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The overused term is “perfect storm,” a confluence of factors that creates a rare outcome. And right now, that’s what’s going on with sales of sports equipment.
Racquet and golf equipment manufacturer Yonex, for example, reported revenues with nearly 20 percent growth in its most recent fiscal year. All indicators point to the success of athletes at the most recent Summer Olympics.
“The global sporting event held in Paris and other international tournaments held around the world, and the successes of athletes at these competitions, helped to stimulate the sports market and increase attention paid to Yonex, leading to record-high net sales,” Yonex said. “We strengthened our efforts to expand our global fan base by proactively communicating the achievements of athletes at these events, while also reinforcing grassroots activities in each region.”
Nike also saw action in the W category, saying the Games helped boost demand for new product launches and also helped . edge out competition, website searches from research firm Similarweb showed. Puma managed to increase visits to their direct-to-consumer sites.
Know who else came out a winner? Dick’s Sporting Goods, which reported the largest sales quarter in company history. Dick’s stock jumped too.
It’s an across-the-board phenomenon, says the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which recorded that product sales in the sporting goods fitness, and related recreation markets grew 4.2 percent between 2023 and 2024.
According to the report, pickleball had the highest growth rate followed by Team Sports and Snow Sports categories. Pickleball product sales increased 30.7 percent from 2022.
Team sports category sales did well in 2023 compared to 2022, with many growing over 7 percent. Football, Baseball/Softball, and Basketball all saw growth rates over 10 percent. Football products had the highest team sports category growth at 11.9 percent, followed by Basketball at 10.1 percent and Baseball/Softball at 10 percent. Volleyball was the next highest with 9.3 cand Ice Hockey with 7.3 percent.
Know how much people spent on sports equipment in 2023? Nearly $33 billion.
That tells us great things are in store for the travel sports industry – but only if we take advantage of it, said SFIA executive director Todd Smith in a recent interview:
“As we look at the country over the next 10 years, we see that from 2025 to 2034, the U.S. will play host to a historic lineup, including the Summer and Winter Olympic Games and world championships in soccer, rugby and baseball. It will be the most opportune time in our country, certainly in my lifetime, to rally the USA around what sports can bring, not just fitness but self-confidence and all the other amazing benefits.
We’re never going to have this chance again and no matter what, we will never be able to replicate the excitement of this. We want to bottle up the energy and sustain it. SFIA has created a campaign called 2034WARD, to drive industry growth, expand participation and inspire a new generation of athletes and fitness enthusiasts during what is shaping up to be an unprecedented decade for our country.”
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