin declarations to CMDsport: for one thing, the European pádel market has ground to a halt; for another, sales for his own brand have taken off since September, thanks to customers from outside Spain.
Barcelona-based Royal Padel enjoyed a 25 percent rise in sales during the first half of this year. Sales slowed in July and collapsed in August, as usual. The state of the overall market, however, is due to excessive orders during the lockdown recovery, Tarradas believes. This plus the slowdown has kept inventories high.
He is therefore expecting the pádel world to engage in discounts. Royal Padel has no such plans, though it intends to have 2022’s stock cleared out before releasing the new collection in October. Between that and the holiday season, Tarradas expects to see a strong final quarter.
Royal Padel recently expanded its factories in Argentina, where it does most of its manufacturing, and has expanded the staff there by 15 to a total of 55. Capacity is now 10,000 racquets per month, but the brand will be producing 40,000 this year, up from last year’s 35,000. Next year should see 50,000.
