SFIA Releases annual Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report
SILVER SPRING, MD (March 25, 2021) – Despite an economic recession in 2020, the U.S. sports and fitness market, including footwear, apparel and equipment, grew by 0.6 percent in 2020. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) released the 2021 Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report today, reporting major growth in consumer fitness, as well as a strong sports equipment category. Traditionally, sports and fitness sales patterns tend to mimic GDP growth; however, as the national GDP decreased 2.3 percent in 2020, due to the COVID-19 crisis, the sports and fitness industry was slightly up.
The impact of the recession was very unique in sports and fitness, highlighting specific categories that gained popularity under nationwide restrictions. Consumer fitness was booming in 2020, increasing 40.5 percent in just one year. This surge was the contributing factor to overall industry growth in 2020. Free weights (104.2 percent), exercise benches (78.0 percent), home gyms (73.7 percent) and exercise cycles (67.1 percent) were the biggest gainers in the consumer fitness category.
While a majority of traditional team sports equipment products were down, the basketball category held strong (11.6 percent), spearheaded by a 20.3 percent growth in basketball backboards. Camping (10.9 percent), fishing (14.9 percent) and golf (19.0 percent) also boasted significant growth in the equipment category. Many sales categories reflected participation trends reported in the 2021 SFIA Topline Participation Report.
The athletic footwear category was down 4.0 percent, but the outdoor/adventure (15.1 percent), fitness/workout (14.8 percent) and golf (8.4 percent) footwear categories increased significantly. Again, this increase strongly mimics participation trends of those specific activities in 2020.
The SFIA Manufacturers’ Sales by Category Report measures U.S. wholesale revenues across 5 major categories, 34 subcategories, with nearly 150 various breakdowns. This report is free to all SFIA members and available for purchase here.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
SFIA Topline Participation Report shows tennis, golf, home fitness up, team sports down
SILVER SPRING, MD (Feb. 16, 2021) – Americans started strong, stopped everything when COVID-19 hit, and then pursued pandemic-acceptable sports and fitness activities as the year progressed, according to SFIA’s Annual Topline Participation Report released today. The report measures the participation rates of all Americans, ages 6 and above, tracking 120 sport, fitness and outdoor activities. In addition, this year’s report features a special section: COVID-19 Effect on Participation.
Individual sports such as tennis, golf, running, hiking, skateboarding and surfing thrived in 2020. Helping to drive growth was a participant’s ability to take part in these activities outdoors and socially-distant. Conversely, team sports, which do not lend themselves to social distancing, struggled to maintain participation. Exacerbating this trend was the significant impact of school and park closures, taking away access to scholastic, travel/competitive and recreational sports. However, SFIA’s trend analysis suggests a substantial amount of informal team sports activity, such as backyard play, did take place. To this end, basketball and ultimate frisbee recorded increases in core participation rates.
COVID-19 was a double-edged sword for the fitness industry. With gyms and health clubs being forced to close, fitness participation levels overall decreased in 2020. Fitness activities that could be done at home, like yoga, Pilates and kettlebells, showed robust participation increases. Traditionally popular activities done generally in health clubs or studios, like stationary cycling (group), stair-climbing machine and cardio kickboxing, experienced significant declines.
Notably, the number of totally inactive Americans, defined as those who did not participate in any of the 120 tracked activities, dropped by 7 million. This 2.4 percent decrease from 2019 marks the largest decrease in the number of inactive Americans since SFIA introduced this survey in 2008, one positive sign from a complicated year.
In all, the report indicates that Americans stayed fairly active, but not with the same frequency and avidity as in pre-pandemic times. Americans searched out pandemic-appropriate activities where they could, with varying degrees of success and sustainability.
“2020 brought unprecedented challenges for Americans looking to be physically active, but we find hope in the millions of Americans who changed their habits, venues and activities to somehow exercise and play,” said Tom Cove, SFIA President and CEO. “At the same time, we see so many people yearning for their children and themselves to get back on fields, courts and health clubs; we all must work together to provide safer sports and fitness opportunities as soon as possible.”
