Retail & Supply
How sporting goods move from factory to consumer: covering physical retail, e-commerce, omnichannel strategies, distribution networks, and the supply chain decisions that shape availability, cost, and competitive positioning.
SPOTLIGHT
Why sports retail is consolidating and fragmenting at once
Nike reversed its DTC strategy. Gresvig and XXL collapsed. Lululemon, Vuori and Arc’teryx built their own channels. The wholesale model is being rewritten from both ends.
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World Cup jersey boom is real, but will it last?
adidas confirmed record sales. Route and Syndigo say fulfillment, returns and product data decide if it holds
Decathlon Germany launches Wero payment on its website
Decathlon adds the European bank-backed Wero payment option to decathlon.de, with in-store rollout in preparation
Decathlon borrows a page from Aldi for its stores
Sports giant rolls out a discount-style middle aisle to lure price-conscious shoppers this summer.
Nike to rejigger online sales in China after all
Nike confirmed it will end online sales via partner stores in China from January 1, 2027, moving to its own digital channels.
Nike’s ‘reset’ of China policy leaves distributors guessing
Topsports halted trading and said Nike sent no formal notice, even as online sales make up 22% of its revenue.
StockX spreads as it melts
StockX built its business on item-by-item authentication. Three new programs are now eroding that premise.
MARKET DATA AND ANALYSIS
European sports retail 2025: the top five in review
Vertical integration compounds. Specialist cooperatives hold. Fashion footwear exposure bites. Retail is sorting by structural logic.
SGI Analysis: The 20 biggest sports retailers in Europe
Europe’s 20 largest sports retailers grew sales by 4 percent in 2024, with market leaders like Decathlon and JD Sports driving growth.
SGI Analysis: The Top 50 Global Sports Retailers
The world’s 50 largest sporting goods retailers increased sales by 2 percent to $149 billion in 2024, with European players gaining market share whilst Asian growth stalled and US retailers faced consumer headwinds. Decathlon, Intersport and JD Sports led the rankings as regional markets showed diverging trajectories.
REPORTS
Exclusive data: How Chinese consumers shop for outdoor apparel online
Explore key insights from the 2024–25 China Outdoor Apparel: 2024–25 Ecomm Report, including platform shifts, premiumization trends, and brand strategies from Nike, Anta and Hoka One.
Exclusive data: How chinese consumers shop for sports footwear online
Explore key insights from the 2024–25 China Sports Footwear Ecomm Report, including platform shifts, premiumisation trends, and brand strategies from Nike, Anta and Hoka One.
The German Performance Running Market 2025
How German runners choose, buy, and value their shoes. Drawing on 1,001 active runners and pricing analysis, the report covers consumer profiles, buying behaviour, channel preferences, brand choices, pricing strategy, and sustainability’s influence on purchasing decisions.
STORES
Store strategies, experiential concepts, and in-store technology shaping how sporting goods brands compete for consumers in physical retail.
Fabletics plans retail expansion, at home and abroad
Fabletics has crossed the billion-dollar revenue threshold and is now targeting aggressive store growth in the US and abroad, with new markets including India, the UAE and deeper penetration across Latin America.
Frasers opens combined retail and fitness format in Dublin
Sports Direct and Everlast Gyms+ have opened the first integrated Frasers Group flagship outside the UK.
John Lewis bets on sports and wellness as category
John Lewis launches Sports and Wellness departments at four UK locations as part of an £800 million transformation.
On expands retail in California and Brazil
On’s simultaneous California and Brazil openings show density and market entry running in parallel.
DISTRIBUTION
Distribution deals, wholesale partnerships, and evolving business models that determine market access and channel economics.
Inov8 ends four years of DTC in France
Inov8 has reversed its direct-to-consumer strategy in three of its six self-declared priority markets, reinstating distributors in France, Austria and Scandinavia just years after confidently bringing them under direct control.
Nike to rejigger online sales in China after all
Nike confirmed it will end online sales via partner stores in China from January 1, 2027, moving to its own digital channels.
Footasylum warehouse robots arrive with no capital cost
The retailer’s new automated warehouse runs on a pay-as-you-go model from AutoStore distributor THG Fulfil, live this September.
Fashion chain Castro brings Anta Sports to Israel
Anta runs 250 stores outside China against 10,000 at home — Israel just became one of them, via a fashion retailer.
Nike’s ‘reset’ of China policy leaves distributors guessing
Topsports halted trading and said Nike sent no formal notice, even as online sales make up 22% of its revenue.
Hummel partners with spized for custom teamwear
Hummel appoints spized as official custom kit partner. 12 products for football and handball via 3D configurator from June 2026.
AGENTIC COMMERCE
The shift from browsing to briefing: how AI agents are becoming personal shoppers that understand intent and execute purchase decisions.
New AI index tracks sporting goods brand visibility
Parcel Perform’s AI Visibility Index tracks how AI shopping assistants rank and recommend sportswear and sporting goods brands when consumers ask what, how and where to buy.
Visa Study: AI reshapes winter sports participation
AI is reshaping how Americans engage with winter sports, with 44% planning snowboarding bookings inspired by the Olympics, Visa study shows.
JD Sports launches AI commerce in US
JD Sports is enabling direct purchases through ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini in the US, positioning itself as an early mover in AI-powered commerce.
Google launches agentic AI shopping protocol
Tech giant unveils open standard for AI-driven commerce with backing from major retailers including Target, Walmart, Shopify and Etsy.
Sport 2000 CEOs on AI in retail
Sport 2000’s CEOs Margit Gosau and Irina Andorfer discuss how AI assistants are shifting retail from search-based discovery to conversation-driven commerce.
OpenAI adds 'shopping research' to ChatGPT
ChatGPT now offers a “shopping research” tool that helps users find, compare and choose products via conversational AI — available on all plans during the holiday season.
Frasers Group deploys AI-first Commercetools Agentic Commerce suite
Shoppers of Sports Direct and other brands of the Frasers retail ecosystem will be able to purchase products directly within AI shopping channels.
RESALE & RENTAL
Tersus CEO Whitcomb: resale runs on economics, not mandates
Peter Whitcomb on why brands now come to Tersus with their CFO, not their sustainability tea
StockX launches possessionless trading
New Store at StockX removes the logistics loop that drives up costs for resellers, letting buyers own, store and relist products without handling them.
New Balance expands resale program to include apparel
The Boston brand brings apparel into its two-year-old resale program after recirculating more than 100,000 pairs of shoes.
UK startup raises £500,000 to modernize golf resale
Scottish golf tech startup Hosel targets a $3bn pre-owned market long dominated by generalist platforms with poor pricing transparency.
AI IN RETAIL
World Cup jersey boom is real, but will it last?
adidas confirmed record sales. Route and Syndigo say fulfillment, returns and product data decide if it holds
Decathlon fits 700 stores with digital price labels
The retailer, just named France’s most attractive brand, is now Vusion’s most global customer.
When knowledge is free, trust is the differentiator
AI has made product expertise available to all, instantly. What it cannot replicate – trust, experience, relationships – is the new competitive advantage.
DICK’S Sporting Goods makes AI the spine of its apps
The rollout of Coach by DICK’S brings together ScoreCard data, GameChanger users and a full Adobe AI stack.
Intersport CFO on AI strategy and physical retail
Intersport’s CFO frames the AI era as a structural opportunity for cooperative retail, not a threat to be managed.
adidas and Lululemon on stores and loyalty
Executives from both brands spoke at the World Retail Congress in Berlin on April 27, arguing that physical stores and community ties drive consumer retention.
Intelligence, analysis and advice for the global sporting goods industry.
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