Great Britain is the largest rugby market in Europe, according to NPD, with sales of footwear and apparel of around £83 million (€113.2m-$128.0m) for the 12 months ending March 2015. The NPD Sports Tracking Consumer Panel tracks purchasing of sports footwear and apparel across five markets in Europe: the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain. France runs behind the U.K., with sales during the same period at just under £50 million (€68.2m-$77.1m). However, the French rugby footwear and apparel market grew by more than 20 percent compared with 2014, while sales in the U.K. fell by around 10 percent.
Between these two leading markets, the British one is driven more by replica kit sales, which account for 33 percent of rugby apparel value, versus 18 percent in France. The Rugby World Cup, which takes place in England this year from Sept. 18 to Nov. 1, is expected to boost replica sales in the U.K., especially if England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland are involved in the later rounds of the tournament.
In 2015 around 210,000 people over the age of 16 are taking part in at least 30 minutes of both forms of rugby per week in the U.K., according to figures in Sport England's Active People Survey. The participation rate was more than 310,000 seven years ago. Rugby is played by 4.5 percent of the U.K. adult male population, and 0.7 percent of the adult female population. It is the third-ranked team sport in the country by number of participants, behind football and cricket. Among the active rugby participants who own a rugby ball, 25 percent have one manufactured by Gilbert, and 46 percent – the highest percentage - told NPD that Gilbert is the rugby ball brand they would consider for purchase.
