The Expansion of the Sport Goods Industry
Résumé
The importance of sport in the European countries has increased significantly over the last
decade. Sport has become more relevant economically and socially for various reasons. Social
aspects include sport participation, sport for health and economic activities directly or indirectly
related to sport (Breedveld et al., 2013; Dolles & Söderman, 2011). European sport policy
initiatives such as the White Paper on Sport (Commission of the European Communities, 2007)
or the Study on the Contribution of Sport to Economic Growth and Employment in the
European Union (SportsEconAustria, 2012) show an increasing interest in sport from a political
perspective.
This chapter focuses on one major economic aspect of sport – the sport goods industry. It
consists of three sections, a case study and conclusions. The first section gives definitions for
sport, sport industry and sport goods industry. The chapter then follows the expansion of the
sport goods industry in Europe over the last five years (based on MarketLine (2015a) industry
reports). This expansion is analysed by comparing the market value of the sport goods industry
within Europe and the US. We look at the value of trade in the European sport goods
industry and also compare the sport goods industry with other sport industry segments. We
then discuss the major drivers of growth in the European sport goods industry and different
firm-level strategic approaches. The third section discusses Contemporary and Future
Critiques. Our case study explores the expansion of a large French sport goods retailer and
manufacturer. We close with reflections on the case.