The market research group NPD has put out a study on sales of outdoor sports for 2007, after a lengthy discussion of what belongs into this category. For example, it did not take into account sales related to trail running or mountain biking, saying that those two sports were more related to running and biking, respectively, than to the outdoor sports. Other categories excluded from the definition were water sports and snow sports. Boots for hunting or fishing were not counted, and in the hunting segment, NPD did not count firearms or ammunition.
Other fishing gear was included, along with gear for camping, if sold in sporting goods stores, and only a portion of the footwear and apparel made by brands like Merrell and Timberland, because they are often worn solely for fashion.
Thus defined, NPD found that the global market for outdoor sports goods reached $44.7 billion or €29.8 billion last year, with a margin of error of 20 percent. This represents 4 percent growth over the figure for 2006.
In Europe, the outdoor market grew by 3.4 percent to €11.4 billion, with Germany in the lead, followed by the U.K. and France. The sector grew faster than the overall European sporting goods market, which rose by an estimated 2.0 percent, according to NPD (more in The Compass and from the NPD Group, which also produces an annual report on the whole global sporting goods market).
