PMR: Sports goods market in Poland to shrink in 2020
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The Polish market for sports goods had grown handsomely in recent years, fuelled by rising popularity of physical exercise – part of the healthy-living megatrend – and steady expansion of the country’s sports infrastructure. 2019 was among the best years for the sector. But the pandemic has disrupted this positive trajectory. According to PMR forecasts, in 2020 the market will contract by 4.5%.
All three segments of the sports goods market will decline this year. We expect the biggest one, sports equipment, which accounts for nearly 50% of the total by value, to experience the smallest drop. Hardest hit will be sales of sports clothing, a consequence of the closure of gyms, fitness centres and swimming pools, cancellation of many sporting events, and restrictions on movement. We expect demand to recover over the next several years.
Sports goods market tends to be macrosensitive
Past experience shows that spending on sports goods is highly sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. Consumers tend to cut back on such expenditures pretty quickly in a downturn. In a survey carried out by PMR in October 2020, the average monthly spend on sports activities reported by respondents was approximately PLN 156 (€35). This compares to PLN 164 (€37) in a similar study in September 2019 – a decline of 4.9%. The amounts reported by male respondents were slightly higher than female ones.
However, only 12% of those asked said they did not plan to buy any sports goods in the following 12 months. Sports shoes were the most common planned purchase, mentioned by nearly 60%, with sports clothes a close second. Nearly a quarter planned to buy a bicycle.
