Promising EU export

markets for sports

clothing
The 20 billion EU sports
clothing market represents
almost 10% of all clothing
sales and is driven by the
importance of fashion as well
as interest in sports. Leading
products include tops and
jackets made of smart fabrics
Improvements in material technology are helping to drive forward the performance
sports clothing segment, as athletes seek out the latest innovations that might
improve their performance. The other driver of this segment is the growth of
smaller sports such as hockey or netball that are launching sports clothing
products specific to those sports.
Price increases, particularly for cotton, oil and other fuels are also affecting sports
clothing prices, particularly in the fashion segment, which represents between 6080% of the market depending on the country. This will mean that this segment,
despite the continuing demand for new products due to the regular latest fashion
cycles, will be challenged while the broader economic environment remains
uncertain. However market growth is expected due to more women and affluent
older consumers taking part in sport and purchasing products relevant to their
chosen sporting activities.
The market has suffered due to the global economic slowdown, and DC exporters
have felt this in particular as DC imports have grown at a lower rate than imports
as a whole (see Table 2) but growth is resuming in a number of key markets as
general economic activity picks up. Opportunities do exist, particularly specific
niches, in countries where local producers are under threat from imports, and
other countries with currently low levels of developing country imports.

Opportunities and threats general

The European market for sports clothing represents approximately 25% of the
global market. The global market has been growing at a higher rate than the
European market, primarily due to strong gains in Asia. The US market has
performed less well than the EU market. Within the market as a whole, the
sports fashion segment has struggled, partly due to competitive price
pressures, while products purchased for sporting use have performed relatively
well. This is explained by growing interest in sport, and the greater importance
of performance rather than price for these products. Sports fashion products
are expected to grow more strongly in 2012 as the Olympic Games will provide
a stimulus to sales.

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Promising EU export markets for sports clothing

Opportunities and threats consumption

The retail and general consumer environment presents a number of opportunities

for DC exporters, although some factors may restrain future exports.
+ Economic activity and per capita consumption. Demand for sports clothing is
closely related to income, sports participation levels and the importance of
fashion. There is more spending on sports clothing per capita in Luxembourg
( 80), Austria ( 78.30) and Sweden ( 77.95), followed by Finland ( 60.38),
Denmark ( 60), Ireland ( 57.78) and France ( 53.59). Expenditure is high in
Luxembourg due to the general high cost of living in that country. Meanwhile per
capita consumption is high in Austria and Scandinavian countries due to the high
proportion of expenditure on winter sports apparel that tends to be more
expensive than other types of sports clothing. Hence, each of these countries
should be interesting to DC exporters.
+ Large markets. The German market is the biggest in the EU, closely followed
by France, but sales in the UK, Italy and Spain are also important. These top
five countries account for almost three quarters of the entire EU market for
sports clothing. Hence, these countries should feature on an export prospect
list.
+ Growth markets. Between 2006 and 2010, total EU demand for sports
clothing increased by an average of just 1.1% per annum (see Table 2).
Although many leading markets have experienced minimal growth or declines
over the period because of reversals in 2008 and 2009 (the EU market for
sports apparel fell by 3% in 2009), some markets have grown throughout the
period. Growth has continued in Sweden and Poland, while other countries
with relatively positive growth rates over the period include Romania, Bulgaria,
Finland, Denmark and France.
+ Overall market growth is resuming. Although the financial crisis has not
ended, and severe economic problems persist in countries such as Greece
and Ireland, projected population increases and a return to growth for many of
the leading economies will underpin future market growth. Increasing interest
in sport and the particular sports fashion trend expected for 2012 will also
provide grounds for confidence in the future.
+ Polarising segments. More information on this can be found in the module
Trends and Segments. However, an important general point on this market is
that there are wide variations in opportunities between products. For example
sports fashion products affect more young women than men, while more men
show interest in performance sportswear.