The 2021 Topline Participation Report is free to SFIA members and available for purchase to the public here.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
SFIA teams up with Under Armour, OpSec Security & Spark Inc. to provide unprecedented opportunities
SILVER SPRING, MD (Jan. 26, 2021) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association will be hosting the annual Start-Up Challenge on May 4, 2021 in a virtual setting. The format will be a little different as we transition to a virtual event, hosting over 150 judges from across the sporting goods and fitness industries, including executives, investors, venture capitalists, thought leaders and industry experts. The competition will be intense as start-ups battle for a substantial grand prize package.
Under Armour will grant the grand prize winner access to the Under Armour Innovation Team, a collection of industry executives chartered to propel innovation in the sports and fitness industry. The Start-Up Challenge winner will virtually meet with industry insiders to discuss marketing, financing, manufacturing and the user experience (UX). The selected start-up will also get to experience Under Armour’s approach towards innovative UX by creating their own custom-designed Under Armour shoes.
OpSec Security, a global leader in brand protection, will provide an online landscape to help the grand prize winner assess their global intellectual property risk (a $25,000 value). This package includes a one-year subscription to their Early Warning System (EWS), where OpSec will perform a number of enforcements for fraud or intellectual property infringement. OpSec has also provided a seed prize to the Start-Up Challenge winner of $5,000.
Spark Inc. will be providing an exclusive media package built specifically for the grand prize winner. Representatives of Spark Inc. will work closely with the start-up to create an effective media package to help market and engage new audiences. The package will include a 2-minute company showcase video, a 20-second pre-roll video, a 15-second social media video and a strategic marketing plan.
“We are incredibly excited to bring together such an eclectic variety of companies that will truly put the Start-Up Challenge champion at the greatest advantage as they embark on this journey,” said SFIA CEO & President, Tom Cove. “The finalists and winners alike from previous Start-Up Challenge competitions have gone on to great success, equating to hundreds of millions of dollars in capital and revenue. We expect the level of competition between this year’s finalists to be our best yet.”
In addition, the winner will also receive a free registration to SFIA’s 2021 Industry Leaders Summit, a speaking spot and judges seat at the 2022 Start-Up Challenge, national media coverage, and a spotlight in SFIA’s State of the Industry Research Report.
Applications will be accepted through Friday, January 29, 2021. Click here to apply.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
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Dan Arment Re-Elected SFIA Chairman; Jake Griffith (Walmart) and April Lane (Amazon) Newly Elected to Board of Directors
SILVER SPRING, MD (Dec. 15, 2020) – Dan Arment, President & CEO of Riddell & BRG Sports, has been re-elected as the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) Chairman of the Board for a second one-year term. In addition, two new directors were elected, and four members were re-elected, to the SFIA Board of Directors for three-year terms. This announcement was made at the end of the SFIA’s Annual Meeting, which took place on Dec. 12, 2020.
New additions to the board include Jake Griffith (General Manager for Sports, Fitness & Outdoors; Walmart) and April Lane (Director/General Manager of Sports & Outdoor; Amazon).
“As SFIA Chairman, in a year unlike any other, Dan Arment has been a tremendous leader for our organization and the industry. We are fortunate and excited he has stepped up for another year,” said Tom Cove, SFIA President & CEO. “The Board will further benefit from the valuable participation of Amazon’s April Lane and Walmart Ecommerce’s Jake Griffith. Along with the rest of our returning Board members, SFIA is well situated to support the industry’s recovery and resurgence in the post-pandemic era.”
In addition, the following board members were re-elected to three-year terms: Mike Dowse (CEO and Executive Director, United States Tennis Association), Jared Drinkwater (Chief Marketing Officer, BSN Sports), Kurt Tandan (Associate General Counsel & Senior Director of Corporate Affairs, adidas) and Mike Zlaket (President and CEO, Rawlings Sporting Goods).
Newly elected and re-elected directors will join the existing SFIA board members, which include:, Jennifer Bendall (Senior Director of Government Affairs, Nike), Chris Clawson (CEO, Life Fitness), Melissa Dawson (President, Molten USA), Kim Davis (Executive Vice President, Social Impact, Growth Initiative & Legislative Affairs; NHL), Rawleigh Grove (Vice President & General Counsel, PING Golf), Ray Hilvert (Vice President, Global Sports Marketing & Team Sports; New Balance), Scott McDonald (CEO, Body-Solid Inc.), Neil Morton (CEO, ATA International), Roman Oben (Vice President of Football Operations, National Football League), Jonathan Ram (Group President, Global Activewear; Hanesbrands), Michael Schroeder (Vice President, Global Lifestyle Brands; Gildan), Dan Sheridan (Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Brooks Running) and Marco Zambianchi (President, North America; Technogym USA).
Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) is excited to offer a new interactive dashboard tool to enhance its 2020 US sports participation data, produced on behalf of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). The essential data for the industry comes from the Physical Activity Council of which SFIA is a founding partner. The study has been referred to as “the gold standard in sports participation” by ESPN.
The dashboard is targeted at retailers, brands and federations who purchase multiple sports reports and wish to more quickly and flexibly compare findings across those sports.
This powerful new online tool will allow users to compare at a glance the participation trends across multiple sports and activities. Views compare sports on a topline basis, as well as within demographic sub-categories, making it easier, for example, to analyse sports participation among women aged under 35, or among those who earn over $50,000. The tool shows the last five years of data, making it easy to see which sports and activities are growing fastest among particular groups of participants.
Toggles will allow buyers to switch specific sports and activities on and off to create fully customised views in a matter of seconds.
Users can also export a particular view in excel or jpg format for easy inclusion in marketing plans, strategy discussions and reports.
The project is a collaboration between SMS and Culture of Insight (COI), who have produced insightful dashboards in tandem with SMS across a range of projects. One such dashboard reports on The Bicycle Association Cycling Market Data Service, powered by SMS, a tool which provides model level granularity on over 700,000 SKUS across the UK cycling industry.
Keith Storey, President of SMS USA, who oversaw the launch of the new dashboard, commented. “The participation data is the definitive source of information on sports and fitness participation in 89 sports across the US. We work closely with our clients to help them understand, and more importantly, use the data to create meaningful change at their organisation. We’ve developed the dashboard for and with those businesses that rely on multiple single sport reports to make key decisions on areas like product design, facility installation and inventory control across categories. This tool makes it quicker and easier than ever to drill down into the data and based on early feedback, we know that this is already benefitting users.”
The dashboard is an additional service at extra cost, and is sold separately from the single sports reports which are available via the SFIA website and the SMS research store.
SILVER SPRING, MD (Dec. 1, 2020) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) annual Start-Up Challenge, the industry’s premier innovation showcase, moves to a virtual platform for the 2021 contest. The Start Up Challenge, now in its fifth year, brings together young companies and entrepreneurs to pitch innovative concepts in a competitive format. All challenge finalists will virtually present on May 4, 2021 to over 150 judges, consisting of executives, investors and thought leaders in the sports and fitness industry. Up to 10 finalists will be selected from the applicant pool.
The application is now available and open to any entrepreneur with an idea, product or service in the sporting goods, team sports, sports tech and/or fitness space. All applications submitted before January 29, 2021 will be evaluated and considered for a finalist position. Interested parties can apply at www.sfiastartupchallenge.org.
“Innovation is at the heart of our industry, and so much of the progress we’ve seen comes from small inventors and entrepreneurs driven to make a difference in sports and fitness,” said SFIA CEO & President, Tom Cove. “We’re excited to bring the Start-Up Challenge to the virtual stage. The post-pandemic marketplace opens doors for a new generation of ideas and offers a platform more accessible to both competitors and judges all around the world.”
To date, SFIA has showcased 21 start-up companies over the last four years, providing start-ups with the opportunity to raise awareness, receive investments, initiate partnerships and kickstart their business in front of their targeted audience. These finalists have collectively raised over $150 million. In addition to presenting directly to over 150 judges from across the industry, all 2021 finalists will receive one year of SFIA membership, a company highlight in 2021 SFIA research report, personal introductions to five judges of your choice and real-time feedback. The champion will also receive a video digital package, a 2022 Start-Up Challenge judge’s spot, free registration for the 2021 Industry Leaders Summit and a company feature in a 2021 SFIA research report.
