World Sports and Fitness Clothing Market projected to reach
US $ 126.30 billion by 2015
Even as the global apparel retail market struggles to maintain footfall, a new report by Global Industry
Analysts (GIA) predicts that the global sports and fitness clothing market would reach US $ 126.30 billion
by the year 2015, spurred by dramatic lifestyle changes, increasing sports participation particularly by
women, and demand for stylish, functional and versatile sports apparel. In addition, with rapidly aging
population, there is a definite emphasis towards healthy lifestyle and activities such as sports, yoga and
jogging, all expected to play an instrumental role in driving future growth.
Blurring lines of
differentiation between
sports apparel, fitness
clothing, and casual,
active wear are expanding
the market reach and target
audiences for sportswear.
While changing lifestyles and
growing emphasis on versatility,
convenience, fashion, comfort,
style, and performance is
creating a strong demand for
sports and fitness clothing,
which offers both functional
performance and style appeal. In
fact, the GIA report suggests that
in terms of consumption growth
and overall apparel market
share, the segment is expected to
garner the highest growth.
The phenomena is worldwide
and the aging-but-active
population in the US, Japan
and Europe, and emerging
markets such as Asia and Latin America present attractive
opportunities for sports/active
wear manufacturers. Even the
women of today represent a
highly lucrative target audience
as they are increasingly taking
to an active lifestyle.
On the retail front, conventional
sporting goods players vie with
fashion stores while department
stores compete with mass
merchandisers and sporting
goods chains, in a bid to capture
a pie of this lucrative market.
As consumers are ready to
pay more for performance
characteristics like temperature
regulation, friction reduction,
moisture management, stretch,
lightness, and wind and
water resistance retailers are
responding by introducing
sports and fitness apparel in
various stylish designs for both men and women. Many
sports apparel companies are
now partnering with famous
designers to introduce innovative
apparel brands. Favourable
trends such as, a stylish teenage
marketplace, growing baby
boomer segment, and a tendency
towards casual dress in the
workplace, are expected to
drive consumption growth
of sports apparel and fitness
clothing even more.
Traditionally, sportswear has
been dominated by specialty
stores and brands in the
developed economies, but now
the same brands have deep
penetration in all markets and
are fast expanding roots in
emerging markets too. However,
now even mainline retailers have
recognized the potential of the
expanding sportswear/active
wear market, prompting Target
to open its first ever permanent
store without the Target brand
name – an exercise clothing
outlet called C9 Active Apparel.
The C9 store slated to open in
October in San Francisco will sell
the same sportswear line that
Target stores have sold for years
as “C9 By Champion”, which
include men’s and women’s
exercise clothing and accessories
such as yoga mats and water
bottles, produced exclusively for
Target by HanesBrands.
While the US constitutes the
world’s single largest and most
developed market for sports and
fitness clothing, Asia-Pacific is
considered to have the fastest
growth potential with rapidly
expanding markets of India,
China, Hong Kong and Australia,
predicted to expand at least 4%
through 2015. Changing lifestyle
of Indians (especially youngster)
with greater disposable income
and people becoming more
health conscious are facilitating
greater spending on sportswear.
It is projected that the sports
apparel market will reach 14.29
billion US $ by 2014, growing at
a CAGR of around 34%. However
the limited manufacturing
capabilities in sewing sportswear
and the non-availability of the
right fabric is a deterrent to its
growth as a manufacturing hub.
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