Opportunities and threats production

EU production of sports clothing has declined by an annual average of 9.1% over

the period as more production is outsourced to lower cost countries. However,
production is likely to be higher than that indicated in the table as Eurostat figures
do not always include production figures for smaller companies, which constitute
part of the EU output.
+ Declining producer markets. There are a number of EU Member States that
provide good opportunities for exporters based on weak or declining domestic
production industries. In particular Italy, Spain, Portugal and Romania have
lost a lot of their traditional production to outsourcing. Production has also
decreased in a number of other EU markets such as Germany, the UK, Poland
and Austria.
+/- Leading producers. Spain and Italy are the leading producers of sports
clothing in the EU. However as already stated the industry is under pressure in
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Promising EU export markets for sports clothing

each country due to competition from lower cost suppliers. There will be
numerous opportunities to be found by identifying those producers vulnerable
to market conditions that may wish to form partnerships with DC producers.
+/- Few growing producers. Most countries declaring figures to Eurostat
registered a decrease in production. The two exceptions were Hungary and
Slovenia.

Opportunities and threats trade flows

Imports of sports clothing to the EU have increased by a higher proportion than

market demand, but this is not the case for DC imports that are tracking below the
average of all imports. The share of DC exports is relatively high at 52% but DC
exporters only increased by 1.2% over the period compared to 2.1% for all imports.
The poor performance can in part be explained by the dominance of China. Here
imports have been increasing at 0.9%, just below the average for all DCs. This is
likely to be due to higher prices in China that are providing opportunities for other DC
exporters (and also exporters from non-DC countries).
+ EU countries with above average DC supplies. Of the leading importing
countries as featured in Table 2, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and
Denmark have an above average share of supplies from developing countries.
In terms of value, Germany and the UK accounted for 40% of all DC exports to
the EU between them. Italy is also a large above average importer from DCs.
The sheer size of these markets for DC exporters means they should not be
ignored.
+/-Countries with below average DC supplies. The notable countries in this
respect, which offer few opportunities to DC exporters, are Austria and
Portugal. Other countries with particularly low levels of imports from DCs are
Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Greece and Ireland, and all of the other
eastern Member States. Some of these countries are growing markets, so
growth in DC supplies should be expected.
+/- New Member State importers are below average. DC exports to the new
Member States are low, with the exception of Poland and the Czech Republic,
both of which have a reasonable domestic production industry. DC exports to
Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic States have decreased over the period.
However, it is likely that imports from DCs will increase to these countries in the
future, as they become further integrated into the EU.
The majority of imports from outside of the EU were produced in China ( 3.7
billion/276 thousand tonnes in 2010, marginally increasing values but decreasing
volumes). However, important DC suppliers also included:
Vietnam ( 303 million/16 thousand tonnes, increasing values, decreasing
volumes)
Turkey ( 232 million/11 thousand tonnes, broadly unchanged)
Tunisia ( 163 million/4.2 thousand tonnes, increasing )
India ( 158 million/7.7 thousand tonnes, increasing)
Bangladesh ( 156 million/15 thousand tonnes, increasing)
Indonesia ( 153 million/8.2 thousand tonnes, decreasing)
Morocco ( 69 million/2.5 thousand tonnes, decreasing)
Cambodia ( 57 million/3.7 thousand tonnes, increasing)
Thailand ( 55 million/2.4 thousand tonnes, decreasing).
The following figure highlights the position of China and other developing
countries in the global supply of sports clothing products to the EU and indicates
the leading position of intra-EU imports:

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Promising EU export markets for sports clothing

Figure 1 World exports of sports clothing to the EU, 2010 share based on million

2%

36%
46%

16%
China

Other DCs

Intra-EU

Other extra-EU

Source: Eurostat (2011)

