A sporting goods retailer or sporting goods store is a retail businesses selling sporting and recreational goods, including

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical sport-specific garments ...

sporting equipment Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

and related

general merchandise General line of merchandise or general merchandise is a term used in retail and wholesale business in reference to merchandise not limited to some particular category. General merchandise stores (general stores) address this sector of retail. Acc ...

History

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

, the world's largest sporting good retail chain, opened its first store in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in 1976. It now has about 1700 stores in 60 countries and territories. The sector contracted globally in 2007 and 2008, due to the loss of

disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus current income taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major ...

during the

Global Financial Crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

. The sector contacted again in 2020, outside China, due to restrictions on outdoor and team sports during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Many brands, retailers, and manufacturers failed to return a profit, and many households reduced physical activity due to reduced

. However, demand for sportwear and indoor fitness equipment remained high. The sector experienced significant growth in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. In 2021,

McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...

identified a shift away from conventional

bricks and mortar Bricks and Mortar (foaled March 2, 2014) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Horse of the Year in 2019. After winning four of six starts at age three, he missed most of his four-year-old campaign due to illness. At ag ...

retail to online shops requiring more agile supply chains and experiential retail offering unique experiences. In the United States,

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores ...

began trialling concept stores with specialties, or in-store experiences like golf putting green, wellness experts, yoga classes, rock climbing, batting cages, and equipment repair services. In the same report, McKinsey & Company also identified a strong market for sportswear, which was becoming both more lucrative and more competitive. This was partly due to the blurring of lines between active wear and

casual wear Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasisi ...

. Also in 2021,

Mintel Mintel Group Ltd is a global, privately owned market research firm based in London. The corporation also maintains offices in Chicago, Mumbai, Belfast, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dusseldorf, Bangkok, and Seoul. ...

has identified three potential growth areas: women's sporting goods; men's sportswear; and the marketing of premium brands, particularly to parents. In 2022, research in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

found consumers were planning to spend less at sporting goods retailers due to rising costs of living and other prices.

By market

United States

In the United States,

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

and

are the largest sporting goods retailers. Walmart recorded $9.8 billion in sporting goods revenue in 2015; Dick's recorded $6.9 billion in revenue.

China

In China, the sector expanded at an average rate of 16.5% a year from 2015 to 2019. The sector continued to grow in the Chinese market during the COVID-19 pandemic, due to increased physical activity by the country's growing middle class.

History

By market

United States

China

References

See also