The period between July and September 2021 was the second-best third quarter for retailers operating in the wealthy Norwegian sporting goods market. It recorded a 7 percent decline to 3.7 billion Norwegian kroner (€374m-$423m) as compared to the third quarter of 2020, when the market grew at an exceptional rate of 15 percent as compared to the third quarter of 2019.
The decrease would have been lower by adding up the sales of pure e-tailers, which are not included in the estimate, published by the Norwegian sporting goods industry association, Norsk Sportsbransjeforening. Like in neighboring Sweden and other markets, the retailers’ sales would also have been higher if they had not suffered shortages of bicycles, sports shoes, some fitness equipment and other products caused by the global supply chain constraints. About 410,000 bikes have been sold in Norway so far this year.
The best performances were recorded during the latest quarter in the active leisure and outdoor sector, said Trond Evald Hansen, who runs the association, noting that lots of people asked for more technical equipment as they went in greater numbers to the mountains for short or long hikes to stay in shape. The running segment remained at the high level of last year. The lifting of restrictions on gatherings led to new growth in football and other team sports. Like in Sweden and Denmark, the sport of padel tennis showed strong growth with the opening of many new dedicated facilities.
The figures are compiled every quarter by the Norwegian sporting goods industry association based on the data provided by the major retail chains, which are estimated to account for 57 percent of the market. Thanks to a very strong first quarter, which was followed by a small drop in the second quarter, their sales for the first nine months of this year were still up by 2.2 percent as compared to the same period of 2020 and almost 11 percent ahead of the first nine months of 2019.
