The Swedish sporting goods market grew by 4.5 percent in the second quarter of 2021, as compared to the same period of last year, according to the new Sportindex. The market improved gradually from one month to the next, in tune with the growing rate of anti-Covid vaccination in the country, where 60 percent of the adult population had received at least one shot in June.
Thanks to a strong first quarter, where it grew by 15.0 percent from the year-ago period, the market was up by 9.4 percent for the first half of this year. On a comparable store basis, sales went up by 7.2 percent in the quarter and by 13.8 percent in the first six months.
Like for its previously published survey for the first quarter and for 2020, the Sportindex for the second quarter was based on figures supplied by the major sports retailers operating in Sweden: Stadium, Intersport, XXL and Team Sportia. The new quarterly report is compiled by the Swedish sporting goods industry association, Svenskt Sportforum, in collaboration with a Swedish market research company, HUI Research.
The second-quarter rebound was strongest in softgoods. Sales of apparel were up by 16.7 percent and footwear by 12.5 percent. Hardgoods, which had grown strongly last year, dipped by 7.1 percent.
Outdoor products were in strong demand during the quarter. Sales of outdoor shoes and boots went up by 19.6 percent, for example. A survey conducted in February had already shown that nearly 30 percent of the Swedes were practicing outdoor activities. On the other hand, the lifting of coronavirus-related restrictions on team sports activities and summer camps in June led to sales increase for football boots of 50.2 percent for that month and 29.4 percent in the second quarter.
The internet continued to play an increasingly important role for the sports retailers participating in the survey during the second quarter, as their online sales were 24.4 percent higher than a year ago, compared with an increase of only 4.1 percent at their physical stores. They represented 17 percent of the retailers’ total turnover for the first six months of this year.
The progress is significant as their online sales had already grown by 59.9 percent in the second quarter of 2020, because of the pandemic. In the latest quarter, e-commerce accounted for 49.1 percent of their sales of apparel, 10.1 percent of their sales of shoes and 15.0 percent of their sales of equipment. Looking at the rolling 12 months through June, the share of e-commerce was higher, however: 52.4 percent, 34.2 percent and 34.5 percent, respectively.
