NPD sees European growth slowing down

The consumption of sports shoes and clothing last year enjoyed the fastest growth rate since 2009 in the five major European countries, according to the NPD Group. After declining in 2013, the apparel market recovered in 2014, rising by 2.1 percent, but the footwear category grew at a much faster rate of 7.4 percent. Looking ahead, the market research agency predicts that the annual growth rates will slow down overall this year to one percent for clothing and 4 percent for shoes.

Out of the five major European countries, the U.K. and Germany were the most buoyant markets overall last year, according to NPD's online surveys of consumers. The U.K. led the apparel market in Europe with an increase of 6.1 percent, combined with growth of 5.9 percent in footwear.

Retail sales of sports clothing declined by 1.7 percent and rose more slowly in Germany. They were essentially flat in France and Italy.

Like the U.K., Germany had a relatively balanced growth in the two categories, up by 3.6 percent in clothing and by 7.9 percent for shoes. France recorded the fastest growth in footwear with an increase of 9.3 percent, followed by Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

By the way, NPD gave us also its estimates for the broad European outdoor market, indicating that it grew by 2 percent in 2014, with an increase of 3 percent in hiking/walking/camping.

Unlike the European Outdoor Group, which published its own estimates based on the sell-in last week, the NPD's definition of the outdoor market includes snow sports, hunting and fishing. More on this in our Outdoor Industry Compass.

For more information on these and other NPD reports, contact Renaud Vaschalde at the NPD Group in Paris: Renaud.vaschalde@npd.com.