It’s been the lowest growth for the big French market in at least 20 years. French consumers went shopping in the sporting goods stores like before, in spite of the absence of any major international sports competitions, but they spent less, partly because average selling prices declined and because of a poor economic situation. Like before, they also preferred to spend more money on innovative products like cell phones, MP3 sets, digital cameras and so on.
On the other hand, specialty sporting goods retailers performed better than the generalists, according to FPS, France’s service-rich sporting goods retailers’ federation. While the total sporting goods market grew by only 1 percent in France to an estimated €8.9 billion, specialty retailers saw their sales increase by 3 percent, with similar scores for the integrated chains and for retailers affiliated with buying groups. They represented 47 and 23 percent of the total market, respectively.
Independent specialists had flat sales of €130 million, or 1.5 percent of the market, but single-brand shops did 9 percent better at €235 million, giving them a market share of 2.5 percent. Supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores, mail order houses, boutiques and other non-specialists saw their combined share decline to 26 percent following a 4 percent sales decline to €2,440 million.
While no specific figures are available, online sales of sporting goods apparently represented a larger part of the market, considering that internet sales of all kinds of products increased last year by about 50 percent to over €8 billion, involving an estimated 13 million individuals throughout France. Like in Germany and in other countries, some French retailers used eBay to get rid of surplus merchandise.
In terms of product categories, sales of hardgoods went better than those of sports clothing and footwear. In particular, sales of bicycles increased by between 7 and 10 percent in the multi-sport stores, in spite of lower average prices.
Meanwhile, research conducted by the NPD Group indicates among other things that sales of sports footwear grew by only 1 percent in volume in France last year, after a record increase of 7 percent in 2004. On the other hand, the average price of shoes sold in France rose by 1 percent to €41.7 in 2005, in contrast with a decline of 5 percent in the previous year, but the price rise was lower than the general inflation rate and limited to certain non-specialized retail channels. Sales of women’s shoes grew by 7 percent in value last year, thanks in part to a 4 percent increase in average selling prices, which remained 10 percent below the overall market average.
As for sports apparel, the French market fell by 5 percent in value, with prices down by 10 percent. Similar declines were recorded in men’s and women’s clothing. Swimwear sales grew by 10 percent. Positive results were also recorded in T-shirts, polar fleece and sports sweaters, but training suits were down and jackets and blousons fell by 13 percent in volume and 8 percent in average prices. Sales of casual sports clothing were flat, due to rising competition from the fashion brands, which can react more rapidly to fashion changes.
The study showed further gains in sales of sports footwear in the fashion circuit as well as in the sports specialty stores, but the latter are losing market share in the area of sports clothing to the benefit of fashion stores, whose sportswear sales grew by 6 percent.
French people of 45 years of age and older were the only ones who bought more sports apparel last year than in 2004. The 25-34-year-old age group was the most dynamic one in the area of sports shoes: French people of this age, who had been heavy users when they were 12-17 years old, spent 7 percent more on these products in 2005 than in the previous year.
Sports shoe sales were stable in the 18-24-year-old segment, which tends to be more sensitive to new fashion trends. On the other hand, kids are getting older younger, according to NPD, with young boys adopting the sports brands and young girls going into fashion earlier. As a result, 18 percent of the sports shoe industry’s sales were aimed for French children 11 years old and younger.