Opportunities and threats products

Anoraks and ski jackets were the largest product group and increased by more than
the average growth rate for the sub-sector. However the usage of many of these
products will be for general outdoor use rather than specifically for sport. Womens
and girls anoraks and ski jackets were increasing at a marginally higher rate than
mens and boys products. Although knitted or crocheted anoraks and ski jackets
represent less than 20% of the total, they have grown at a much faster rate over the
period, compared to woven products.
Imports of tracksuits were unchanged over the period, but knitted and crocheted
tracksuits reduced their total share from 32% to 27% of all tracksuits. 70% of woven
tracksuits were for women or girls, a marginally increasing proportion.
Within swimwear, knitted or crocheted swimwear accounted for 82% of imports,
growing at 1% over the period, slightly ahead of the product group as a whole. Mens
or boys swimwear accounted for just 23% of all swimwear imports.
Special sports garments imports were increasingly made of synthetic materials.
Garments made of cotton reduced their share of imports from 41% in 2006 to 37% in
2010.

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Promising EU export markets for sports clothing

Table 1 Relative performance of different sports clothing product groups

Product

2010 import Share of

value m
sports
clothing DC
imports

Anoraks and ski

jackets

CAGR*
06-10

3,352

62%

1.9%

960

18%

-0.1%

Ski suits

33

0.6%

-18.1%

Swimwear

588

11%

0.8%

Special sports
garments

476

9%

2.0%

Track suits

Source: Eurostat 2011 *Compound annual growth rate

The significance of re-exports

The Netherlands and Belgium have high levels of imports in relation to their
population. While some imports can in part be explained by domestic demand,
imports to each country are close to the size of their local markets. Both countries
re-export in particular to Germany and France. Opportunities still exist for DC
exporters to develop relationships with traders in both countries.
Re-exports are primarily destined for other EU countries. Italy, Germany and
France are the largest exporters, followed by Belgium and the Netherlands. Only
Belgium exported more than they imported. Other countries where exports
exceeded imports included Denmark, Lithuania, Slovakia and Bulgaria. In some
cases, this can be explained by high domestic production, but in other cases it
can only be explained by high levels of re-exports. DC exporters should
appreciate the significance of re-exports in terms of how their own exports might
reach their final destination.
The following table provides an overview of the different opportunities that present
themselves in the different EU Member States. The attractivity index summarises
the source of opportunities, as they appear from this market analysis and
interpretation of the trade figures.
Table 2 Comparison of demand, production and imports from DCs, by country, in million
Total demand
Total production
Total imports
Imports from
**
DCs
Value
2010

CAGR*
06-10

Value
2010

CAGR*
06-10

Value
2010

CAGR*
06-10

Value
2010

CAGR*
06-10

Share
of DCs
in total
imports

Attrac
- tivity
Index

EU 27

20,191

1.1%

1,416

-9.1%

10,342

2.1%

5,408

1.2%

52%

Germany

3,515

0.8%

130

-2.0%

2,216

3.9%

1,490

4.3%

67%

+++

Italy

2,870

-0.5%

330

-12.2%

1,676

2.0%

920

0.4%

55%

+++

UK

3,082

0.5%

93

-1.8%

1,016

-2.7%

655

-2.4%

64%

+++

France
Spain

3,430
2,050

1.7%
-2.1%

65
370

-0.8%
-6.4%

1,185
900

2.0%
1.1%

548
488

5.6%
2.0%

46%
54%

+++
++

Netherlands

760

1.0%

0.0%

678

2.3%

430

0.4%

63%

++

Belgium

541

1.3%

-6.3%

465

-5.3%

216

-10.6%

46%

++

Denmark

330

2.0%

11

-4.1%

285

2.4%

191

3.0%

67%

++

Sweden

725

4.8%

0.0%

248

-0.4%

135

0.6%

54%

+++

Poland

475

5.2%

50

-6.7%

295

23.2%

66

8.3%

22%

+++

Austria

650

1.2%

26

-9.6%

403

3.9%

45

-2.6%

11%

++

Czech Rep.

