Sales in German sporting goods market rise to eight billion euros

Last year, German consumers invested almost eight billion euros in sportswear, sports shoes and outdoor equipment. By comparison, sales in 2012 were still at 6.4 billion euros.

Since then, annual sales have grown by an average of 4.3 percent, from 2016 to 2017 by as much as 4.7 percent. This is shown by the new "Industry Focus Sports" of the market and business analysts of IFH Cologne and BBE trading advice.

"Like few other markets, the sports market has benefited from a sustained overall German retail performance since 2012", says Ralf Jackels, consultant at IFH Cologne. "In a dynamic market with a high affinity to the specialist trade, the company can look back on a very positive overall development even without additional driving major events. The combined market share of sports and non-sports retailers in 2017 will be 56 percent.

Some product groups are showing particularly strong growth and are thus contributing to the positive balance of the entire sports market. After previous weak winters, sales of winter sports equipment rose by around 10.9 percent in 2017. Overall, only four of the 19 product groups considered will have to cope with a decline in sales in the sports market in 2017.