The Polish sporting goods market is expected to grow in the current year at a rate of 5.2 percent compared with 2013. This is one finding of a recent research project by PMR, a market research and consultancy company in Cracow. According to its report, it is expected to increase this year to a retail level of 7.9 billion Polish zlotys (€1.87bn-$2.38bn).
The growth rate estimated for this year would be stronger than the 1.5 percent increase recorded in 2013, but lower than the increases of 7 percent in 2010 and 8.5 percent in 2012. In 2011, the market was down by 3.7 percent compared with the previous year. For the next few years, the researchers estimate that the Polish sports business will continue to increase at a steady rate of 4 to 5 percent annually.
Behind this positive development is a trend in the Polish society to spend more time and money on an active and health-inspired lifestyle. The evolution is, according to PMR, supported by an increased availability of venues and by major events like the Euro football championship, which was hosted by Poland and Ukraine in 2012.
Moreover, the offer of apparel, footwear and equipment has improved in the recent years to include a broader range of price levels. Also the standard of living and the buying power have improved, and more Poles are willing to spend money on higher-end technical sports gear.
Large parts of the society in Poland still have limited buying power, but supermarkets and price-driven specialty stores are now offering more affordable merchandise for these consumers.
The low level of average disposable income partly explains the strong growth of sports that are relatively inexpensive and can be practiced all year ‘round. In particular, the running category has seen an annual growth rate of some 30 percent in recent years. Cycling has risen at a double-digit rate.
PMR identified online retailing as the big winner in retailing. Allegro, a leading web-based auction platform reported a 17 percent increase in sales in its “sports, tourism and sports footwear” category during the first half of this year.
The researchers conducted a survey of 144 Polish consumers in 2013 to determine the level of popularity of the different types of sports retailers in the country. The survey was limited to shoppers who purchased at least one related item last year. The interviewees were allowed to name a maximum of two kinds of retailers.
The result was that 44 percent prefer larger specialty sports stores such as Décathlon and Intersport, followed by 38 percent who prefer tp go into single-brand stores. Those two different types of distribution were followed by supermarkets? (12 percent), apparel and footwear shops (9 percent), markets and online stores (8 percent each), auction websites such as Allegro (5 percent) and factory outlets (2 percent).
