The global sports market, as reported by NPD, includes four major segments: apparel (sport-specific and sport-inspired clothing), footwear (sport-specific and sport ‘style ’ footwear), equipment, and bicycles.

The largest and fastest-growing segment of the sports market is apparel. Apparel accounts for 44% (or $113 billion) of the global sports market. Apparel sales rose 6% this year. Fueled by the growing trend of activewear as fashion, the U.S. sports market led the way posting an 8% growth. Sales of sports apparel rose 5% in Asia and 3% in Europe. “Apparel will continue to show the biggest growth rates in the sports market, ” said Renaud Vaschalde, industry analyst for The NPD Group, Inc., adding, “This is primarily due to changing lifestyles worldwide. The trend shows more people are willing to wear sports or sports-style clothing. They have become more accepting of casual dressing not just because it ’s fashionable but because it is also practical. ”

Global athletic footwear sales increased 3%. The most important markets, U.S. (up 3%) and Europe (up 1%) were the primary contributors to that growth. “I see a trend developing in footwear that is similar to what we are seeing in sports apparel … Europeans and Asians will begin to adopt the sport or sport-style shoes as part of their everyday dress and help to drive growth, ” noted Vaschalde.

Overall retail sales of equipment rose by 4%, and bicycles were stable with a 1% growth rate.

Today, the lion ’s share of global sports sales are concentrated in a relatively small group of countries. NPD reports the top nine countries for sporting goods sales account for only 32% of the global population but 75% of global sports market sales.

While China has posted impressive growth with a 13% increase in sports sales in 2006, the market is still undeveloped. China accounts for $6.7 billion dollars and has a population of 1.3 billion people. That is an average of $5.00 spent per capita, per year. In the U.S. that same figure is $338.00 per person. China was still a smaller market than Spain in 2006.

In summing up the survey results, Vaschalde says, “We see opportunities for growth in two different market sectors. The first one is in Outdoor. Globally, we are seeing an increasing awareness of the environment that coupled with people ’s continuing love affair with nature could pose significant opportunities for growth. The second market that could be a significant player is China. Once marketers capture the Chinese consumer, just the volume alone suggests an enormous opportunity. ”

Methodology

This study ’s estimates of the global sports market ’s size are based on The NPD Group, Inc. ’s consumer panel tracking data, statistical projections, and the company ’s extensive sports industry expertise. The NPD Group measures the athletic footwear and sports apparel markets in 10 countries, representing two-thirds of the global sports sales. For the remaining third, NPD estimates are based on assumptions related to Gross Domestic Product development.