280

1.4%

23

-1.1%

145

5.5%

43

3.1%

30%

+++

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Promising EU export markets for sports clothing

Total demand

Total production
**

Total imports

Imports from
DCs

Share
of DCs
in total
imports

Attrac
- tivity
Index

Greece

275

1.8%

-27.3%

140

-0.7%

42

-4.3%

30%

Finland

320

2.6%

-6.1%

120

-0.8%

35

-5.0%

29%

+++

Ireland

260

-1.2%

-4.2%

92

-3.5%

28

2.9%

30%

++

Portugal

283

0.5%

118

-15.5%

143

7.0%

18

15.8%

13%

++

Romania

125

7.1%

125

-15.7%

53

13.4%

15

-8.1%

28%

++

Hungary

130

0.8%

14

8.8%

43

-1.1%

4.5%

19%

++

Slovakia

90

2.4%

-3.5%

43

1.2%

-10.5%

19%

++

Slovenia

95

2.5%

1.2%

46

8.7%

0.4%

15%

++

Bulgaria

47

5.3%

20

2.7%

25

-12.2%

-19.7%

22%

Lithuania

33

2.2%

-27.7%

20

-1.2%

-12.9%

11%

Cyprus

25

2.5%

0.0%

13

-0.8%

-11.3%

9%

+/-

Latvia

18

3.2%

-12.0%

15

-1.3%

-7.6%

9%

Estonia

18

4.3%

-8.8%

18

0.6%

-15.8%

4%

Malta

-2.4%

0.0%

-2.8%

-14.3%

9%

Luxembourg

40

1.2%

0.0%

26

5.5%

0.1

-13.1%

1%

* Compound annual growth rate

** Production figures for 2010 are partly estimated
Source: Eurostat (2011), NPD (2010) and trade estimates (2011)

Note about the figures

There is an ongoing debate relating to what actually constitutes sports clothing.

An increasing proportion of products in this category are purchased with no
intention of any sporting use being made of them. While the majority of
performance sportswear is used for sport, perhaps just one quarter of sports
fashion products are used for sport.
Consumption figures (retail sales including VAT) used in this document relate to
the complete range of apparel products that may be considered to be relevant to
this category. Meanwhile, production and import figures (based on trade prices)
do not include all possible product groups. For example, T shirts, polo shirts,
sweatshirts and shorts are not included, although many of these products are
used for sport. However, their omission is compensated for by the fact that many
of the products included (track suits and anoraks) are not exclusively used for
sport.

Summary of leading attractive markets

According to the attractivity index in the above table and the information analysed
in the preceding chapter sections, the top five most promising markets can be
summarised accordingly:
Germany scores highly against a number of
important criteria. It is both the largest importer from
DCs and has an above average proportion of imports
from DCs compared to other Member States.
Imports from DCs have been growing faster than imports from other parts of the
world. Germany is also the largest EU consumer market for sports clothing
although per capita consumption is not so high.

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Promising EU export markets for sports clothing

France is an attractive market, and unlike the UK

imports from DCs have continued to grow above the
EU average during the review period. There is also
scope to further increase the proportion of imports
from DCs. Another point is that French consumers
are interested in imported sports clothing a further reason why the DC share of
imports is likely to increase. Consumer growth in France has been higher than
many of its neighbours and more products can now be found on the market.
Sweden is the best performing Scandinavian
economy in 2011. DC exports to Sweden grew while
imports from other parts of the world were flat. There
is no threat from local production and opportunities
are good particularly for outdoor sportswear.
Swedish consumers are knowledgeable and interested to know about new and
innovative sports clothing products that improve performance.
Italy is a promising country for sports clothing,
particularly for performance sportswear. There are
high levels of DC imports, although growth rates
have been relatively modest. Opportunities can be
found due to the vulnerability of some local
producers who may be interested in partnerships with DC exporters.
Poland is the largest consumer market amongst the
new Member States. While there is a below average
share of imports from DCs, this is likely to change
and opportunities for further import growth from DCs
is forecast. Polish consumers have emerged from
the global recession in a reasonably healthy position and forecast economic
growth, together with the joint hosting of the Euro 2012 football tournament is
likely to provide increased demand for sports clothing.

This survey was compiled by Searce

in cooperation with Dhyana van der Pols
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