The Canadian Sports Market: Strong and Growing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 28, 2006 – It’s a $7 billion market – and on the rise. That’s one way to describe the Canadian market for sporting goods equipment, sports clothing/activewear, and athletic footwear. In recent years, the Canadian sports market has been inching along — $6.6 billion in 2002; $6.8 billion in 2003; and $6.9 billion in 2004. Those facts are just a few of the many figures in the Canadian Sporting Goods Market Report (2006 edition) – distributed by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA). This report is prepared for SGMA by Trendex Sports Vision. This specific study provides the reader with a number of spending details (units purchased and dollars spent) on the Canadian market – by category (sporting goods equipment, sports clothing/activewear, and athletic footwear), retail channel, retail outlet, product type (golf, tennis, camping, snow skis, etc.) and geographic location (province/city).

Listed below are a few significant statistics on the sporting goods market in Canada in 2005:

• Sporting goods equipment sales were the largest portion of overall sales — $3.9 billion
• Among various categories of sporting goods retailers, sporting specialists generated 76.4% of their sales from sporting goods equipment.
• Nationwide, unit sales of sporting goods equipment rose 17.4%, but sales rose 2.5%.
• The three leading retail outlets for sales are Canadian Tire, Sport Chek, and Wal-Mart.
• The three leading metro markets are Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.
• Among sports retailers, Sport Chek sells the fourth largest amount of activewear units, but generates the most amount of sales.
• In the sports clothing/activewear category, Nike and adidas are the top brands.
• In athletic footwear, Nike and New Balance are the top two revenue-generating brands.

There are also sections of this report which focus on specific activities such as archery, baseball/softball, curling, bicycles/bicycle equipment, camping, exercise equipment, fishing, golf, hockey, hunting, ice hockey/figure skates, in-line/roller skate equipment, racquet sports, snow ski, ski/snowboard, water sports, and volleyball/football/soccer/basketball/lacrosse. In each section, 2005 sales are listed as well as the main retail channels of distribution and the main retailers that sell that category.

This report is available online at www.SGMA.com. Once there, click on “Insight” and then click on “View Reports.”

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, owner of the Sports Research Partnership, is the global business trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products industry. SGMA enhances industry vitality and fosters sports, fitness, and active lifestyle participation. More information about SGMA can be found at www.SGMA.com.