This shows me golf is still one of the most frequently played sports, however golf is an expensive sport so it’s likely to be only played in well off area’s. However Muswell Hill does have a high amount of disposable income, and there is also a local golf course t Highgate, which is a short journey from Muswell Hill, so selling golf products could potentially be very profitable.
Sports Apparel and Retailing Overview
Sport has had a close relationship with fashion since the 1980s, and even health club membership has become, for some people, a `lifestyle statement'. As noted above, the boarding sports have their own `look' which overlaps from participation into street fashion.
The most significant result of the sport-as-fashion trend has been the creation of very large international companies whose original business was in supplying athletes, but whose movement into leisurewear has turned them into the world's largest clothing and footwear companies. Most important are the three global giants — Nike, Reebok and adidas-Salomon.
The sports fashion trend had a knock-on effect on sports retailing. It allowed High Street sports retailers to evolve from being small, specialised and usually independent shops — often working together in buying groups — into large, multiple businesses. Like the health club leaders, the companies are often publicly quoted and have international ambitions.
The sports retailing market is approaching saturation, however, and consolidation has taken place, including important ownership changes in 2002 which have left the High Street with four major players — Blacks Leisure Group, JJB Sports, JD Sports and All:sports — owning over 1,600 outlets between them. Blacks has become the dominant leader in outdoor retailing as there has been parallel growth for outdoor pursuits and the outdoor `look' for non-participants. JJB Sports has started to diversify away from its original sports fashion business — and a base, along with JD Sports and All:sports, in football replica kits — into department stores and even health clubs.
Its interesting that more and more of the large chain store sport shops are deciding to opt for the department store look and health clubs, however this could mean that we would be unique to the area, that we fully specialise in sports equipment and products, rather than trying to do gyms etc.
Consumer Spending on Sport
For a narrower view of the development of sport, gambling (worth £3bn in 2000) could be excluded. It is also possible to exclude the sportswear products which are complicated by fashion. However, Key Note retains the sportswear spending, since there is really no way of separating the `fashionable' from the `functional' purchases.
The Sportswear Market
The sportswear market (divided into both sports clothing and footwear) has been profoundly affected by sport-as-fashion, and articles are therefore related as much to fashion as to function. The largest garment markets are for swimwear, fleece separates, golf clothing, protective outdoor clothing, and football kits — the latter including the non-playing replica kits.
In footwear, hiking boots are popular but are bought and worn interchangeably with industrial boots. For participation, general or cross-trainers probably make up the largest market segment, followed by running shoes, indoor fitness shoes (whites), and football boots.
As a percentage of all clothing bought in the UK, sports clothing has an 8.7% value share — down slightly from 9.4% in 1997. Meanwhile, sports footwear is more dominant, taking 24.6% of the total footwear market in 2001, but also losing share.
The Equipment Market
The Family Expenditure Survey also includes spending on a category called Sports Goods, although this includes camping equipment. Key Note makes its own estimates of `pure' spending on equipment.
The equipment market is valued at £750m for 2001 (having fluctuated over the past 5 years, but not shown any substantial growth, owing to the trend in keeping fit). Excluded from this figure is £150m worth of `institutional' spending.