The application is now open and can be reviewed and submitted at www.sfiastartupchallenge.org. Click here to learn more.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
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SILVER SPRING, MD (Aug. 24, 2020) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) has released 89 Single Sport & Fitness Reports, covering all sports and fitness activities ranging from basketball to barre to MMA fighting to scuba diving to pickleball, and much more. The individual activity reports provide detailed analysis, showing year-over-year trends, and breakdown of participation by a multitude of demographic variables. For example, pickleball participation has increased 7.2 percent over the last three years. The sport has attracted a base of wealthy, older Americans, as 38.7 percent of core participants are over the age of 65 and 49.9 percent of them live in households making over $100,000 per year.
“It’s interesting to see the foundation of each individual activity’s participation,” said SFIA CEO & President, Tom Cove. “The insight provided by these reports is crucial to companies’ ability to aptly target marketing and retail strategy, depending on their market’s consumer base and opportunities for growth.”
Each report tracks participation as defined by gender, participation frequency, age, geographic region, market size area, income, education level and cross-sport/activity participation. The final 20 reports are now available:
· Adventure Racing
· Boardsailing/Windsurfing
· Bow Hunting
· Fishing (Fly)
· Fishing (Freshwater)
· Fishing (Saltwater)
· Hunting (Handgun)
· Hunting (Rifle)
· Hunting (Shotgun)
· Jet Skiing
· MMA for Competition
· MMA for Fitness
· Pickleball
· Roller Skating (2×2 Wheels)
· Roller Skating (Inline)
· RV Camping
· Scuba Diving
· Snorkeling
· Target Shooting (Handgun)
· Target Shooting (Rifle)
Results for the 2020 SFIA Single Sports and Fitness Reports were gathered by Sports Marketing Surveys USA, using the US Online Panel operated by IPSOS to conduct 18,000 dedicated online interviews in a nationwide sample of individuals and households during the 2019 calendar year.
All 2020 SFIA Single Sport and Fitness Participation Reports are $99 (per report) to all current SFIA members and $295 for non-members. For media access to these reports, please contact Alli Schulman, at [email protected]. For more information regarding the Single Sport Reports, and to purchase reports, click here.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
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Annual SFIA Fitness Participation Report Now Available
SILVER SPRING, MD (August 12, 2020) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) released the 2020 Tracking the Fitness Movement Report, presenting a deep dive into the fitness industry and consumer trends across the United States. In 2019, participation increased 2.9 percent and individuals took part, on average, in about four fitness activities throughout the year. The “casual” participant continues to grow, as more opportunities to try new workouts arise and become more accessible.
While the pandemic will greatly impact participation numbers and trends for 2020, many of the top fitness activities of 2019, such as Walking for Fitness, Running/Jogging, Dumbbells/Hand Weights and Yoga, were ideal platforms for the at-home fitness routines Americans adopted in 2020. It is likely these activities, already strong and growing in 2019, will reflect exponential growth in the coming year. In addition, the emphasis on easily accessible running and walking activities may reinforce exercise as a lifestyle and provide new opportunities for Americans to be active as they come to terms with new ways of social engagement.
“The fitness industry was hitting on all cylinders in 2019 and early 2020 and diverged in two directions as the COVID pandemic hit our country. On the one hand, Americans’ desire for fitness has driven growth in activity rates and sales for at-home fitness products. This is a terrific reflection of the underlying strength of the fitness category and of the fitness community. On the other hand, the impact of fitness facility closures has been, and continues to be, extremely challenging for large parts of the fitness industry,” said Tom Cove, SFIA CEO and President. “We believe Americans’ desire for fitness and the industry’s creativity and resilience indicate sustained future growth after the pandemic subsides.”
The 2020 Tracking the Fitness Movement Report also features in-depth interviews with: Aly Orady (CEO & Founder, Tonal), Joey Shamah (CEO & Co-Founder, FIT for LIFE) and Helen Durkin, J.D. (Executive Vice President of Public Policy, IHRSA) providing personal insight to specific, key segments of the market.
To purchase the 2020 Tracking the Fitness Movement Report, click here.
ABOUT SFIA: The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the #1 source for sport and fitness research, is the leading global trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products and fitness industry. SFIA seeks to promote sports and fitness participation, as well as industry vitality through research, thought leadership, public affairs, industry affairs and member services. For more information, please visit www.sfia.org.
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First-ever digital event, “Back on Track,” set for September 23-24, 2020
SILVER SPRING, MD (July 28, 2020) – The Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA)will convene Back on Track: Insights and Strategies as a virtual conference to explore how the sports and fitness industry is approaching COVID-19 challenges and opportunities after months of marketplace disruption.
