European outdoor sector continues to grow
Posted on in Cycles News , Outdoor News
The European Outdoor Group (EOG) has released the first results from the latest phase of its extensive market research programme.
State of Trade 2013 reveals that the outdoor sector continues to grow in Europe and last year the overall market volume increased by 2.8%, while value rose by 3.1%. The total market value at sell-in was €4.8 billion, with an estimated sell out value of over €10 billion at retail.
For 2013, growth was reported in almost all main categories, with the largest increases in value being in footwear (5.2%) and packs (2.7%). There was also healthy growth in apparel (2.5%), accessories (2.3%) and climbing equipment (1.6%). The only category to experience a decline in value was tents (-0.7%).
Individual markets varied in their performance during 2013. Southern Europe and the UK witnessed a good recovery following some difficult years, while there was strong growth in eastern Europe and Russia (of course, the impact of this year's political developments in the region are not reflected in the figures). Scandinavia and the GAS region continued to perform solidly, as they have for several years. The biggest individual outdoor market in Europe is Germany with 25.7% of the overall value, followed by Great Britain & Ireland (13.4%) and France (12.2%).
Rolf Schmid, President of the European Outdoor Group, comments:
"It is clear from State of Trade 2013 that the outdoor sector continues to perform very well. The overall growth figures are encouraging, and they demonstrate that outdoor is not simply a trend. It is a mega-trend based on sustained and growing interest in more active and healthy lifestyles that include at their heart the rediscovery of the natural world."
Mark Held, General Secretary of the EOG, adds:
"That does not mean that everything is easy for the trade. Brands and retailers continue to face major challenges, such as competition from other channels and regions in the world, some quite saturated markets, tougher regulations and high consumer expectations. All of these factors add up to create a highly competitive environment that continuously challenges established processes, along with both brands and retailers. However, it is really important that those of us within the industry, along with wider business and political stakeholders, understand that the European outdoor sector is in a very healthy state and continues to mature and find its feet on the global stage."
Over 100 brands (including retail owned brands) from across Europe contributed to the research, providing comprehensive 2013 sell-in data for seven main categories and 48 separate sub-categories. Participation is not limited to EOG member brands and all contributing companies receive access to the full reports.
Since it was started, the programme has grown significantly and now draws its conclusions using extensive data submitted confidentially via a secure online portal. The portal, introduced for the 2013 report, allows the EOG to include many more categories and sub-categories than in previous years, leading to more detailed, robust and wide ranging results for the whole of Europe.