Good growth for sports footwear in Europe

The consumption of sports shoes rose at a healthy rate of 3.2 percent in volume in the five major European countries in 2011, according to the NPD Group's online consumer panel, reaching a level of 206.2 million pairs. The biggest increase was recorded in France, up by 5.6 percent. Sales grew in volume by 2.0 percent in Italy and by 3.3 percent in Spain, in spite of the difficult economic conditions in those countries. The U.K. and Germany were up by 2.7 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Average selling prices increased in all the countries except Spain, and they were flat in Italy, limiting the growth in terms of value to 2.1 percent and 2.0 percent in these two countries, respectively. The biggest price increases took place in the German market, where consumption of sports footwear rose by 4.7 percent in value. France and the U.K. performed better in terms of euros, growing by 6.2 and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Overall, the market for sports shoes went up in value by 4.0 percent to €8.63 billion in the five countries in 2011, according to NPD's research, which goes into more detail in terms of products, brands, retail channels and consumer profiles. However, the consumption of sports apparel grew by only 1.2 percent in value to €13.52 billion, rising by 4.2 percent in the U.K., by 1.6 percent in Germany and by 0.1 percent in France.

Apparel consumption actually fell by 0.2 percent in Italy and by 0.3 percent in Spain, as average selling prices for this kind of product declined by 1.3 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively, offsetting increases in volume of 1.7 percent and 3.8 percent.

Apparel prices grew by less than 2 percent in the other countries. The total volume of sports apparel sold in the region increased by only 1.3 percent to 543.9 million units. The volume rose by 2.4 percent in the U.K. It fell marginally in France and Germany.

Renaud Vaschalde, an NPD analyst in Paris, points out that the market for these products grew on the sports performance side last year rather than for leisure and everyday wear. No particular growth is expected for sports apparel this year in the region, according to Vaschalde, citing some “consumer fatigue.” He feels that there are still some pockets of growth for sports footwear as people switch over from brown shoes to sneakers for daily use.

Vaschalde is suggesting that suppliers should pay more attention to what is going on in the region as retailers have been consolidating faster than the brands themselves, while experimenting with new concepts. They have been adding new services, enhancing the shopping experience and mixing it sometimes with the practice of sports. He pointed out that the share of private labels in their product mix is higher than in the rest of the world, providing an advanced picture of what may happen elsewhere in a couple of years' time.

According to Vaschalde, the industry should develop better strategies to adapt to changing consumer behavior brought about by such factors as shrinking buying power, especially among the youth; an aging population; more frugal consumption trends; and an increasing amount of leisure time that is becoming available for sports activities.