The SFIA Back on Track event is designed to draw executive attendance from footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories brands and retailers, professional leagues, financial institutions, marketing and advertising agencies, and media. It will feature one-on-one interviews with business leaders, roundtable panels with industry and sport organization executives and data-driven research. Confirmed speakers include Champion/Hanes Group President, Jon Ram; Walmart.com General Manager for Sport/Fitness, Jake Griffith; NHL Executive Vice President, Kim Davis; NFL Vice President for High School and Youth Football, Roman Oben; McKinsey Consulting Lead Partners for Sporting Goods and Fitness, Eric Falardeau, Alexander Thiel and Sabine Becker; Molten USA President, Melissa Dawson; Riddell Sports CEO, Dan Arment; National Federation of High Schools Executive Director, Dr. Karissa Neihoff; Good Sports CEO, Melissa Harper; adidas Senior Director of Corporate Affairs, Kurt Tandan; Technogym President, Marco Zambianchi; and more to be announced. Matt Powell, NPD Lead Sports Industry Analyst, will also be featured with his deep dive on industry trends.
“The concept is to focus directly on our industry’s recovery, and in some cases, re-imagining,” said Tom Cove, SFIA CEO and President. “Recognizing the fatigue we can all feel about the pandemic’s negative impacts, we are looking to emphasize our industry focus on future solutions.”
Back on Track will also offer a new interactive component, encouraging attendees to virtually participate in conversation tables around specific topic areas, including on Diversity & Inclusion, HR and Return to Work Protocols, Trade/Tariffs, Youth Sports Return to Play, and Fitness Industry – Return to Gyms/Studios.
The event will run over two days, with three to four sessions each day, broken up throughout the day, designed to allow maximum flexibility to the virtual attendee.
To register for SFIA’s Back on Track and to see the full agenda, click here.
The June 2020 COVID-19 Industry Impact Survey analyzes industry response to pandemic
SILVER SPRING, MD (July 23, 2020) – Seventy-two percent of companies now anticipate that sales will not return to pre-COVID numbers until 2021, and 53 percent report not until Q2 of 2021, according to the SFIA 3rd edition of its monthly COVID-19 Industry Impact Report, released today. The expectation for sales to bounce back has been postponed, likely due to recent announcements regarding elementary and secondary schools not meeting in person in the fall of 2020. Notably, from a different perspective, the number of companies projecting their 2020 fiscal year sales to be greater than 2019 has doubled from May to June, from 10 percent to 21 percent.
June provided the industry with some hope, as 68 percent of companies saw month-over-month sales increases from May to June, with 38 percent of companies increasing 26 percent or more in sales. Ecommerce has remained steady, but it is not absorbing all potential sales. While more than half of ecommerce sales have gone up from May to June, and growth is expected to continue, ecommerce will not be able to compensate for all loss.
The pandemic will change the industry landscape as we know it. Nearly 59 percent of respondents believe consolidation will be the emerging market trend post-pandemic.
“We are happy to see sales going up, but the pandemic is far from over,” said Tom Cove, CEO and President of the SFIA. “Many individuals and families have adapted to new activities and sought out fitness equipment and outlets that let them participate under stay-at-home orders. However, until we can get kids back in schools and back on the field, our industry will have to be innovative in its approach to helping Americans stay active and healthy on a regular basis. The pandemic will make everyone be more creative, and we anticipate seeing new innovations that will stem from this situation.”
Return to play expectations were more optimistic in May, but dropped in June, as many states saw surges of the virus after reopening too quickly. A vaccine is now considered “absolutely essential” for 41 percent of respondents, when questioning return to play protocol. As for gyms and studios, expectations have also changed. In May, only 4 percent of respondents expected gyms to not open until November/December 2020, and in June, that number jumped to 23 percent. Many facilities are now open, but for those that aren’t open yet, there seems to be more of a push to open at the end of the year or in 2021. The importance of a vaccine for reopening gyms has greatly increased, and 91 percent of respondents believe a mask requirement is most important to reopening. Regardless, gyms are expected to open before the return of youth sports.
To download the full SFIA COVID-19 Industry Impact Report – June 2020, click here.